Sam Manekshaw: -One of the finest officers of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, has had a long and illustrious career. Born on April 3, 1914 in Amritsar, Punjab, Field Marshal Manekshaw became the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969 and under his command, Indian forces achieved a splendid victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Sam Manekshaw is one of the two Indian military officers to hold [...]
Major Somnath Sharma, born on 31 January 1923, was commissioned in the Kumaon Regiment on 22 February 1942. The first recipient of India’s highest war-time gallantry award, Param Vir Chakra, Major Somnath Sharma displayed exemplary courage and valour during the Pakistani invasion of Jammu & Kashmir, which began on 22 October 1947. Major Somnath Sharma was a part of the D Company of 4 Kumaon regiment, which was airlifted to Srinagar on 31 October. Though [...]
Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa or Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was born on 28 January 1899 in Coorg. After his formal education at Madikeri, he went on to study at the Presidency College, Madras. He was an active sportsman. Cariappa was one among the select few who was selected for the first batch of KCIOs (King’s Commissioned Indian Officers) at the Daly Cadet College in Indore and was commissioned in the Carnatic Infantry. Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa [...]
General K Sundarji was one of the most famous and competent generals of the Indian Army. Born on 28 April 1930 at Chengelpet in Tamil Nadu, he joined the Madras Christian College, but left it before receiving a degree to join the army. He graduated from the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, before moving on to the General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, USA and the National Defence College, New Delhi. General K Sundarji received [...]
Admiral Sureesh Mehta is a former chief of the Indian Navy, was born on 18 August 1947. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned in the Indian Navy in July 1967. A graduate of the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he attended the National Defence College in New Delhi. After joining the Naval forces, he held various appointments, including the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Director General Coast Guard, Chief of [...]
The first Indian to fly into space, Rakesh Sharma was born on January 13, 1949 in Patiala, Punjab. He was a squadron leader with the Indian Air Force, when he flew into space in 1984 as part of a joint programme between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Soviet Intercosmos space program. He spent eight days in space on board the Salyut 7 space station. He joined two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard the [...]
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the earliest leaders of the Indian National Congress who propagated the idea of self-rule for India. He became the voice of the Indians who wanted freedom from British rule. He is more widely known as Gandhi’s Political Guru, as Gandhi himself said. Born on May 9,1866 in a farmer’s household, Gopal Krishna Gokhale received his early education in a local school. Later he graduated from Elphinstone College in Bombay [...]
The Father of the Indian Constitution”, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, was born on April 14, 1891, in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. His parents belonged to the Mahar Caste, which was considered as ” untouchable”. He was lucky to get a good education in his early childhood as his father was in the British Army. Even after Bhimrao’s father retired from the army, he continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with excellent results [...]
Fondly remembered as “Gurudev”, Rabindranath Tagore was an iconic figure in Bengal’s cultural landscape and had a profound influence in shaping national consciousness during the freedom struggle. When his poetic composition Gitanjali won him the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913), he was the first Indian-in fact, the first non-European-to receive this honour. Born on 7 May 1861, he was the youngest of the thirteen children of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. Although his early education [...]
Virender Sehwag is a famous Indian cricketer and a significant member of the Indian National cricket team since 1999. Nicknamed ‘Veeru’ by teammates and fans alike, Virendar Sehwag was born on 20th October, 1978 in Delhi. Born into a joint family, Sehwag is the son of Krishan and Krishna Sehwag. He did his schooling from Arora Vidya School but since childhood, his prime interest remained cricket, which he developed over the years playing thrilling domestic [...]
