India is the country mixed with political parties. Years ago our independence was acquired only because of some people who fought day night for Indian freedom from British. There were leaders supporting violence and non-violence in that time. Nevertheless, the non-violent movement won at last. Gandhiji was the man behind the Indian independence. British ruled around 100 years in India. After independence also there are many leaders that are famous. Some of the famous political leaders are listed below.
1. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
The main man behind Indian freedom. He was the most energetic leader and his main weapon was his patience. He fought for the freedom of the country with Ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (way of truth) as his powerful weapons. He is born in Porbandar which is in Gujarat. His early life was filled with laws and when he returned from London practicing laws he came to know that he had to get down for the help of poor people, farmers etc against the excessive tax. That was the start and the first step of Gandhiji in the world of politics. His simple life and his theories made British Government out of India. He has millions of supporters who followed his steps. Gandhiji’s principle of satyagraha (from Sanskrit satya: truth, and graha: grasp/hold), has also inspired other democratic activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lennon and the 14th Dalai Lama. He became an International icon and international symbol of a free India. Gandhi’s message of equality for women and the untouchables put him at the forefront of movements towards true social justice in Indian society. His principles in his life have been studied by many universities and included as their main topics. He lived a spiritual and ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. He was assassinated after one year of Indian independence. The nation and world deeply mourned on that day and still his messages and his principles are more often live today.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru
Earlier years of Nehru were not filled up with politics. He got his degree from Cambridge university and returned to India in 1912 and realized that his effort should be there for the uplift of India from the British rule. For that he worked very hard joined with Mahatma Gandhi for it and succeeded. Later he then became the top political leader of Indian national Congress. He has been jailed 7 times that time. His speech was very effective and make people more energetic. His most famous speech is the “Tryst With Destiny” address to the Constituent Assembly of India in New Delhi on the night of August 14th and 15th, 1947. He was also a great internationalist, and one of the founders of the non-aligned movement. He spends much of his prison time with writing. His major works include Glimpses of World History (1934), his Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946). He was the general secretary of the Congress party for two years. Nehru became the leader of Congress party in 1934. He is mainly known as the architect of India. He was very fond of children and children used to affectionately call him “Chachaji”.
3. Indira Gandhi
One of the main political figure involved in the freedom movement for India. Indira Gandhi, one of the best-known women of the 20th century, was Prime Minister of India, and daughter of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She is the first lady as Prime Minister for India and till date no women has been into that post. She is the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Nehru. She was greatly influenced by her parents who were the greatest freedom fighters at that time. She served full effort for the progress of India. She use to accompany her father Nehru for his meeting with main political leaders that time before independence. That time itself she became more active and got involved into politics. This made a primary step for her into politics. In 1938 she joined Indian National Congress Party. In 1942, she married a journalist named Feroz Gandhi. After that she was imprisoned for the charges of subversion by English. The couple spent around 8 months in jail. After independence she became more and more into politics which made her as the 4th lady as the president of Indian National Congress party. Later when her father died, Shashtri became the prime minister and he appointed her as the minister of information and communication. She worked sincerely and more responsible. That time radio and TV was the only media and considering that majority of the Indians were illiterate, media played a vital role for that. Indira Gandhi campaigned fiercely on the slogan of “Garibi Hatao” (eliminate poverty) during the fifth general elections in March 1971 . After Shastris deaths she became India’s first prime minister in the year 1980. She was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards which they had vengeance for her for ordering Indian army to clear Sikh militants from the golden temple in her mission named “Operation blue star”. She served a lot for the progress of India. Economically, Indira Gandhi led India to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world toward the end of her time as prime minister.
4. Rajeev Gandhi
This names reminds us of simplicity and dedication. Rajiv Gandhi was one of the best Prime Minister of India. He was born in 1944 for the couple Indira Gandhi and Feroz Gandhi. Firstly his career was dealt with aircraft and he was an airline pilot by profession. After that he noticed that his career is directing to another point and that was politics. He made an entry into politics by the year 1981 when his mother Indira Gandhi was assassinated. He became the head of the Congress party and roped in to the hearts of millions by his simplicity. The result was good and he became Prime Minister of India. He was the Mr:Clean of politics and that image reflected in people also. He worked very hard to take India higher in many fields. He promoted Information Technology since his vision was that of a technocrat. He was assassinated by the LTTE suicide bomber Thenmuli Rajaratnam in 1991. That was the vengeance of LTTE , because Rajiv send his troop to Srilanka for helping Sri Lankan army from terrorist attack from LTTE.
5. Dr Manmohan Singh
India’s fourteenth Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh is rightly acclaimed as a thinker and a scholar. He is well regarded for his diligence and his academic approach to work, as well as his accessibility and his unassuming demeanor. He is the current prime minister of India. Formerly he was the finance minister when Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. He holds the record of the first Sikh to be the Prime minister. He is an economist by his professional and have a strong education career and his knowledge has a wide range. This made him popular in the middle class people. He has done a fantastic job when he was working in UN, International monetary fund he is highly praised by the people all around the world. He was working in the international monetary fund at his younger days. Some of the leaders criticize him as the ‘weakest prime minister ‘ that India ever had. He served as the Governor of the ‘Reserve Bank of India’ in the year 1982-85. After that he was posted as Finance minister of Cabinet by Narasimha Rao who was prime minister that time. Manmohan Singh has many achievements to his credit. main is the nuclear deal between India and U.S. He s still in control of economy in India and is achieving a record of 9 % of growth in economy. The important NREGA act and the RTI act were passed by the Parliament in 2005 during his tenure.