Entering into politics and becoming a popular leader is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes all blood and sweat to be able to connect with people. Especially, when you do not have any prior links in politics. But, India has many common people who grew up from scratch and became great leaders. To honour them, we have got a list of top 15 common people who later became famous political leaders.
Top 15 Common Indians Who Became Famous Leaders
1. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Being born in a normal Brahmin family, this leader had a long journey with Indian politics. Apart from being a great leader, Mr Vajpayee has always been known for his activism, literature, and the unconditional love for the nation. The man took over the PM chair three times in his political career. He was also honoured with valuable awards like Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.
2. Lal Bahadur Shastri
A boy born in the small town of Mughalsarai became the second prime minister of India. Yes, we are talking about one of the greatest Indian prime minster Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. A small kid who walked barefooted in the filthy summers because of poverty brought the white revolution in India. At the age of sixteen, he had left his home to participate in the Non-cooperation Movement.
3. Narendra Modi
Very few children have the dedication to doing something good for the nation. And Narendra Modi was one of them as he joined RSS at the age of mere eight years. From owning a small tea stall in the Vadnagar to becoming the face of India, the man has covered a long journey. Over the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, he launched the Swacch Bharat Campaign. Military power has been believed to increase under the leadership of Modi.
4. Arvind Kejriwal
It is hard to enter and make a name in politics with no prior background. But an IIT graduate plus an Indian Revenue Service officer has made this tough thing possible. This man is Arvind Kejriwal who formed the Aam Admi Party. He entered into politics for approving the Jan Lokpal Bill. This motive of him led him to become the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi.
5. Dr S Radhakrishnan
Dr S RadhaKrishnan was the second president of India. He was a great philosopher and scholar of his time. He was a part of many esteemed institutions as a reputed position holder. Between the years 1946 and 1952, he represented India in UNESCO.
6. BR Ambedkar
Babasaheb Ambedkar is known for drafting the entire constitution of India. In his childhood, he had seen children of lower caste being treated as untouchables. This led him to work for equality amongst citizens. In addition to a great politician, Ambedkar was a great economist also. The foundation of RBI is based on the ideas of BR Ambedkar itself.
7. Dr Rajendra Prasad
An eminent scholar, teacher, and lawyer gave up his career for the independence of his nation. Dr Rajendra Prasad was a common man who had a bright mind in terms of academics. But, people remember him as the first president of the Republic of India. He is also the only president who was elected two times and served two full terms as the prime minister of India.
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8. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam i.e. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was the Missile Man of India. He was the youngest amongst all his siblings in a poor family. But, the hurdles of poverty never deviated him from the path of learning. He holds a major share in the development of ISRO and various missile development programs. He is one of the most loved presidents of India. In the year 1997, he received the highest civilian honour of India Bharat Ratna. A bacterium Solibacillus kalamii discovered in the ISS(International Space Station) has been named after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
9. Lal Krishna Advani
After being born and brought up in Karachi, Advani’s family moved to India during Partition. He completed his further education in Bombay where he found some mates and then joined the Bhartiya Jan Sangh. This party played a significant role at the time of Indira Gandhi’s emergency.
10. Sardar Vallabhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhai Patel is also known as the Iron Man of India. Back in 1918, he led a movement named “No Tax Campaign” with the farmers. This movement aimed at retrieving the British occupied land of farmers. The victory of this movement gave him the prominent title of Sardar. Vallabhai must have acquired qualities like leadership, patriotism, intelligence from his father. Because his father did fight in the army of Jhansi ki Rani.
11. Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj is one of the most loved ministers of India. She was even titled “Super Mom of India” by The Washington Post. The lady served as the youngest Cabinet Minister of India. Her dedication to the nation is evident from her work. She continued to work in 2016 even right after her Kidney Transplant. It was Sushma Swaraj who made Film Making an Industry to help producers and directors get legit loans.
12. Biju Patnaik
Biju Patnaik was the security advisor to the first prime minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru. In the 1947 Indo-Pak war, he flew the plane and brought 17 Sikh regiment soldiers to Srinagar Airport. He is an immense pilot and a great leader who believed in social equality amongst citizens. The people of Orissa loved him so much that he was elected as the Chief Minister of Odisha twice.
13. Manohar Parikar
Manohar Parrikar was the first MLA who graduated from IIT. In his final years of graduation, he became an active member of the RSS unit of Goa. He was elected as the chief minister of Goa four times. His duty as the defence minter of India was also astounding.
14. Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh is counted amongst the prominent leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He joined the RSS at the age of 13 and slowly stepped into the field of politics. As the education minister of UP, he introduced the famous Anti-copying law. In 2013, he was even selected as the BJP president.
15. Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala Sitharaman was the first female full-time finance and defence minister of India. She lived her initial life as a very common girl. From a normal sales girl to the finance minister of India, the lady had come a long way.
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