Distinguished Guests
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and politician who served as the second President of India (1962-1967) and the first Vice President of India (1952-1962). As an academic, philosopher, and statesman, Dr. Radhakrishnan was one of the most recognised and influential Indian thinkers in the academic circles in the 20th century.
Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, commonly known as ‘Pandit’, was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. He helped lead India to independence, which ended the British Raj. As India’s first Prime Minister, Panditji worked to make India an important member of the international community.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of the Republic of India (1950–62). A lawyer and a journalist, he is a noted personality in the history of India. Dr. Prasad was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, and his autobiography, Atmakatha, was published in 1946.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth President of India from 1974 to 1977. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Pristina in 1975 and a medical college was also named the ‘Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College’ in his honour.
Giani Zail Singh was the first Sikh politician to hold office as the President of India (1982–87). He held several ministerial positions in the Union Cabinet, including that of the Home Minister, before becoming the President. From 1983 to 1986, he also held the position of Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the second Prime Minister of India (1964-1966) and the sixth Home Minister of India (1961-1963). In more than 30 years of dedicated service, he came to be known as a man of great integrity and competence. He was a visionary who drove the nation towards advancements. Lal Bahadur Shastri was deeply influenced by the political teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and represented the best in Indian culture.
Dharma Vira, an Indian politician and civil servant who served as the Governor of Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, and Karnataka, was born on January 20, 1906, and passed away on September 16, 2000. Dr. Vira worked for the Indian government as the Cabinet Secretary as well.
Pranab Mukherjee was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th President of India (2012-2017). He was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and in the course of a political career spanning five decades, he occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Before he was elected as the President, Mukherjee was the Union Finance Minister (2009-2012). He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019 by his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind.
As India’s 10th Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian politician and diplomat who held office for three terms – 13 days in 1996, 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and then a full term from 1999 to 2004. Vajpayee was a prominent figure who was one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s co-founders. He belonged to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a group of volunteers with Hindu nationalist views. Vajpayee was also a well-known writer and poet.
From 2002 to 2004, Lal Krishna Advani, an Indian politician, was the country’s seventh Deputy Prime Minister. Advani is a key leader and one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s co-founders. He has been a longtime volunteer with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. In the National Democratic Alliance administration led by the BJP from 1998 to 2004, he also held the position of Minister of Home Affairs. He is a well-known figure in Indian politics and was the BJP’s contender for Prime Minister in 2009.
The Chief Minister of Delhi and the longest-serving female Chief Minister of any Indian state was Sheila Dixit, an Indian politician. She held office starting in 1998 for 15 years. In Delhi, Dixit guided the Congress party to three straight electoral triumphs. She was chosen to lead the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee in 2019 and held the position until her passing in July of that same year.
Arun Jaitley was an Indian politician and lawyer who passed away on August 24, 2019. Jaitley, a BJP member, served as the Government of India’s Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs (2014 to 2019). Jaitley previously held cabinet portfolios of Finance, Defense, Corporate Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Law and Justice.
A four-star general of the Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat was an Indian military officer. He led the Indian Armed Forces as their first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from January 2020 until his demise in a helicopter crash in December 2021. Gen. Rawat previously held the positions of 26th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army and 57th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman COSC) of the Indian Armed Forces before becoming the CDS.
Ramaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist, and politician who served as a Union Minister and the eighth President of India. He was active in the Quit India Movement and the Indian independence movement from an early age. He held the positions of Union Finance Minister and Minister of Defense while being elected four times to the Lok Sabha. R. Venkataraman was chosen as India’s seventh Vice President in 1984 and elected as the country’s eighth President (1987-1992).
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India (1977-1982). He held several key offices in independent India – as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and a Union Minister – before becoming an Indian President. Reddy also authored a book, ‘Without Fear or Favour: Reminiscences and Reflections of a President’, published in 1989.
Dr. V. V. Giri (Varahagiri Venkata Giri) was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the fourth President of India (1969-1974) and the third Vice President of India (1967-1969). He was the first President to be elected as an independent candidate and after the end of his full term, Dr. Giri was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1975 by the Government of India.
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat served as India’s 11th Vice President. He also represented several districts in the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha and served as the state’s Chief Minister three times (1952-2002). He was lauded by national and international leaders for his historic conduct of the Rajya Sabha. Shekhawat was also a great admirer of arts and education, and under his leadership, Rajasthan developed itself as an education hub. In 2003, he received the Padma Bhushan.
Indira Gandhi was a politician and an integral part of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as the third Prime Minister of India in 1966 and was also the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Gandhi served as the Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her father.
Inder Kumar Gujral was a diplomat, politician, and freedom fighter. He was also India’s 12th Prime Minister. During his activism days, he was imprisoned due to his involvement in the Quit India movement. I. K. Gujral joined the Indian National Congress party in 1964, the year after India gained its independence, and he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
As India’s fifth Prime Minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh presided over the country from 1979-1980. He is usually referred to as the ‘champion of India’s peasants’ by historians and common people alike. The Amausi Airport in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh was renamed Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport and the University of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh was renamed Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Singh’s honour.
The Queen ruled for a longer period of time than any other monarch in British history, earning her acclaim and respect all around the world. She travelled farther than any other monarch during her amazing reign and made numerous important foreign visits. She served as a significant representative of the UK and the Commonwealth during periods of significant social change, and was known for her sense of responsibility and commitment to a life of service.
From 2001 to 2008, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, also regarded as the last king of the Hindu religion worldwide, ruled as the monarch of Nepal. When his grandpa, Tribhuvan, and the rest of his family fled to exile in India in 1950–1951, he briefly reigned as the King during that time period as a youngster. The 2001 massacre of the Nepalese royal family marked the start of his second reign. About two years later, the Nepalese Constituent Assembly dissolved the monarchy and declared Nepal a republic, bringing an end to his rule.