Kapila Vatsyayan was a leading scholar of Indian classical dance,art,architecture,and art history. She served as a member of parliament and bureaucrat in India,and also served as the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
Sudha Murty is an Indian educator,author,and philanthropist. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys,N. R. Narayana Murthy. She is the Founder-Chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. In 2024,Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution to social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri,the fourth highest civilian award in India,for social work by the Government of India in 2006. In 2023,she was awarded the Padma Bhushan,the third highest civilian award in India.
Jaya Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party since 2004. Having worked in Hindi films and Bengali films,she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream and arthouse cinema. A recipient of several accolades,she has won a record nine Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri,the fourth-highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of India.
Sonal Mansingh is an Indian classical dancer and Guru in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style. She has been nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha. She is the recipient of Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Vibhushan in 2003.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha is an Indian sports administrator and retired track and field athlete. Usha was born in Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district,Kerala. She grew up in Payyoli. Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 gold medals and 7 silver medals in the Asian Games. She is often associated as the "Queen of Indian track and field".
Rahul Bajaj was an Indian billionaire businessman and politician. He was the chairman emeritus of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group. He was awarded the third-highest civilian award in India,the Padma Bhushan,in 2001.
Dadi Pudumjee is a leading puppeteer in India and he is the founder of The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992.
Shobhana Bhartia is an Indian.businesswoman. She is the chairperson and editorial director of the HT Media,one of India's largest newspapers and media houses,which she inherited from her father. She has also recently taken charge as the Chancellor BITS School of Management and Pro-Chancellor of BITS-Pilani which was founded by her grandfather G. D. Birla and is the current chairperson of Endeavor India.
Nirmala Deshpande was a noted Indian social activist who had embraced Gandhi and philosophy. She devoted her adult life to the promotion of communal harmony and service to women,tribal people,and the dispossessed in India.
Sai Paranjpye is an Indian movie director and screenwriter. She is the director of the award-winning movies Sparsh,Katha,Chasme Buddoor and Disha. She has written and directed many Marathi plays such as Jaswandi,Sakkhe Shejari,and Albel.
Shakuntala Paranjpye was an Indian writer,actress and a prominent social worker. She was a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council during 1958–64,and served as nominated member of Rajya Sabha during 1964–70. In 1991,she was awarded Padma Bhushan,the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India,as recognition of her significant contributions in colonial and post colonial period particularly pioneering work in the field of family planning.
Fali Sam Nariman was an Indian jurist. He was a senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India from 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman was an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration. He was honoured with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018. He was one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and argued several leading cases. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975.
Mohan Dharia was a Union minister,a lawyer and social worker. During his last days he stayed in Pune. Dharia was an environmentalist and ran a non-government organisation Vanarai. He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Pune Lok Sabha constituency,first in 1971 as an Indian National Congress (INC) member and became a Minister of State,and later in 1977 as a Bharatiya Lok Dal member,and joined the Morarji Desai Ministry as Union Minister of Commerce. Prior to it,he remained member of the Rajya Sabha twice from INC,first 1964-1970 and then 1970- 1971
Vandana Hemant Chavan,is an Indian politician and advocate. She is a member of the Parliament of India,representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha. She is from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and has been a member of Parliament since 2012.
Shivajirao Girdhar Patil was an Indian social activist and politician from the state of Maharashtra. He began his social activism at an early age when he participated in the Indian independence movement. Post-independence,he was associated with various political parties and had been member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council,Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and even the Rajya Sabha for one term. In 2013,he was presented with the Padma Bhushan,India's third highest civilian award. He was the father of Indian film actress Smita Patil.
Dr Phulrenu Guha was an Indian activist,educationist and politician,belonging to the Indian National Congress. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha the Upper house of Indian Parliament from April 1964 to April 1970 from West Bengal. She was the Minister for Social Welfare in the Indira Gandhi Ministry from 1967 to 1969. She was elected to the Lok Sabha the Lower house of Indian Parliament from Contai constituency,West Bengal in 1984. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1977.
Rajashree Birla is an Indian philanthropist. She is married to the late Aditya Birla. After her husband's death in 1995,Rajashree began working in CSR and charity sectors,developing a large philanthropic organization funded by her family. In 2011,the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Bhushan,the third highest civilian award,for her services to society.
Shobhana Ranade was an Indian social worker and Gandhian,known for her services towards her cause of destitute women and children. The Government of India honoured her in 2011,with the Padma Bhushan—the third highest civilian award—for her services to the society.
Rajani Ashokrao Patil is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress Party,she is the All India Congress Committee In-charge for Jammu &Kashmir. She is a Member of Parliament,representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha the upper house of Indian Parliament. She was awarded the Best debut Parliamentarian award for her performance in the Rajya Sabha. She was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha from Beed in the 11th Lok Sabha. In 2005,she was elected as the Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board. She represented India at the 49th session of the UN Commission on the status of women at the UN headquarters in New York. She was a student political leader in college in the National Students Union of India (NSUI). She started her career in electoral politics by getting elected to the Zilla Parishad unopposed in 1992.
Pushpalata Das (1915–2003) was an Indian independence activist,social worker,Gandhian and legislator from the north-east Indian state of Assam. She was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1951 to 1961,a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly and a member of the working committee of the Indian National Congress. She served as the chairperson of the Assam chapters of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust and Khadi and Village Industries Commission. The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan,in 1999,for her contributions to society.
