Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji, the first South Asian Member of Parliament, was born in 1825, the son of a Parsi *Zoroastrian priest. From the very beginning he was a pioneer in many fields: he became one of the first Indian graduates of Elphinstone College in Bombay and later became the first Indian professor of that college.

In 1855 he travelled to London to become a partner in Cama & Co, the first Indian company to be established in Britain. Within 3 years, he resigned on ethical grounds and in 1859 set up his own cotton company Naoroji & Co. His London home became a centre for Indian life, attracting students and nationalists, leading to the establishment of some of the earliest South Asian associations, including the London Indian society, the East Indian Association and the London Zoroastrian Association.

He is remembered in India for his leadership of the Indian National Congress a record three times (1886, 1893 and 1906), and his economic critique of British rule in India, 'the drain of wealth theory'. Naoroji's involvement in British politics reached its highest point when, after one failed attempt, he was elected Liberal MP for Finsbury Central in 1892.

Udham Singh

Udham Singh (December 26, 1899 – July 31, 1940) was an Indian revolutionary, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.

Munshi Premchand

Munshi Premchand - (July 31, 1880 – October 8, 1936) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent, and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century. He has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar - (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), Vidyasagar was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780.He received the title "Vidyasagar" ("Ocean of learning" or "Ocean of knowledge") from the Calcutta Sanskrit College (where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy. In Sanskrit, Vidya means knowledge or learning and Sagar means ocean or sea. This title was mainly given for his vast knowledge in all subjects which was compared to the vastness of the ocean.

Kargil Vijay Diwas

Kargil Vijay Diwas - Kargil Vijay Diwas, named after the success of Operation Vijay. On this day, 26 July 1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been lost to Pakistani intruders. The Kargil war was fought for more than 60 days, ended on 26 July. and resulted in the loss of life on both sides, India and Pakistan. Pakistan retreated after international diplomatic pressure. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on 26 July every year in honour of the Kargil War's Heroes.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak - born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), was an Indian nationalist, journalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an independence activist who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities called him "Father of the Indian unrest". He was also conferred with the honorary title of "Lokmanya", which literally means "Accepted by the people (as their leader)"

Chandra Shekhar Azad

Chandra Shekhar Azad -(23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Azad ("The Liberated"), was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association under the new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).