List of people from Uttar Pradesh

This is a list of notable people from Uttar Pradesh, a state in India. The criteria of this list includes those who were born in the state of Uttar Pradesh and that part of the former United Provinces that now is part of the modern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Deities and avatars

Jains Gods / Deities

Rishabhanatha or Ādinath (birthplace: Ayodhya) 1st Tirthankara of Jainism and founder of Jainism
Ajitnatha (birthplace: Ayodhya) 2nd Tirthankara of Jainism.
Sambhavanatha (birthplace: Shravasti) 3rd Tirthankara of Jainism.
Abhinandananatha (birthplace: Ayodhya) 4th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Sumatinatha (birthplace: Ayodhya) 5th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Padmaprabha (birthplace: Kaushambi) 6th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Suparshvanatha (birthplace: Varanasi) 7th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Chandraprabha (birthplace: Chandrawati, Varanasi) 8th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Pushpadanta (birthplace: Khukhundoo) 9th Tirthankara of Jainism.
Shreyansnath (birthplace: Sarnath), 11th Tirthankara of Jainism
Vimalanatha (birthplace: Kampilya), 13th Tirthankara of Jainism
Anantanatha (birthplace: Ayodhya), 14th Tirthankara of Jainism
Dharmanatha (birthplace: Ratnapuri), 15th Tirthankara of Jainism
Shantinath (birthplace: Hastinapur), 16th Tirthankara of Jainism
Kunthunath (birthplace: Hastinapur), 17th Tirthankara of Jainism
Aranath (birthplace: Hastinapur), 18th Tirthankara of Jainism
Neminath (birthplace: Mathura), 22nd Tirthankara of Jainism
Parsvanatha (birthplace: Varanasi), 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism

Hindu gods / deities

Rama (birthplace: Ayodhya), legendary or historical king of ancient India; in Hinduism, he is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu
Lakshmana (birthplace: Ayodhya), brother and close companion of Rama; a hero in the epic Ramayana
Lord Shree Krishna (birthplace: Mathura) deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism
Parashuram (birthplace: Ghazipur), was an avatar of Vishnu

Lord Shree Krishna statue at the Sri Mariamman Temple (Singapore)
L to R: Lord Rama and Lakshmana
Neminatha (stone). Chahaman, 11th century AD, Narhad, Rajasthan
Parsvanatha statue in Bhelupur Jain temple, Varanasi
Lord Rama with arrows
Shreyansanatha at Sarnath Jain Tirth

Authors of the great epics

Bhrigu (birthplace: Ballia), one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, one of the Prajapatis created by Brahma
Sur (birthplace: Mathura), saint, poet and musician
Tulsidas (Ramayana: Chitrakoot), Awadhi poet and philosopher; wrote Rāmacaritamānasa ("The Lake of the Deeds of Rama"), an epic devoted to Lord Rama
Vyasa, central and much revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions; authored Mahabharata

Malik Mohammed Jayasi
Valmiki

Yogis, Sufi poets and mystics

Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint, born in Budaun
Bharat Bhushan, only Padmashri recipient in yoga; founder President of Mokshayatan International Yogashram, Saharanpur
Salim Chishti, Sufi saint of Fatehpur Sikri, Agra
Kabir, poet and saint Varanasi
Amir Khusro, Sufi mystic, one of the iconic figures in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent
Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud, Gazi Miya of Bahraich
Paramahansa Yogananda, Yogi and Guru who introduced Yoga in the West. Born in Gorakhpur in 1893.

Poet-saints and religious figures

Hindu scholars

Devraha Baba, Yogi Allahabad
Narottama Dasa
Shrivatsa Goswami, Indologist and Gaudiya Vaishnava leader
Swami Karpatri, teacher of Advaita, popularly known as Dharma Samrat, Gorakhpur
Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya, Vaishnava scholar and Sanskrit commentator on the Prasthanatrayi, Jaunpur.
Ramanand, founder of the Rāmānandī sect Prayag (in modern Allahabad)
Raskhan
Sant Ravidas, poet and saint, Varanasi
Shiv Dayal Singh, founder and first guru of Radha Soami sect, Agra
Sur, blind Hindu poet, saint and musician born in Runkata near Agra
Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan sect, Gonda
Tulsidas, composer of the Ramcharitmanas

Islam scholars

Mulla Mahmud Jaunpuri (1606–1651), natural philosopher
Karamat Ali Jaunpuri (1800-1873), Islamic scholar
Hafiz Ahmad Jaunpuri (1834-1899), Islamic scholar
Abdul Awwal Jaunpuri (1867–1921), Islamic scholar
Abdur Rab Jaunpuri (1875–1935), Islamic scholar
Majid Ali Jaunpuri (died 1935), Islamic scholar
Syed Rashid Ahmed Jaunpuri (1889–2001), Sufi saint
Muhammad Yunus Jaunpuri (1937–2017), Islamic scholar
Malik Mohammad Jayasi

Rulers and generals

Ancient

Ashoka, (Sanskrit pronunciation: [ɐˈʃo:kɐ], IAST: Aśoka; c. 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third Mauryan Emperor of Magadha in the Indian subcontinent during c. 268 to 232 BCE.
Brahmamitra
Chandragupta II (c. 375-415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India.
Keśin Dālbhya, (or Dārbhya) was a king of Panchala during the Late Vedic period, most likely between c. 900 and 750 BCE.^[1] He is mentioned prominently in the Taittiriya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas.^[2]
Gomitra
Gomitra II
Pravahana Jaivali, was a king of Panchala during the Late Vedic period (8th or 7th century BCE), mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Vi.ii.9-13) and the Chandogya Upanishad (V.4-8).^[3] Like King Ajatashatru of Kashi and King Asvapati Kaikeya of Madra, he is depicted as a major Hindu philosopher-king.
Kumaragupta I (c. 415–455 CE), an emperor of the Gupta Empire of Ancient India. A son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II and Queen Dhruvadevi, he seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, which extended from Gujarat in the west to Bengal region in the east.
Chandragupta Maurya, ^[a] (350-295 BCE) was the founder of the Maurya Empire, a geographically-extensive empire based in Magadha.^[4]
Pasenadi, (c. 6th century BCE) was an Aikṣvāka ruler of Kosala. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after Sanjaya Mahākosala.^[5]
Samudragupta, (c. 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty's political and military power.
Virudhaka, was a king of Kosala during the lifetime of the Buddha.

Medieval

Harsha, (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Hun invaders,^[6] and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, a king of Thanesar, present-day Haryana.
Jahangir, (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627),^[7] known by his imperial name Jahangir (Persian pronunciation: [d͡ʒahɑːn'giːr]; lit. 'Conqueror of the World'),^[8] was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.
Rajyavardhana, also known as Rajya Vardhan, was the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana and member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He ascended the throne after his father's death and was succeeded by his younger brother, Harsha.

Modern

Rani of Jhansi, the Rani of Jhansi (19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),^[9]^[10] was the Maharani consort of the princely state of Jhansi in Maratha Empire from 1843 to 1853 by marriage to Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar.

Nawab of Awadh

Shuja-ud-Daula, (b. (1732-01-19)19 January 1732 – d. (1775-01-26)26 January 1775) was the Subedar^[11] and Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775.^[12]
Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the Nawab wazir of Oudh ratified by Shah Alam II, from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797,^[13] and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah.
Wajid Ali Shah, (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.^[14]^[15]

Banaras state

Balwant Singh, His eldest son, Rafa'at wa Awal-i-Martabat Raja Sri Balwant Singh Sahib Bahadur Bhumihar^[16]^[17] who succeeded his father as Raja of Kaswar and Nazim of Benares in 1738.
Maharaja Chait Singh, commonly known as Chait Singh, a Bhumihar king was a ruler of Kingdom of Benaras in northern India.^[18]
Prabhu Narayan Singh, GCSI GCIE (26 November 1855 – 4 August 1931) was ruler of the Benares State (Royal House of Benares), an Indian princely state, from 1889 to 1931.
Vibhuti Narayan Singh, (5 November 1927 – 25 December 2000) was the king of Benares, a city considered holy, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Kohra estate

Independence Fighters

18th century

Maharaja Chait Singh, ruler of Banaras, one of the earliest rebel against Company rule.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Maulvi Liaquat Ali, Indian independence fighter of 1857 from Allahabad; captured the Khusro Bagh in Allahabad and declared the independence of India
Rao Umrao Singh Bhati, ruler of Dadri and a leader of 1857 rebellion
Banke Chamar, was the freedom fighter of the 1857 revolution who was leading the revolution from Jaunpur.
Dhan Singh Gurjar, main freedom fighter of 1857 revolt from Meerut
Jhalkari Bai Koli, Great Indian freedom fighter of 1857; fought against British rule; Commander of Army of Jhansi
Bakht Khan, nominal commander-in-chief of Indian rebel forces in the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Rani Lakshmibai, Rani (Queen) of Jhansi
Begum Hazrat Mahal, widow of the last Nawab of Awadh; Indian independence fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857
Mangal Pandey, one of the earliest independence fighters of 1857.
Amar Shahid Bandhu Singh, fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was from Dumari Riyasat of Gorakhpur
Babu Bhoop Singh, ruler of Kohra (estate) and a leader of Indian Rebellion of 1857
Lal Pratap Singh, fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857 and Yuvraj of Kalakankar
Rao Kadam Singh, freedom fighter; elected by his Gurjar clansmen as their leader to fight against the British forces during the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Later 19th and 20th centuries

Laxmi Raman Acharya, freedom fighter accused of the Agra Conspiracy case
Bhagwan Ahir, lead Chaura-chauri incident
Asaf Ali, independence fighter
Maulana Mohammad Ali, independence fighter
Maulana Shaukat Ali, independence fighter
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, independence fighter, Ghazipur
Chandra Shekhar Azad, leader of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Ram Prasad Bismil Indian independence fighter and socialist (Kakori conspiracy)
Acharya Narendra Dev, socialist
Genda Lal Dixit (30 November 1888 – 21 December 1920) was an Indian revolutionary who led the Shivaji Samiti group of freedom fighters against the British Raj.
Ashfaqullah Khan of Kakori, independence fighter; member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association; close associate of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Indian independence fighter and socialist
Rajendra Lahiri, independence fighter
Ram Manohar Lohia, socialist
Hasrat Mohani, independence fighter and poet
Chittu Pandey, independence fighter
Govind Ballabh Pant, Indian independence fighter and politician; Chief Minister of the United Provinces; Bharat Ratna recipient^[19]
Vijay Singh Pathik
Raja Mahendra Pratap, King of Hathras Princely State, known as Aryan Peshwa
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, freedom fighter.
Mahavir Singh Rathore, independence fighter; member of Naujawan Bharat Sabha who helped Bhagat Singh escape
Roshan Singh, (Kakori conspiracy) independence fighter
Purushottam Das Tandon, independence fighter
Vishwambhar Dayalu Tripathi (5 October 1899 – 18 November 1959) was an Indian lawyer and politician.
Mahavir Tyagi, independence fighter
Munishwar Dutt Upadhyay of Pratapgarh, Indian Independence fighter; two time Member of Parliament
Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, independence fighter, journalist

Award winners

Param Vir Chakra

Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, Ghazipur
Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey
Naik Jadu Nath Singh Rathore Shahjahan pur, fighter of World War II and Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948
Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav, of Aurangabad, Bulandshahr; hero of Tiger Hill in Kargil war

Maha Vir Chakra

Ashok Chakra

Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Uday Singh Gaur
Constable Kamlesh Kumari
Lieutenant Colonel Jas Ram Singh
Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh

Bharat Ratna

Bhagwan Das, philosopher and freedom fighter, Varanasi
Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, educationist and politician, founder of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Jawaharlal Nehru, leader of the Indian independence movement; first Prime Minister of India
Ravi Shankar, sitar maestro, Ghazipur
Lal Bahadur Shastri, freedom fighter, former Prime Minister; belonged to Varanasi and Allahabad
Rajrishi Purushottam Das Tandon, freedom fighter, Allahabad
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, politician, eleventh Prime Minister of India

Padma Vibhushan

Padma Bhushan

Amitabh Bachchan, film actor
Dhyan Chand, international hockey player
Irfan Habib, historian
Qurratulain Hyder, author
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan
Kishan Maharaj, tabla maestro
Josh Malihabadi, poet
Mahesh Prasad Mehray, ophthalmologist
Naushad, music director
Rahul Sankrityayan
Srilal Shukla, Hindi writer
Obaid Siddiqui, science
Ram Kinkar Upadhyay, scholar
Bhagwati Charan Varma, Hindi author

Padma Shree

Muzaffar Ali, film director
Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India
Malini Awasthi
Yogiraj Bharat Bhushan, only Padmashri awardee yogi; founder director of Mokshayatan International Yogashram at Saharanpur
Praveen Chandra, cardiac surgeon
Kanhai Chitrakar
Kapil Deva Dvivedi
Mansoor Hasan, Medicine (2011)
Ravindra Jain, singer, music composer, lyricst
Giriraj Kishore writer
Maqbool Ahmed Lari, Litt. & Edu.
Vidya Niwas Mishra, writer
Gopaldas Neeraj, Hindi poet and lyricist
Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, scholar of Unani medicine
Anil K. Rajvanshi, Grassroot research
K. P. Saxena, writer
Mohammed Shahid, ex-captain of Indian hockey team, Varanasi
Kunwar Digvijay Singh Babu, hockey Olympian
Prakash Singh
Bekal Utsahi poet, writer
Usha Yadav, Educationist

Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Naushad Ali, music composer
Amitabh Bachchan, film actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer
Majrooh Sultanpuri, lyricist

Gyananpith Awards

Magasaysay Award

Sandeep Pandey
Rajendra Singh, water conservationist

Arjuna Award

Varun Bhati,^[20]
Abhinn Shyam Gupta, badminton
Moraad Ali Khan, shooter
Ashish Kumar, gymnastics
Satish Kumar, boxer
Syed Modi, badminton
Jagbir Singh, hockey
Narsingh Yadav, wrestler

Major Dhyan Chand Award

Rajkumar Baisla, (Wrestling) from Vill. Mewla Bhatti, Ghaziabad^[21]

Defence services

Army

Abdul Hamid, four Grenadiers, Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[22]
Manoj Kumar Pandey, 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[22]
K.M. Seth
Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah
Jadunath Singh, Rajput Regiment, recipient of Param Vir Chakra^[23]
Asaram Tyagi, Mahavir Chakra in Indo-Pak war of 1965
Brigadier Mohammad Usman, recipient of Maha Vir Chakra
Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18th Grenadiers of the Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[22]

Air force

Norman Anil Kumar Browne, Air Chief Marshal (Retd)
S.K. Kaul, Air Chief Marshal (Retd)
Trevor Keelor IAF, Vir Chakra winner in Indo-Pak war of 1965
Denzil Keelor IAF, Air Marshall (Retd), Vir Chakra winner; Kirti Chakra recipient
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Air Chief Marshal, 26th Chief of the Air Staff (India)
S.P. Tyagi, Air Chief Marshal (Retd)

Navy

Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla

Science and medicine

Afroz Ahmad, environmental scientist and administrator
Amita Aggarwal (born 1960) is an Indian clinical immunologist and rheumatologist.
Harish-Chandra (Mehrotra), mathematician who did fundamental work in representation theory, especially harmonic analysis on semisimple Lie groups
Aditi Sen De is an Indian scientist, a professor in quantum information and computation group at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.
Saroj Chooramani Gopal, is an Indian medical doctor, medical educationist and considered as the first woman M.ch paediatric surgeon from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in the country.
Nishith Gupta, molecular biologist
Gaiti Hasan (born 19 November 1956) is an Indian scientist who researches in the fields of molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience and cell signalling.^[24]
Ruqaiya Hasan (3 July 1931^[b] – 24 June 2015) was a professor of linguistics who held visiting positions and taught at various universities in England.
Zoya Hasan was Professor of Political Science and Dean of the School of Social Sciences (SSS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Shahid Jameel, Indian virologist
Ritu Karidhal is an Indian scientist and aerospace engineer working in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). She was a Deputy Operations Director to India's Mars orbital mission, Mangalyaan.^[25]
Ravindra Khattree, Distinguished Professor and statistician who worked in statistical inference, multivariate analysis, experimental designs, biostatistics and quality control
Atul Kumar, CSIR-CDRI (inventor of anti-osteoporosis drug)
Kazi Mobin-Uddin, inventor of Inferior vena cava filter
Soniya Nityanand (born 6 September 1962) is an Indian immunologist specialising in hematology.^[26]
Sri Niwas, Indian geophysicist.
Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change^[27]
Prem Chand Pandey, scientist, physicist, meteorologist, oceanographer
Zahoor Qasim, oceanographer, leader of first Indian expedition to Antarctica
Qamar Rahman is an Indian scientist who has worked extensively in the last 40 years to understand the physiological effects of nanoparticles.
Syed Ziaur Rahman, medical pharmacologist
Anil K. Rajvanshi, sustainability and rural development expert
P. K . Sethi, inventor of the Jaipur foot
Rani Dhavan Shankardass is an Indian social historian and global expert on prison reform.
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, organic chemist specialising in natural product chemistry
Hassan Nasiem Siddiquie, Indian marine geologist and former director of the National Institute of Oceanography.
Digvijai Singh
Lalji Singh, molecular biologist
Mriganka Sur, Indian-born neuroscientist working in the United States
Sushruta, is the listed author of the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's Compendium), a treatise considered to be one of the most important surviving ancient treatises on medicine and is considered a foundational text of Ayurveda.^[28]
Rajeev Kumar Varshney, agricultural scientist, genomics specialist, biotechnologist
Gopal Krishna Vishwakarma, more popularly known as G K Vishwakarma, was an eminent orthopedic surgeon, academician and public health administrator.
Jhillu Singh Yadav, Chemist^[29]
Raj Vir Singh Yadav

Technology

Sairee Chahal is a technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of SHEROES, a platform that supports women entrepreneurs.^[30]^[31]^[32]
Divya Jain is an Indian software engineer and entrepreneur. Jain has been called a "data doyenne" by Fortune.^[33]
Deepali Pant Joshi is a former executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (retired in 2017).^[34]
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm
Rashmi Sinha is an Indian businesswoman and CEO of San Francisco-based technology company SlideShare.

Holders of high offices

President

Mohammad Hidayatullah, Acting President of India
Ram Nath Kovind, 14th President of India

Vice President

Hamid Ansari, former Vice-President of India
Mohammad Hidayatullah, former Vice-President of India
Gopal Swarup Pathak, former Vice-President of India

Prime Ministers

Indira Gandhi, fourth Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]
Rajiv Gandhi, sixth prime minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]
Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]
Lal Bahadur Shastri, second Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]
Chandra Shekhar, ninth Prime Minister of India
Choudhary Charan Singh, fifth Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]
Vishwanath Pratap Singh, eighth Prime Minister of India
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. eleventh Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[19]

Prime Ministers of other countries

Anerood Jugnauth, former Prime Minister of Mauritius, His grand father migrated from Ballia district^[35]
Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius, Son of Anerood Jugnauth^[36]

President of other countries

Anerood Jugnauth, former President of Mauritius, his grand father migrated from Ballia district,^[36]

Governors

Triloki Nath Chaturvedi, former CAG and former Governor of Karnataka
Mohammad Fazal, former Governor of Maharashtra
Khurshid Alam Khan, former Governor of Karnataka
A R Kidwai, former Governor of Haryana
Satya Pal Malik, former Governor of Meghalaya, Odisha, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa
Kalraj Mishra, Governor of Rajasthan and former Governor Himanchal Pradesh
Syed Sibtey Razi, Governor of Jharkhand
Mohammad Yunus Saleem, former Governor of Bihar
Girish Chandra Saxena, former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir
K.M. Seth, former Governor of Chhattisgarh
Kalyan Singh, Governor of Rajasthan
Virendra Verma, former Governor of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh
Ram Naresh Yadav, former Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Chief Justices

Mirza Hameedullah Beg, former Chief Justice of India
Mohammad Hidayatullah, former Chief Justice of India
V. N. Khare, former Chief Justice of India
Kamal Narain Singh, former Chief Justice of India
Raghunandan Swarup Pathak, former Chief Justice of India
Kailas Nath Wanchoo, former Chief Justice of India

Chief Ministers

Political figures

Pre independence

Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, former President of Indian National Congress
Rajeshwar Bali, education minister (1924–1928)
Madan Mohan Malaviya
Jawaharlal Nehru
Motilal Nehru, Indian National Congress leader
Govind Ballabh Pant
Sampurnanand
Sahajanand Saraswati
Munishwar Dutt Upadhyay

Post independence

Laxmi Raman Acharya
Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Raj Babbar, member of Parliament
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna
Rajendra Kumari Bajpai (1925–1999), former cabinet minister^[37]
Dinanath Bhaskar, political leader; former minister
Ram Govind Chaudhary
Devendra Nath Dwivedi, Indian politician and Governor designate of Gujarat
Feroze Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Shyama Charan Gupta, politician, entrepreneur
Muzaffar Hasan, former Transport Minister, Indian National Congress party
Sriprakash Jaiswal, union minister
Kailash Nath Katju, former Union Home Minister and lawyer
Amrit Kaur, Gandhian, first lady Minister of India
Arif Mohammad Khan, political leader
Mohsina Kidwai
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Manohar Lal (b. 1938), UP MLA, cabinet minister^[38]
Sunder Lal
Marghoob Ahmad Lari, former State Minister of Tourism
Ram Manohar Lohia
Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Raj Narain
Kamal Nath, politician
Raj Mangal Pande
Govind Ballabh Pant
Suresh Pasi, ministries of housing, vocational education, skill development
Bacha Pathak, 7 time MLA from Bansdih constituency, 2 time cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh government
Thakur Ji Pathak, activist, Indian political leader
Kalpnath Rai
Sampurnanand, Ex-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ex-Prime Minister of India
Prakash Vir Shastri, member of Parliament and advocate of the Arya Samaj movement
Chandra Shekhar, former prime minister of India
Ishwar Chandra Shukla
Shiv Pratap Shukla, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Minister of state (finance), former Cabinet Minister (Government of Uttar Pradesh)
Ajit Singh, political leader
Charan Singh
Kalyan Singh, UP CM and Rajasthan Governor; BJP Vice President
Mahendra Singh Tikait, Kisan leader
Om Prakash Singh, Former chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand
Sanjay Singh
V. P. Singh, 7th prime minister of India
Kamlesh Tiwari, founder of Hindu Samaj Party, who insulted Muhammad, was imprisoned, and murdered after his release
N. D. Tiwari
Kamalapati Tripathi
K. C. Tyagi
Deendayal Upadhyaya
Beni Prasad Verma, former minister and leader
Ram Chandra Vikal, Deputy Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, President of Samajwadi Party
Mulayam Singh Yadav, former Defence Minister of India, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, founder of Samajwadi Party
Ram Naresh Yadav
Satyapal Singh Yadav, former union minister
Shyam Lal Yadav, former union minister and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Civil service / diplomacy

Indian Foreign Service

Asaf Ali, first Indian Ambassador to the United States
Girija Shankar Bajpai, first Secretary-General of Foreign Affairs
Braj Kumar Nehru, Indian diplomat and Ambassador of India to the United States
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Indian diplomat and politician; sister of Jawaharlal Nehru
Shilendra Kumar Singh, former Foreign Secretary of India; former Governor of Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh

Civil services

Afroz Ahmad, member of NCA, Government of India
Vijai Shankar Dubey is an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1966 cadre batch. He is the only IAS officer to have served as Chief Secretary of two states Bihar & Jharkhand.^[39]
Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner of India
Isha Basant Joshi, first woman to be appointed an IAS officer
Durga Shanker Mishra^[40]
Yogendra Narain, retired IAS officer. Former Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, Defence Secretary of India, Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh and Surface Transport Secretary of India.
Manzoor Alam Quraishi, former ICS of 1941 batch, Uttar Pradesh Cadre), born in Ballia
Baleshwar Rai
Vinod Rai, CAG
Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, bureaucrat
Dharma Vira, ICS, cabinet secretary and governor of West Bengal, Mysore
Neera Yadav^[41]
Vinod Kumar Yadav, first CEO of Railway Board^[42]

Indian Police Service

Business

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder and executive vice chairman of Info Edge which owns Naukri.com, a job portal,^[43] and the co-founder of Ashoka University.
Ponty Chadha
Sunil Duggal
Jaiprakash Gaur, (born c.1930) is an Indian entrepreneur. He founded and, until his retirement in 2010, was the chairman of Jaypee Group.
Himanshu Gupta, an Indian American energy policy expert, engineer and entrepreneur in climate change. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of ClimateAI.
Piyush Gupta, currently serving as the chief executive officer, and director of DBS Group, the largest bank in Southeast Asia by total assets.^[44]^[45]
Puran Chandra Gupta, was an Indian journalist who founded the Dainik Jagran media group and it Hindi-language publication Dainik Jagran.^[46]^[47]
Shyama Charan Gupta, founder of Shyam Group
Vinod Gupta, former CEO and chairman of InfoUSA; founder of Vinod Gupta School of Management
Khwaja Abdul Hamied
Shahnaz Husain, (born 1944) the founder, chairperson and managing director of The Shahnaz Husain Group.
Ashok Kumar Jain
Indu Jain, was the chairperson of India's largest media group, popularly known as The Times Group.
Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain
Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain
Sumit Jain, entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO Opentalk.to, Co-Founder and ex-CEO Commonfloor.com
Deepali Pant Joshi
Haji Kallan
Suneet Maheshwari
Samir Modi
Kapil Mohan
Narendra Mohan, was an Indian industrialist, chairman and managing director of the Jagran Prakashan, the publisher of the Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran^[48]
Bimla Poddar, is an Indian social worker, businessperson, philanthropist and the founder of Jnana Pravaha
Subrata Roy, founder of Sahara India
Meenakshi Sargogi
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm^[49] Chairperson of Paras Milk Pvt. Ltd.
Ajay S. Shriram
Gajendra Singh, CMD Saaibaba Telefilms; founder of Ganga Gauri Mahavidyalaya, Ramnagar, Baijabari, Azamgarh
Kushal Pal Singh, president of DLF Universal Group
Surendra Singh Nagar
Lala Kamlapat Singhania,^[50]^[51]^[52] (1884 – 1937) founder of the J. K. Organisation, one of India's largest conglomerates.
Saurabh Srivastava, entrepreneur, investment professional, institution builder and a former chairman of NASSCOM, a trade organization for the promotion of Indian IT industry.^[53]
Ishwar Das Varshnei, died 1948) was the father of the glass industry in India.

Educators / founders of educational institutions

Authors

Hindi

Agyeya
Parichay Das, essayist, poet, critic
Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Hindi novelist
Babu Gulabrai, Hindi writer
Bharatendu Harishchandra, Hindi writer
Sri Krishna Rai Hridyesh
Malik Muhammad Jayasi, author of Padmavat
Vidya Niwas Mishra, Hindi scholar
Amritlal Nagar, Hindi writer
Ravindra Prabhat, Hindi novelist
Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi writer
Munshi Premchand, novelist
Kuber Nath Rai
Vibhuti Narain Rai, Hindi writer
Viveki Rai
Rahi Masoom Raza, author of Topi Shukla and Adha Gaon
Rahul Sankrityayan, polyglot
Sahajanand Saraswati, author of books on sociology, freedom struggle, peasant movement, and autobiography
Sapan Saxena (b. 5 April 1985), novelist known for Finders, Keepers, UNNS-The Captivation and The Tenth Riddle
Vishnu Sharma, author of Panchtantra
Chatursen Shastri (1891–1960), Hindi writer
Ramchandra Shukla, Hindi writer and historian
Shrilal Shukla, writer of Raag Darbari
Vinod Kumar Shukla, writer
Kashinath Singh, Hindi writer
Amitabh Thakur Hindi writer
Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay, Hindi writer
Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi scholar and writer
Bhagwati Charan Verma, Hindi writer
Ramlochan Vishwakarma, Lok Writer
Rajendra Yadav, Hindi novelist
Yashpal, Hindi writer

Urdu

Ismat Chughtai, writer
Firaq Gorakhpuri
Qurratulain Hyder, writer of Aag Ka Darya
Ibn-e-Safi, novelist of Jasoosi Duniya
Syed Zillur Rahman, author of books on Unani medicine
Mirza Hadi Ruswa, author of Umrao Jaan

English

Leema Dhar, novelist, poet and columnist
Attia Hosain, English author and journalist
Ruchita Misra, author
Ajay K. Pandey, English author
Nayantara Sahgal, novelist and writer
Allan Sealy, novelist and writer
Anil Swarup, English author
Vikas Swarup, author of Q&A
Ira Trivedi is an Indian author, columnist, and yoga teacher. She writes both fiction and nonfiction, often on issues related to women and gender in India.

Poets

Hindi

Harikrishna Prasad Gupta Agrahari, poet
Harivansh Rai Bachchan, writer and poet
Virendra Kumar Baranwal, writer of Jinnah: ek punardrishti
Guru Bhakt Singh 'Bhakt'
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
Maithilisharan Gupt, modern Hindi poet
Kaka Hathrasi, humorous poet
Dushyant Kumar, Hindi poet
Gopaldas Neeraj, Hindi poet
Sumitranandan Pant, one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi
Jaishankar Prasad, one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi
Kuber Nath Rai, Lit Nibandh
Kedarnath Singh
Shivmangal Singh Suman
Suryakant Tripathi
Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay
Mahadevi Varma, a poet of the Chhayavaadi generation, a period of romanticism in modern Hindi poetry
Kumar Vishwas, Hindi Poet
Ramashankar Yadav, Hindi Poet

Urdu

Akbar Allahabadi, poet
Mir Anees, Urdu Marsiya poet
Kaifi Azmi, Urdu and Hindi lyricist, poet and songwriter
Khumar Barabankvi, Urdu poet
Brij Narayan Chakbast, Urdu poet
Ghalib, classical Urdu and Persian poet
Firaq Gorakhpuri, Urdu poet, winner of Jnanpith award
Altaf Hussain Hali, Urdu poet, biographer of Ghalib's life, and a commentator of his poetry
Ali Sardar Jafri, Urdu poet
Safi Lakhnavi, Urdu poet
Majaz Lakhnawi, Urdu poet
Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet
Mir Taqi Mir
Hasrat Mohani, Urdu poet
Jigar Moradabadi, Urdu poet
Masoom Moradabadi, journalist
Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, Urdu poet
Majrooh Sultanpuri, poet and lyricist
A. M. Turaz, Poet & Film writer
Bekal Utsahi, Urdu poet
Zaigham, Urdu poet who migrated to Bengal

Bhojpuri

Environmentalists

Afroz Ahmad, is an Indian environment scientist and a former civil servant.
Sunderlal Bahuguna (9 January 1927 – 21 May 2021) was an Indian environmentalist and Chipko movement leader.
Ranjit Bhargava, is an Indian environmentalist, known for his endeavors towards environmental conservation and his efforts for obtaining UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the upper Ganga region.^[54]
Anupam Mishra (1948 – 19 December 2016) was an Indian Gandhian, author, journalist, environmentalist, TED speaker, and water conservationist who worked on promoting water conservation, water management and traditional rainwater harvesting techniques.^[55]
Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalization author.^[56]
Billy Arjan Singh, as an Indian hunter turned conservationist and author. He was the first who tried to reintroduce tigers and leopards from captivity into the wild.

Scholars

Hasnain Baqai, Islamic scholar, thinker, reformer; known for his inclusive and broadminded interpretation of Islam; born in Safipur
Narendra Deva
Sudhakara Dvivedi was born in 1855 in Khajuri, a village near Varanasi. In childhood he studied mathematics under Pandit Devakrsna.
Divya Dwivedi, philosopher
Mushirul Hasan, historian
Masud Husain Khan, eminent linguist; first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University; fifth Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a central university in New Delhi
Renu Khator, Chancellor of the University of Houston System; President of the University of Houston; first Indian American to lead a major research university in the United States
Saket Kushwaha, educationist and agricultural economist of Banaras Hindu University, currently Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, former Vice Chancellor of Lalit Narayan Mithila University
Adya Prasad Pandey, notable economist of Banaras Hindu University and Currently Vice Chancellor of Manipur University
Arun Tiwari, missile scientist, author, professor
Raja Ram Yadav, educationist, Physicist, former Vice Chancellor of Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University

Fine arts

Basawan
Ranbir Singh Bisht
Sukumar Bose
Eric Bowen
Mallika Chabba
Vijay Gaur
Aman Singh Gulati, world's first almond artist
Arvind Gupta, Indian toy inventor, author, translator and scientist.
Prayag Jha
Govind Kanhai
Krishn Kanhai
Anil Karanjai
Imtiyaz Ali Khan
Yashodhar Mathpal
Gogi Saroj Pal
Mola Ram
Ram Chandra Shukla, painter
Frank Wesley

Journalism

Inderjit Badhwar (born 1943) is an Indian journalist, novelist and the former editor of India Today.^[57]^[58]
Aniruddha Bahal, investigative journalist
Dharamvir Bharati, former editor of Dharamyug magazine
Parichay Das, writer, essayist, poet and editor of contemporary Bhojpuri poetry
Feroze Gandhi, managing editor of National Herald
Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain, Times of India and Navbharat Times
Vinod Mehta, editor
Pankaj Mishra, journalist
Narendra Mohan, Dainik Jagran
Saeed Naqvi, journalist and TV producer
Arun Nehru, former minister and columnist
Ram Bahadur Rai, magazine editor
M. Chalapathi Rau, Indian journalist and an authority on Nehruvian thought
Raghuvir Sahay, editor of Dinmaan
Surendra Pratap Singh, editor of Ravivar

Sports

Badminton

Abhinn Shyam Gupta, former national badminton champion
Syed Modi, former national badminton champion

Baseball

Dinesh Patel, one of the first two Indians to sign a professional baseball contract in the United States
Rinku Singh, one of the first two Indians to sign a professional baseball contract in the United States

Basketball

Akanksha Singh (born 7 September 1989 in Varanasi) is an Indian basketball player and former captain of the India Women's National Basketball Team.
Divya Singh (born 21 July 1982) former captain of the India women's national basketball team.
Prashanti Singh (born 5 May 1984, in Varanasi), is a shooting guard for the India women's national basketball team.
Pratima Singh is a member of the India women's national basketball team,^[59] hailing from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Cricket

Surinder Amarnath
Parvinder Awana
Chetan Chauhan, former Test cricketer
Piyush Chawla
Priyam Garg
Rohan Gavaskar
Rajinder Hans
Narendra Hirwani
Yashasvi Jaiswal, cricketer
Dhruv Jurel, cricketer
Mohsin Khan (Indian cricketer), is an Indian cricketer.
Mohammad Kaif, international cricketer
Hemlata Kala, member of Indian women's cricket team
Obaid Kamal, cricketer
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, international cricketer
Praveen Kumar
Raman Lamba
Arun Lal, former Test cricketer
Shivam Mavi, cricketer
Shubham Mavi
Gyanendra Pandey, cricketer
Manoj Prabhakar, cricketer
Mohammed Shami, international cricketer
Deepti Sharma, International cricketer
Meghna Singh, International Cricketer
R. P. Singh, Rae Bareli (U.P.), international cricketer
Rinku Singh (cricketer)
Swapnil Singh, Rae Bareli (U.P.)
Suresh Raina, international cricketer
Sameer Rizvi, Uttar Pradesh cricketer.
Kartik Tyagi, fast-bowler cricketer
Sudeep Tyagi
Kuldeep Yadav, cricketer, Kanpur (U.P.)
Poonam Yadav, International Cricketer
Suryakumar Yadav, international cricketer
Umesh Yadav, Deoria (U.P.), Indian cricketer
Vijay Yadav, international cricketer
Ashish Zaidi, cricketer

Hockey

Dhyan Chand, former international field hockey player, awarded the Padma Bhushan
Zafar Iqbal, former captain and chief coach of the Indian hockey team
Mohammed Shahid, member of the Indian team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow; awarded Arjuna Award in 1980 and Padma Shri in 1986
Jagbir Singh, captain of National Hockey team in 1988 and 1992 Olympics; awarded Arjuna Award in 1990
K. D. Singh, former national hockey player and Olympian

Wrestling

Other sports

Arjun Bhati, golfer
Varun Singh Bhati, para athlete
Saurabh Chaudhary, shooter
Pawan Gupta, sanda fighter
Moraad Ali Khan, shooter
Praveen Kumar
Satish Kumar, Boxing
Ghaus Mohammad, tennis player, the first Indian Wimbledon Championships quarterfinalist
Jitu Rai, shooter
Jaspal Rana, shooter
Ankit Sharma, long jumper born in Pinahat.
Annu Raj Singh, shooter
Nitin Tomar, Kabaddi
Abhishek Yadav, footballer
Punam Yadav, weightlifting
Ram Singh Yadav, Marathon runner, represented India at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Music dance

Musicians

Begum Akhtar, ghazal singer
Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, musicologist
Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), tabla player
Hariprasad Chaurasia, bansuri player
Bismillah Khan, shehnai player, awarded the Bharat Ratna^[19] (2001)
Kishan Maharaj, tabla player
Vikash Maharaj, sarod player, awarded the Karmveer, Shiromani, Manishi Ratn, and the Yash Bharti.
Gopal Shankar Misra, vichitra veena player
Lalmani Misra, Indian classical musician
Naushad, music director; awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contributions to Indian cinema
Nucleya, known by his name Udyan Sagar, is an Indian electronic music producer.^[60]^[61]
Cliff Richard, English singer
Ravi Shankar, sitar player, awarded the Bharat Ratna^[19] in 1999; recipient of three Grammy Awards

Singers

Abhijeet Bhattacharya, from Kanpur
Girija Devi, Indian Banaras Gharana singer
Siddheshwari Devi, Hindustani singer from Banares, known as Maa (mother)
Ravindra Jain
Anup Jalota, Ghazal and Bhajan singer
Purshottam Das Jalota (1925–2011), bhajan singer, Padma Shri (2004)
Kanika Kapoor, from Lucknow
Sharafat Hussain Khan, from Atrauli
Kailash Kher, from Meerut
Talat Mahmood, ghazal singer
Shubha Mudgal, singer
Harshit Saxena, singer
Ankit Tiwari, from Kanpur

Folk singers

Rappers

Hard Kaur, from Kanpur
Baba Sehgal

Dancers

Sitara Devi
Birju Maharaj, Kathak exponent
Lachhu Maharaj, Kathak exponent
Uday Shankar
Kapila Vatsyayan, scholar of Indian classical dance

Cinema and theatre

Actors and actresses

Directors/producers

Singers

Lyricists

Composers

Theatre related

Cinematographers

Story / script / dialogue writers

Navratnas

Birbal, jester and poet of Akbar's court
Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, Hindi poet and a Navratna of Akbar
Todar Mal, Finance Minister and one of the Navratnas of Akbar

Television

Satire, comedy, cartoons

Akbar Allahabadi, poet and satirist
Anubhav Singh Bassi, actor, YouTuber and stand-up comedian. His standup career started after an open mic in 2017.^[62]^[63]
Kaka Hathrasi, satirist
Kaak (b. 1940, Harish Chandra Shukla), cartoonist
K. P. Saxena
Raju Srivastav, actor and stand up comedian
Aseem Trivedi (born 17 February 1987) is an Indian political cartoonist and activist, known for his anti corruption campaign Cartoons Against Corruption
Tun Tun, comedian
Rajpal Yadav, actor and comedian

Photographers

Darogha Ubbas Alli (aka Darogha Abbas Ali) was a 19th-century Indian engineer and photographer.
Lala Deen Dayal, Indian photographer
Farhat Basir Khan (born 1957) is an Indian photographer.
Tarun Khiwal (born 1967), Indian fashion and commercial photographer
Richa Maheshwari is a Delhi-based fashion photographer.
Virendra Prabhakar (1928 – 2015) was an Indian press photojournalist, cited by the Limca Book of Records as the longest serving press photojournalist.^[64]
Devi Prasad (1921 – 2011) was an Indian artist and peace activist. He was a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist.^[65]

Criminals

Others

Malini Agarwal (born 26 May 1977), also known as "MissMalini", is an Indian digital influencer, TV host, entrepreneur, and author.
Sampat Pal Devi, women's rights activist
Sheila Dikshit, former Chief Minister of Delhi
Shiv Prasad Gupta (28 June 1883 – 24 April 1944) was a visionary, philanthropist, a leader of the Indian Freedom Movement and the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth.
Jayachandra, historical figure
Abdul Karim, Munshi to Queen Victoria
Tabassum Mansoor, Indian educationist in Libya
Rahul Mishra (born 1979), fashion designer
Acharya Prashant, is an Indian author and Advaita teacher. He teaches seventeen forms of Gita and sixty forms of Upanishads.
Begum Samru, historical figure
Deep Tyagi, pioneer of family planning programme in India
Mohammad Waliullah was a senior judge of the Allahabad High Court in India.

Photo gallery

Abdul Hamid's bust at Param Yodha Sthal, National War Memorial, New Delhi
Jadunath Singh's statue at Param Yodha Sthal, National War Memorial, New Delhi
Param Vir Chakra Awardee Yogendra Yadav at India Gate on Kargil Vijay Divas, 2018
Manoj Pandey's statue at Param Yodha Sthal, National War Memorial, New Delhi
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Poonam Yadav bowling for India against Bangladesh during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Suresh Raina
Surya in Kolkata Knight Riders apparel during the 2017 Indian Premier League

Ancient

Medieval

Modern

Nawab of Awadh

Banaras state

Kohra estate

18th century

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Later 19th and 20th centuries

Param Vir Chakra

Maha Vir Chakra

Ashok Chakra

Bharat Ratna

Padma Vibhushan

Padma Bhushan

Padma Shree

Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Gyananpith Awards

Magasaysay Award

Arjuna Award

Major Dhyan Chand Award

Army

Air force

Navy

President

Vice President

Prime Ministers

Prime Ministers of other countries

President of other countries

Governors

Chief Justices

Chief Ministers

Pre independence

Post independence

Indian Foreign Service

Civil services

Indian Police Service

Hindi

Urdu

English

Hindi

Urdu

Bhojpuri

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Cricket

Hockey

Wrestling

Other sports

Musicians

Singers

Folk singers

Rappers

Dancers

Actors and actresses

Directors/producers

Singers

Lyricists

Composers

Theatre related

Cinematographers

Story / script / dialogue writers

Notes

Citations

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