List of people from Uttar Pradesh

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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[]

• Aranath (birthplace: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), 18th Teerthankar of Jainism
• Lord Shree Krishna (birthplace: Mathura) deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism
• Kunthunath (birthplace: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), 17th Teerthankar of Jainism
• Lakshmana (birthplace: Ayodhya), brother and close companion of Rama; a hero in the epic Ramayana
• Neminath (birthplace: Mathura), 22nd Teerthanks of Jainism
• Parashuram (birthplace: Ghazipur), was an avatar of Vishnu
• Parsvanatha (birthplace: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), was 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism
• Rama (birthplace: Ayodhya), legendary or historical king of ancient India; in Hinduism, he is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu
• Shantinath (birthplace: Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh), 16th Teerthankar of Jainism
• Shreyansnath (birthplace: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), 11th Teerthankar of Jainism

• 

  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 Jain temple in Bhelupur, Varanasi

• 

  Lord Rama with arrows

• 

  Statue of Shreyansanatha at Jain Temple, Sarnath

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

• 

  Vyasa

Yogis, Sufi poets and mystics[]

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

Poet-saints and religious figures[]

• Narottama Dasa
• Devraha Baba, Yogi Allahabad
• Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya, Vaishnava scholar and Sanskrit commentator on the Prasthanatrayi, Jaunpur.
• Malik Mohammad Jayasi
• Ramanand, founder of the Rāmānandī sect Prayag (in modern Allahabad)
• Raskhan
• Sant Ravidas, poet and saint, Varanasi
• Shiv Dayal Singh, Guru Maharaj of Radhasoamis, Agra
• Sur, blind Hindu poet, saint and musician born in Runkata near Agra
• Swami Karpatri, teacher of Advaita, popularly known as Dharma Samrat, Gorakhpur
• Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan sect, Gonda
• Tulsidas, composer of the Ramcharitmanas

Rulers and generals[]

Ancient[]

• Keśin Dālbhya, king of Panchal
• Pravahana Jaivali
• Pasenadi, King of Kosala
• Virudhaka
• Chandragupta I, Emperor of India
• Samudragupta, Emperor of India
• Chandragupta II, Emperor of India
• Kumaragupta I
• Skandagupta

Medieval[]

• Rajyavardhana
• Harsha

Modern[]

Mughals[]

• Jahangir

Nawab of Awadh[]

• Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, fourth Nawab, founder of modern Lucknow
• Wajid Ali Shah, poet, choreographer, the last King of Awadh

Banaras state[]

• Balwant Singh
• Prabhu Narayan Singh
• Prabhu Narayan Singh
• Vibhuti Narayan Singh

Independence fighters[]

Indian Rebellion of 1857[]

• Mangal Pandey, one of the earliest independence fighters of 1857
• Chandra Shekhar Azad Chandra Shekhar Tiwari, India's one of the top most Freedom Fighter
• Bakht Khan, nominal commander-in-chief of Indian rebel forces in the Indian Rebellion of 1857
• Amar Shahid Bandhu Singh, fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was from Dumari Riyasat of Gorakhpur
• Begum Hazrat Mahal, widow of the last Nawab of Awadh; Indian independence fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857
• Lal Pratap Singh, fighter in Indian Rebellion of 1857 and Yuvraj of Kalakankar
• Maulvi Liaquat Ali, Indian independence fighter of 1857 from Allahabad; captured the Khusro Bagh in Allahabad and declared the independence of India
• Rani Lakshmibai, Rani (Queen) of Jhansi
• 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
• Jhalkari Bai Koli, Great Indian freedom fighter of 1857; fought against British rule; Commander of Army of Jhansi
• Dhan Singh Gurjar, main freedom fighter of 1857 revolt from Meerut

Later 19th and 20th centuries[]

• Acharya Narendra Dev, socialist
• Asaf Ali, independence fighter
• Ashfaqullah Khan of Kakori, Indian independence fighter; member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association; close associate of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad
• Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian independence fighter, member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
• Chittu Pandey, independence fighter
• Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, independence fighter, journalist
• Govind Ballabh Pant, Indian independence fighter and politician; Chief Minister of the United Provinces; Bharat Ratna recipient^[1]
• Hasrat Mohani, independence fighter and poet
• Laxmi Raman Acharya, freedom fighter accused of the case
• Mahavir Tyagi, independence fighter
• Maulana Mohammad Ali, independence fighter
• Maulana Shaukat Ali, independence fighter
• Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, independence fighter, Ghazipur
• Munishwar Dutt Upadhyay of Pratapgarh, Indian Independence fighter; two time Member of Parliament
• Purushottam Das Tandon, independence fighter
• Roshan Singh, (kaakori conspiracy) independence fighter
• Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Indian independence fighter and socialist
• Raja Mahendra Pratap, King of Hathras Princely State, known as Aryan Peshwa
• Rajendra Lahiri, independence fighter
• Ram Manohar Lohia, socialist
• Ram Prasad Bismil Indian independence fighter and socialist (Kakori conspiracy)
• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, freedom fighter.
• Dhan Singh Gurjar, first freedom fighter of 10 May 1857 Mutiny
• Vijay Singh Pathik
• Rao Umrao Singh Bhati of Dadri

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
• Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav, of Aurangabad, Bulandshaher; hero of Tiger Hill in Kargil war

Maha Vir Chakra[]

• Brigadier Mohammad Usman Azamgarh
• Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla
• Lance Naik Ram Ugrah Pandey
• Air Chief Marshall Swaroop Krishna Kaul

Ashok Chakra[]

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

Bharat Ratna[]

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

Padma Vibhushan[]

• Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan
• Amitabh Bachchan
• Kishan Maharaj
• Uday Shankar

Padma Bhushan[]

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

Padma Shree[]

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

Dada Saheb Phalke Award[]

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

Gyananpith Awards[]

• Akhlaq Mohammed Khan
• Ali Sardar Jafri, writer and poet
• Amarkant
• Firaq Gorakhpuri, poet
• Mahadevi Verma, poet
• Qurratulain Hyder, writer
• Sri Lal Sukla

Magasaysay Award[]

• Rajendra Singh, water conservationist
• Sandeep Pandey

Arjuna Award[]

• Abhinn Shyam Gupta, badminton
• Ashish Kumar, gymnastics
• Jagbir Singh, hockey
• Moraad Ali Khan, shooter
• Syed Modi, badminton
• Varun Bhati,^[2]

Major DhyanChand Award[]

• Rajkumar Baisla, (Wrestling) from Vill. Mewla Bhatti, Ghaziabad^[3]

Science and medicine[]

• Anil K. Rajvanshi, sustainability and rural development expert
• Afroz Ahmad, environmental scientist and administrator
• Harish-Chandra (Mehrotra), mathematician who did fundamental work in representation theory, especially harmonic analysis on semisimple Lie groups
• Atul Kumar, CSIR-CDRI (inventor of anti-osteoporosis drug)
• Lalji Singh, molecular biologist
• P. K . Sethi, inventor of "Jaipur Foot"
• Prem Chand Pandey, scientist, physicist, meteorologist, oceanographer
• Kazi Mobin-Uddin, inventor of Inferior vena cava filter
• Shahid Jameel, Indian virologist
• Hassan Nasiem Siddiquie, Indian marine geologist and former director of the National Institute of Oceanography.
• Mriganka Sur, Indian-born neuroscientist working in the United States
• Digvijai Singh
• Sri Niwas, Indian geophysicist.
• Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, organic chemist specialising in natural product chemistry
• Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change^[4]
• Ravindra Khattree, statistician who worked in statistical inference, multivariate analysis, experimental designs, biostatistics and quality control
• Syed Ziaur Rahman, medical pharmacologist
• Rajeev Kumar Varshney, agricultural scientist, genomics specialist, biotechnologist
• Zahoor Qasim, oceanographer, leader of first Indian expedition to Antarctica

Holders of high offices[]

President[]

• Ram Nath Kovind, 14th President of India

Vice President[]

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

Prime ministers[]

• Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[1]
• Lal Bahadur Shastri, second Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[1]
• Indira Gandhi, fourth Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[1]
• Choudhary Charan Singh, fifth Prime Minister of India
• Rajiv Gandhi, sixth prime minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[1]
• Vishwanath Pratap Singh, eighth Prime Minister of India
• Chandra Shekhar, ninth Prime Minister of India
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee. eleventh Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee^[1]

Governors[]

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

Chief Justices[]

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

Chief Ministers[]

• Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari
• Govind Ballabh Pant
• Sampurnanand
• Sucheta Kripalani
• Chandra Bhanu Gupta
• Choudhary Charan Singh
• Tribhuvan Narain Singh
• Kamalapati Tripathi
• Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna
• Narayan Dutt Tiwari
• Ram Naresh Yadav
• Banarsi Das
• Vishwanath Pratap Singh
• Sripati Mishra
• Vir Bahadur Singh
• Mulayam Singh Yadav
• Kalyan Singh
• Ram Prakash Gupta
• Rajnath Singh
• Mayawati
• Akhilesh Yadav
• Yogi Adityanath

Political figures[]

Pre Independence[]

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

Post Independence[]

• Akhilesh Das, union minister
• Akhilesh Yadav
• Amar Mani
• Arif Mohammad Khan, political leader
• Beni Prasad Verma, former minister and leader
• Chandra Shekhar, former prime minister of India
• Chaudhary Ajit Singh, political leader
• Choudhary Charan Singh
• Dinanath Bhaskar, political leader; former minister
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
• Devendra Nath Dwivedi, Indian politician and Governor designate of Gujarat
• Feroze Gandhi
• Govind Ballabh Pant
• Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna
• Indira Gandhi
• Kalyan Singh, UP CM and Rajasthan Governor; BJP Vice President
• K.C. Tyagi
• Kailash Nath Katju, former Union Home Minister and lawyer
• Kalpnath Rai
• Kamal Nath, politician
• Kamlesh Paswan, politician
• Kamlesh Tiwari, founder of Hindu Samaj Party, who insulted Muhammad, was imprisoned, and murdered after his release
• Kamalapati Tripathi
• Laxmi Raman Acharya
• Mahendra Singh Tikait, Kisan leader
• Manohar Lal (b. 1938), UP MLA, cabinet minister^[5]
• Mohsina Kidwai
• Mulayam Singh Yadav
• Mayawati
• Narayan Dutt Tiwari
• Om Prakash Singh
• Prakash Vir Shastri, member of Parliament and advocate of the Arya Samaj movement
• Sanjay Singh, King of Amethi
• Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
• Raj Babbar, member of Parliament
• Raj Narain
• Raja Bhaiya
• Rajeev Shukla, journalist and political leader
• Rajendra Kumari Bajpai (1925–1999), former cabinet minister^[6]
• Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Gandhian, first lady Minister of India
• Ram Govind Chaudhary
• Bacha Pathak, 7 time MLA from Bansdih constituency, 2 time cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh government
• Ram Manohar Lohia
• Ram Naresh Yadav
• Satyapal Singh Yadav, former union minister
• Satyaveer Munna
• Sheila Kaul
• Shriprakash Jaiswal, union minister
• Shiv Pratap Shukla, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Minister of state (finance), former Cabinet Minister (Government of Uttar Pradesh)
• Shyama Charan Gupta, politician, entrepreneur
• Shyamlal Yadav, former union minister and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
• Sunder Lal
• Suresh Pasi, ministries of housing, vocational education, skill development
• Ram Chandra Vikal, Deputy Chief Minister
• Vishwanath Pratap Singh, 7th prime minister of India
• Ajai Rai, 5 time MLA from Varanasi

Authors[]

Hindi[]

• Acharya Chatursen (1891–1960), Hindi writer
• Acharya Kuber Nath Rai
• Amitabh Thakur Hindi writer
• Amritlal Nagar, Hindi writer
• Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay, Hindi writer
• Babu Gulabrai, Hindi writer
• Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi scholar and writer
• Bhagwati Charan Verma, Hindi writer
• Bharatendu Harishchandra, Hindi writer
• Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Hindi novelist
• Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi writer
• Kashi Nath Singh, Hindi writer
• Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, polyglot
• Malik Muhammad Jayasi, author of Padmavat
• Munshi Prem Chand, novelist
• Rahi Masoom Raza, author of Topi Shukla and Adha Gaon
• Rajendra Yadav, Hindi novelist
• Ramchandra Shukla, Hindi writer and historian
• Parichay Das, essayist, poet, critic
• Ravindra Prabhat, Hindi novelist
• Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan
• Shrilal Shukla, writer of Raag Darbari
• Sri Krishna Rai Hridyesh
• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, author of books on sociology, religion, freedom struggle, peasant movement, and autobiography
• Vibhuti Narain Rai, Hindi writer
• Vidya Niwas Mishra, Hindi scholar
• Vinod Kumar Shukla, writer
• Vishnu Sarma, author of Panchtantra
• Viveki Rai
• Yashpal, Hindi writer

Urdu[]

• Firaq Gorakhpuri
• Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, author of books on Unani medicine
• Ibne Safi, novelist of Jasoosi Duniya
• Ismat Chugtai, writer
• Mirza Hadi Ruswa, author of Umrao Jaan
• Qurratulain Hyder, writer of Aag Ka Darya

English[]

• Leema Dhar, novelist, poet and columnist
• Attia Hosain, English author and journalist
• Ajay K. Pandey, English author
• Nayantara Sahgal, novelist and writer
• Allan Sealy, novelist and writer
• Vikas Swarup, author of Q&A

Poets[]

Urdu[]

• Akbar Allahabadi, poet
• Ali Sardar Jafri, Urdu poet
• Bekal Utsahi, Urdu poet
• Brij Narayan Chakbast, Urdu poet
• Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, Urdu poet
• Firaq Gorakhpuri, Urdu poet, winner of Jnanpith award
• Hasrat Mohani, Urdu poet
• Jigar Moradabadi, Urdu poet
• Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet
• Kaifi Azmi, Urdu and Hindi lyricist, poet and songwriter
• Khumar Barabankvi, Urdu poet
• Majaz, Urdu poet
• Majrooh Sultanpuri, poet and lyricist
• Maulana Hali, Urdu poet, biographer of Ghalib's life, and a commentator of his poetry
• Mir Anis, Urdu Marsiya poet
• Mir Taqi Mir
• Mirza Ghalib, classical Urdu and Persian poet
• Safi Lakhnavi, Urdu poet
• Zaigham, Urdu poet who migrated to Bengal

Hindi[]

• Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Lit Nibandh
• Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay
• Gopal Das Neeraj, Hindi poet
• Guru Bhakt Singh 'Bhakt'
• Harikrishna Prasad Gupta Agrahari, poet
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan, writer and poet
• Jaishankar Prasad, one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi
• Kaka Hathrasi, humorous poet
• Virendra Kumar Baranwal, writer of Jinnah: ek punardrishti
• Kedarnath Singh
• Mahadevi Varma, a major poet of the Chhayavaadi generation, a period of romanticism in modern Hindi poetry; won the Jnanpith award in 1982
• Maithilisharan Gupt, modern Hindi poet
• Shivmangal Singh Suman
• Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
• Sumitranandan Pant, one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi
• Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'
• Kumar Vishwas

Bhojpuri[]

• Parichay Das
• Viveki Rai

Founders of educational institutions[]

• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University
• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, founder of Banaras Hindu University
• Jagdish Gandhi, founder of the City Montessori School

Defence services[]

Army[]

• Abdul Hamid, four Grenadiers, Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[7]
• Brigadier Mohammad Usman, recipient of Maha Vir Chakra
• K.M. Seth
• Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah
• Manoj Kumar Pandey, 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[7]
• Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18th Grenadiers of the Indian Army, Param Vir Chakra recipient^[7]
• Asaram Tyagi, Mahavir Chakra in Indo-Pak war of 1965

Air Force[]

• 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
• Norman Anil Kumar Browne, Air Chief Marshal (Retd)
• S.P. Tyagi, Air Chief Marshal (Retd)
• Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Air Chief Marshal, 26th Chief of the Air Staff (India)

Navy[]

• Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla

Civil service / diplomacy[]

Indian Foreign Service[]

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

Civil services[]

• Afroz Ahmad, member of NCA, Government of India
• Baleshwar Rai
• Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, bureaucrat
• Dharma Vira, ICS, cabinet secretary and governor of West Bengal, Mysore
• Isha Basant Joshi, first woman to be appointed an IAS officer
• Vinod Rai, CAG
• Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner of India

Music and dance[]

Musicians[]

• Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), tabla player
• Begum Akhtar, ghazal singer
• Bismillah Khan, shehnai player, awarded the Bharat Ratna^[1] (2001)
• Cliff Richard, English singer
• Gopal Shankar Misra, vichitra veena player
• Hari Prasad Chaurasia, bansuri player
• Kishan Maharaj, tabla player
• Lalmani Misra, Indian classical musician
• Naushad Ali, music director; awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contributions to Indian cinema
• Ravi Shankar, sitar player, awarded the Bharat Ratna^[1] in 1999; recipient of three Grammy awards
• Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, musicologist
• Vikash Maharaj sarod player

Singers[]

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

Rappers[]

• Hard Kaur, from Kanpur
• Baba Sehgal

Dancers[]

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

Sports[]

Hockey[]

• Dhyan Chand, former international field hockey player, awarded the Padma Bhushan
• Zafar Iqbal, former international captain of the Indian hockey team and Chief coach of Indian hockey team
• K. D. Singh, former national hockey player and Olympian
• Mohammed Shahid, former international field hockey player; 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 and member of National Hockey team in 1988 and 1992 Olympics; awarded Arjuna Award in 1990

Baseball[]

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

Cricket[]

• Arun Lal, former Test cricketer
• Ashish Zaidi, cricketer
• Obaid Kamal, cricketer
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar, international cricketer
• Chetan Chauhan, former Test cricketer
• Gyanendra Pandey, cricketer
• Hemlata Kala, member of Indian women's cricket team
• Manoj Prabhakar, cricketer
• Mohammed Kaif, international cricketer
• Mohammed Shami, international cricketer
• Narendra Hirwani
• Piyush Chawla
• Priyam Garg
• Praveen Kumar
• Parvinder Awana
• R. P. Singh, Rae Bareli (U.P.), international cricketer
• Swapnil Singh, Rae Bareli (U.P.)
• Rajinder Hans
• Raman Lamba
• Rohan Gavaskar
• Sudip Tyagi
• Suresh Raina, international cricketer
• Surinder Amarnath
• Umesh Yadav, Deoria (U.P.), Indian cricketer
• Kuldeep Yadav, cricketer
• Shivam Mavi, cricketer
• Shubham Mavi
• Yashasvi Jaiswal

Badminton[]

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

Other sports[]

• Annu Raj Singh, shooter
• Moraad Ali Khan, shooter
• Ghaus Mohammad, tennis player, the first Indian to reach quarterfinal of The Championships, Wimbledon
• Jaspal Rana, shooter
• Jitu Rai, shooter
• Varun Singh Bhati, para athlete
• Pawan Gupta (wushu), sanda fighter
• Nitin Tomar, Kabaddi
• Arjun Bhati, golfer
• Rinku Singh, Wrestler
• Saurabh Chaudhary, shooter

Journalism[]

• Aniruddha Bahal, investigative journalist
• Arun Nehru, former minister and columnist
• Dharamvir Bharati, former editor of Dharamyug magazine
• Feroze Gandhi, managing editor of National Herald
• Manikonda Chalapathi Rau, Indian journalist and an authority on Nehruvian thought
• Narendra Mohan, Dainik Jagran
• Pankaj Mishra, journalist
• Parichay Das, writer, essayist, poet and editor of contemporary Bhojpuri poetry
• Raghuvir Sahay, editor of Dinmaan
• Ram Bahadur Rai, magazine editor
• Saeed Naqvi, journalist and TV producer
• Sahu Ramesh Chandra Jain, Times of India and Navbharat Times
• Surendra Pratap Singh, editor of Ravivar
• Vinod Mehta, editor

Satire, comedy, cartoons[]

• Akbar Allahabadi, poet and satirist
• K. P. Saxena
• Kaak (b. 1940, Harish Chandra Shukla), cartoonist
• Kaka Hathrasi, satirist
• Raju Srivastava, actor and stand up comedian
• Tuntun, comedian

Cinema and theatre[]

Actors and actresses[]

• Amir Khan, actor; parents from Hardoi
• Aarun Nagar, actor and director
• Anushka Sharma, actress
• Disha Patani, actress
• Jimmy Shergill, actor
• Abhishek Bachchan, actor
• Urvashi Rautela, actor
• Ankit Tiwari, singer
• Mika Singh, singer
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui, actor

• Achint Kaur, Indian television actress
• Aditi Sharma, Bollywood actress
• Aditya Srivastava, actor and voiceover artist
• Akshay Oberoi, actor
• Ali Fazal, actor
• Amit Sial, Bollywood
• Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood actor awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001
• Anushka Sharma
• Archana Puran Singh, actress
• Arun Govil
• Ashutosh Rana, Indian film actor
• Chandrachur Singh, actor
• Disha Patani, actress from Bareilly
• Lara Dutta
• Pooja Batra
• Jimmy Shergill
• Rajpal Yadav
• Javed Jaffrey
• Dalip Tahil
• Zohra Segal
• Vivek Mushran
• Raj Babbar
• Tom Alter
• Kumar Gaurav
• Raza Murad
• Chunky Pandey
• Mandakini
• Nivedita Bhattacharya
• Dipti Bhatnagar
• Kamal Rashid Khan
• Nandini Singh
• Jaddanbai, actor
• K.N. Singh, actor
• Kadar Khan, actor
• Marc Zuber, actor
• Meenakshi Dixit, actress from Rae Bareli
• Naseeruddin Shah, actor; born in Barabanki district of Lucknow division, U.P.
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui, actor
• Nimmi, film actress in the 1950s
• Ravi Kishan, Bhojpuri film actor
• Saurabh Shukla, Bollywood actor
• Shweta Tiwari, Indian television actress
• Siddharth Nigam, Indian teen actor
• Sonal Chauhan, Bollywood actress
• Surinder Pal, actor
• Sushant Singh, actor
• Tanveer Zaidi, actor, educationist
• Tuntun, comedy actress
• Urvashi Rautela
• Vedita Pratap Singh, model and actress
• Vishwajeet Pradhan, Bollywood actor
• Vineet Kumar Singh, actor
• Zakir Hussain, Indian film actor
• Zoya Afroz, Bollywood actress
• Harsh Nagar, Bollywood actor

Directors/producers[]

• Aarun Nagar, director^[8]
• Abhinav Kashyap, director
• Abhishek Chaubey, director
• Anurag Kashyap, director
• Farhan Akhtar, director
• Gajendra Singh, editor, director and producer
• K. Asif, film director, film producer and screenwriter
• Kamal Amrohi, director
• Prakash Mehra, director
• Prasoon Pandey, director
• Shaad Ali, film director
• Tigmanshu Dhulia, director
• Vishal Bhardwaj, director
• Zoya Akhtar, director

Singers[]

• Ankit Tiwari, singer
• Abhijeet Bhattacharya, singer
• Ravindra Jain
• Anup Jalota
• Baba Sehgal
• Kavita Seth
• Begum Akhtar
• Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay
• Kabban Mirza
• Malini Awasthi
• Kanika Kapoor
• Rajkumari Dubey
• Sunidhi Chauhan
• Talat Mahmood
• Vidup Agrahari

Lyricists[]

• Sameer Anjaan
• Ali Sardar Jafri
• Ravindra Jain
• Anjaan
• Indeevar
• Javed Akhtar
• Kaifi Azmi
• Khumar Barabankvi
• Majrooh Sultanpuri
• Sameer
• Shakeel Badayuni
• Manoj Muntashir
• Santosh Anand

Composers[]

• Anand Milind
• Naushad Ali
• Shantanu Moitra

Theatre[]

• Arvind Gaur
• Nadira Babbar
• Sushil Kumar Singh

Cinematographers[]

• Ravikant Nagaich

Story/script/dialogue writers[]

• Javed Siddiqi, film script writer
• K. P. Saxena, dialogue writer of Lagaan, Swades
• S. Ali Raza
• Wajahat Mirza

Navratnas[]

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

Television[]

• Pavitra Punia
• Aditya Srivastava
• Gajendra Singh, conceived the concept of the reality show in 1992 with Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma
• Rahi Masoom Raza, dialogue writer of TV serial Ramayan
• Raju Srivastav
• Surendra Pal, character actor, best known for playing Dronacharaya in Mahabharat.
• Harsh Nagar, actor in various films and TV serials

Environmentalists[]

• Billy Arjan Singh, conservationist
• Afroz Ahmad

Scholars[]

• Arun Tiwari, missile scientist, author, professor
• Acharya Narendra Dev
• Adya Prasad Pandey, notable economist of Banaras Hindu University and Currently Vice Chancellor of Manipur University
• 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
• Mushirul Hasan, historian
• 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
• Shah Syed Hasnain Baqai, Islamic scholar, thinker, reformer; known for his inclusive and broadminded interpretation of Islam; born in Safipur

Fine arts[]

• Aman Singh Gulati, world's first almond artist
• Gogi Saroj Pal
• Ram Chandra Shukla, painter
• Mukesh Singh, Indian comic artist

Business[]

• Sumit Jain, entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO Opentalk.to | Co-Founder and ex-CEO Commonfloor.com
• Gajendra Singh, CMD Saaibaba Telefilms; founder of Ganga Gauri Mahavidyalaya, Ramnagar, Baijabari, Azamgarh
• K.P. Singh, president of DLF Universal Group
• Shyama Charan Gupta, founder of Shyam Group
• Subroto Roy, founder of Sahara India
• Vinod Gupta, former CEO and chairman of InfoUSA; founder of Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
• Surendra Singh Nagar
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm^[9] Chairperson of Paras Milk Pvt. Ltd.

Crime[]

• Abu Salem
• Daku Man Singh
• Mukhtar Ansari, MLA
• Munna Bajrangi
• Nirbhay Gujjar
• Phoolan Devi, minister
• Shri Prakash Shukla

Photographers[]

• Lala Deen Dayal, Indian photographer
• Tarun Khiwal (born 1967), Indian fashion and commercial photographer

Militants[]

• Abdul Subhan Qureshi

Others[]

• Abdul Karim, Munshi to Queen Victoria
• Begum Samru, historical figure
• Deep Tyagi, pioneer of family planning programme in India
• Jaichand of Kannauj, historical figure
• Rahul Mishra (born 1979), fashion designer
• Sampat Pal Devi, women's rights activist
• Sheila Dikshit, former Chief Minister of Delhi
• Vinod Rai, former CAG and IAS

See also[]

• List of Hindi authors
• List of people by India state
• List of people from Purvanchal
• States and territories of India

Notes[]