Harsha Vardhana:Harsha Vardhana was the last great Hindu King of Northern India. One of the noblest and most accomplished kings known to history. He combined in himself the qualities of both Ashoka and Samudragupta. Harsha was a great poet and dramatist. He wrote three drama’s in Sanskrit namely Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadershika. Banabhatta wrote Harshacharita which is a valuable source of information about his reign. Hieun Tsang has given vivid description about Harsha’s reign. Nalanda University founded by Kumara Gupta I was at the height of its fame.
Hillary Rodham Clinton : The wife of former US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, scored a historic victory in the American history by winning the US Senate seat from New York on November 7, 2000 becoming the first wife of a President ever elected as a Senator. She defeated Republican Congressman, Mr. Rick Lazio.
Humayun : He was the ill-fated king among the Mughal rulers of India. In the battle of Kanauj he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri. While he was coming down the stairs of his storey at Delhi, he fell down and died shortly. The word `Humayun’ means `fortunate’ but it is an irony of fate that Humayun proved a most unfortunate king. “He tumbled through life and tumbled out of it”.
Indira Gandhi : The daughter of Jawarharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister for 15 years. She was shot dead by her own security man on Oct. 31, 1984. She was the recipient of Bharat Ratna in 1971.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar : A great social and religious reformer, a great Sanskrit scholar with a heartful of sympathy for the poor, fought for the upliftment of Indian women and helped in the passing of 'Widow Remarriage Act,1856'.
Jagjivan Ram:The former Deputy Prime Minister of Janata regime and Congress President. One of the country’s ablest political administrators.
Jai Dev : The first great reformer and advocate of Bhakti movement in northern India was Jai Dev. He belonged to Bengal. His great work is “Git Govind”. Krishna and Radha are subject of his Sanskrit work.
Jawaharlal Nehru : The great Indian leader and maker of modern India. He was the first Prime Minister of free India from 1947 and remained in the office till his death. He pronounced the doctrine of Pancha sheel which advocated peaceful co-existence, non-alignment and non-interference in international relations. The Discovery of India, Autobiography and Glimpses of World History are some among his famous literary works.
Jayaprakash Narayan : The Sarvodaya leader was instrumental in the formation of Janata Party which defeated the Congress Party in 1977 general elections to Lok Sabha. Popularly known as Loknayak, he was conferred the Rashtra Bhushan Award in April 1977. Jean Jacques Rousseau : A great political philosopher and thinker of France, who became famous for his social contract theory. His teachings and writings led to the French Revolution and the establishment of republics in different parts of the world. He uttered “Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains”.
Jehangir (Salim) : He came into power after the death of Akbar. He took keen interest in art and painting and laying out gardens and was a lover of nature. The great painter Goverdhana was in his court. He laid out the Shalimar and Nishat gardens near Srinagar. Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandar was built by him. He was an accomplished scholar too and wrote his autobiography called Tuzh- i-Jehagiri. But he was addicted to drink and opium. He is therefore called a “talented drunkard”. During his reign Captain William Hawkins was sent to India to obtain some trade concession for the English East India Company. Sir Thomas Roe came to the court of Jehangir and obtained permission to construct a factory at Surat.
Joan of Arc : The girl whose heroism inspired the French to drive the English out of Orleans. She was burnt as a heretic at Rouen. She is called “Maid of Orleans”.
John Milton : A well known epic poet of English. His poetical works are Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.
Joseph Stalin : He was a leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution. He became head of the government in 1924 after the death of Lenin. He helped to make Russia a great power.
Jyoti Basu : The 87 year old longest serving Chief Minister of a state (24 years) since the first Left Front Government swept to power in 1977 in West Bengal announced his retirement from active politics and resigned as Chief Minister on October 27, 2000 on health grounds. He has been in the Communist party since 1940.
