Most read this week

Science 1

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Aerospace scientist and 11th President of India

1931 – 2015

Sports 2

MS Dhoni

Former India captain and wicketkeeper-batsman; winner of three ICC trophies

Born 1981

Politics & Leadership 3

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister of India since 2014

Born 1950

Politics & Leadership 4

Yogi Adityanath

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh since 2017

Born 1972

Politics & Leadership 5

Akhilesh Yadav

President of the Samajwadi Party and MP for Kannauj; former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Born 1973

Politics & Leadership 6

Amit Shah

Union Home Minister of India since 2019

Born 1964

Politics & Leadership 7

Arun Jaitley

Former Finance Minister of India (2014–2019) and senior advocate

1952 – 2019

Politics & Leadership 8

Arvind Kejriwal

Founder of the Aam Aadmi Party; Chief Minister of Delhi (2013–14, 2015–2024)

Born 1968

Politics & Leadership 9

Asaduddin Owaisi

President of AIMIM and Member of Parliament for Hyderabad

Born 1969

Politics & Leadership 10

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Tenth Prime Minister of India and a founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party

1924 – 2018

Politics & Leadership 11

B. R. Ambedkar

Principal architect of the Constitution of India and India’s first Law Minister

1891 – 1956

Politics & Leadership 12

Bal Thackeray

Founder of the Shiv Sena and political cartoonist

1926 – 2012

Politics & Leadership 13

Devendra Fadnavis

Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 2024

Born 1970

Politics & Leadership 14

Droupadi Murmu

15th President of India and the first from a tribal community

Born 1958

Politics & Leadership 15

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Chief Minister of Assam since 2021

Born 1969

Politics & Leadership 16

Indira Gandhi

Third Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office

1917 – 1984

Film & TV 17

J. Jayalalithaa

Six-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and actress

1948 – 2016

Politics & Leadership 18

Jawaharlal Nehru

First Prime Minister of India (1947–1964)

1889 – 1964

Politics & Leadership 19

Jyoti Basu

Chief Minister of West Bengal (1977–2000)

1914 – 2010

Politics & Leadership 20

L. K. Advani

Former Deputy Prime Minister of India and co-founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party

Born 1927

Politics & Leadership 21

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Second Prime Minister of India (1964–1966)

1904 – 1966

Politics & Leadership 22

Lalu Prasad Yadav

Founder of the Rashtriya Janata Dal; former Chief Minister of Bihar and Railway Minister

Born 1948

Politics & Leadership 23

M. K. Stalin

President of the DMK; Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (2021–2026)

Born 1953

Politics & Leadership 24

M. Karunanidhi

Five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and screenwriter

1924 – 2018

Politics & Leadership 25

Mahatma Gandhi

Leader of India’s independence movement and pioneer of non-violent resistance

1869 – 1948

Politics & Leadership 26

Mallikarjun Kharge

President of the Indian National Congress since 2022

Born 1942

Politics & Leadership 27

Mamata Banerjee

Founder of the Trinamool Congress; Chief Minister of West Bengal (2011–2026)

Born 1955

Politics & Leadership 28

Manmohan Singh

Thirteenth Prime Minister of India (2004–2014) and architect of the 1991 reforms

1932 – 2024

Politics & Leadership 29

Mayawati

Four-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and president of the Bahujan Samaj Party

Born 1956

Politics & Leadership 30

Morarji Desai

Fourth Prime Minister of India and the first from outside the Congress

1896 – 1995

Politics & Leadership 31

N. Chandrababu Naidu

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh since 2024

Born 1950

Politics & Leadership 32

Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister of India since 2019

Born 1959

Politics & Leadership 33

Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways since 2014

Born 1957

Politics & Leadership 34

Nitish Kumar

Longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar and president of the Janata Dal (United)

Born 1951

Politics & Leadership 35

Omar Abdullah

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir since 2024

Born 1970

Politics & Leadership 36

Pinarayi Vijayan

Chief Minister of Kerala (2016–2026) and CPI(M) Politburo member

Born 1945

Politics & Leadership 37

Pranab Mukherjee

Thirteenth President of India (2012–2017)

1935 – 2020

Politics & Leadership 38

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Member of Parliament for Wayanad and Congress general secretary

Born 1972

Politics & Leadership 39

Rahul Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha since 2024

Born 1970

Politics & Leadership 40

Rajendra Prasad

First President of India (1950–1962)

1884 – 1963

Politics & Leadership 41

Rajiv Gandhi

Sixth Prime Minister of India (1984–1989)

1944 – 1991

Politics & Leadership 42

Rajnath Singh

Union Defence Minister of India since 2019

Born 1951

Politics & Leadership 43

S. Jaishankar

Minister of External Affairs of India since 2019

Born 1955

Sports 44

Sharad Pawar

Four-time Chief Minister of Maharashtra and founder of the Nationalist Congress Party

Born 1940

Politics & Leadership 45

Shashi Tharoor

Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, author and former UN Under-Secretary-General

Born 1956

Politics & Leadership 46

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Union Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; longest-serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh

Born 1959

Politics & Leadership 47

Siddaramaiah

Two-time Chief Minister of Karnataka (2013–2018, 2023–2026)

Born 1947

Politics & Leadership 48

Sonia Gandhi

Longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress

Born 1946