This is a list of famous and notable people from Madhya Pradesh, India. This would include persons who are known to a large number of people and is based on the extent of their popularity. Their fame could be brief, what matters is that they were well known during the peak of their popularity.
Rulers and Generals
Ancient
Medieval
- Nagabhata I, (r. c. 730 â 760 CE) was the founder of the imperial Gurjara Pratihara dynasty in northern India. He ruled the Avanti (or Malava) region in present-day Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at Ujjain. He may have extended his control over Gurjaradesa, which includes parts of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- Nagabhata II, (reign 795âÂÂ833) was an Indian Emperor from Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja.
- Mihira Bhoja, (c. 836âÂÂ885 CE) or Bhoja I was a Gurjara-Pratihara emperor. He succeeded his father, Ramabhadra. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of ÃÂdivarÃÂha, which is inscribed on some of his coins.. One of the outstanding political figures of India in the ninth century, he ranks with Dhruva Dharavarsha and Dharmapala as a great general and empire builder.
- Lakshmikarna, (IAST: LakÃ
Âmi-Kará¹Âa, r. c. 1041âÂÂ1073 CE), also known as Karna, was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
- Hammiravarman, (IAST: Hammëravarman, c. 1288âÂÂ1311 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of central India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). During his reign, the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji conquered some parts of the Chandela kingdom.
- Rahila, (IAST: RÃÂhila, reigned c. 885âÂÂ905 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).
- Yashovarman, (IAST: YaÃ
Âovarman; reigned c. 925âÂÂ950 CE), also known as Lakshavarman, was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). He practically established the Chandelas as a sovereign power, although he formally acknowledged suzerainty of the Gurjara-Pratiharas. His major military achievement was the conquest of Kalanjara (modern Kalinjar). He is also notable for having commissioned the Lakshmana Temple at Khajuraho.
- Dhanga, (r. c. 950âÂÂ999 CE), also known as Dhaá¹Âgadeva in inscriptions, was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh). Dhanga established the sovereignty of the Chandelas, who had served as vassals to the Pratiharas until his reign. He is also notable for having commissioned magnificent temples at Khajuraho, including the Vishvanatha temple.
- Vidyadhara, (r. c. 1003âÂÂ1035 CE) was a Chandela king of central India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh). Vidyadhara was the successor of Ganda, and expanded the Chandela power between Chambal river in the northwest and Narmada River in south.
- Madanavarman, (reigned c. 1128âÂÂ1165 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He succeeded his father Prithvi-Varman as the ruler of the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). He revived the Chandela glory by subduing the neighbouring kingdoms, and commissioned several tanks and temples.
- Bhoja, (reigned c. 1010âÂÂ1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his kingdom, with varying degrees of success. At its zenith, his empire extended from Chittor in the north to upper Konkan in the south, and from the Sabarmati River in the west to Vidisha in the east.
- Devapala, (reigned c. 1218âÂÂ1239 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled in the Malwa region of central India.
- Mahalakadeva, (died 1305 CE), also known as Mahlak Deo or Mahlak Deva, was a king of the Paramara dynasty in central India. The last known ruler of the dynasty, he was defeated and killed by the forces of Alauddin Khalji of Delhi.
Modern Day
- Vijaya Raje Scindia (12 October 1919 â 25 January 2001), born Lekha Divyeshwari Devi in Nepal and known popularly as the Rajmata of Gwalior in India, was a prominent Indian political personality. In the days of the British Raj, as consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, Jivajirao Scindia, she ranked among the highest royal figures of the land. In later life, she became a politician of considerable influence and was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament. She was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
- Sydney Greve (9 September 1915 - 7 December 2015) born Indore, known by the media as "KO KID" or "KILLER", Greve was a prominent Anglo-Indian two-time Olympic boxer representing in the 1948 Olympicsand the 1952 Olympics, aditonally, he was also the flyweight championof India from 1943 to 1945, then he the Bantamweight Champion of India from 1946 to 1947, shortly after the Great Partition of 1947, Greve moved to Pakistan where in the same year, had won the Golden Gloves Tournament of Karachi. the next year, he won the title as flyweight champion of pakistan.
Freedom fighters
- Chandra Shekhar Azad, (; 23 July 1906 â 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder, Ram Prasad Bismil, and three other prominent party leaders, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqulla Khan. He hailed from Bardarka village in Unnao district of United Provinces and his parents were Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. He often used the pseudonym "Balraj" while signing pamphlets issued as the commander-in-chief of the HSRA.
- Ravishankar Shukla, (2 August 1877 â 31 December 1956) was a leader of the Indian National Congress, Indian independence movement activist, the Premier of the Central Provinces and Berar from 27 April 1946 to 25 January 1950, first Chief Minister of the reorganised Madhya Pradesh state from 1 November 1956 until his death on 31 December 1956, he was elected from Saraipali in Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh). He also served as Member of Constituent Assembly of India from Central Provinces and Berar.
- Tatya Tope
- Rani Lakshmi Bai, born Manikarnika Tambe; 19 November 1828 â 18 June 1858), was the Maharani consort of the princely state of Jhansi in Maratha Empire from 1843 to 1853 by marriage to Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar. She was one of the leading figures in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, who became a national hero and symbol of resistance to the British rule in India for Indian nationalists.
- Tantya Bheel (Tantya Mama), (or Tantya Bheel, Tantya Mama; 26 January 1842 â 4 December 1889) was a freedom fighter active in India between 1878 and 1889. He is described very negatively as a criminal in the British-era accounts, but is recognized by Indians as a heroic figure. Accounts of both eras have described him as an "Indian Robin Hood".
- Jhalkari Bai
- Rani Avanti Bai (16 August 1831 â 20 March 1858) was an Indian queen-ruler and freedom fighter. She was the queen of the Ramgarh (present-day Dindori) in Madhya Pradesh. An opponent of the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, information concerning her is sparse and mostly comes from folklore. In 21st century, she has been used as an icon in Lodhi politics as she comes from Lodhi Rajput community.
Military
Airforce
Scientists
Business
Nobel Laureates
Craftspeople
Educators
Sport medal Winners
Medicine and Doctors
Chief Justices of India
Judge
Governor of RBI
Hindi and Urdu literature
Sports
Activists
Journalists
Actors
Source:
Male
Female
Directors
Singers
Politics
- B.R. Ambedkar
- Shankar Dayal Sharma, former President of India
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former PM of India
- Kailash Nath Katju
- Vijaya Raje Scindia
- Madhavrao Scindia, former Union Minister
- Paras Chandra Jain, Energy Minister, Government of Madhya Pradesh
- Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP National General Secretary
- Kamal Patel, former Minister, Government of Madhya Pradesh
- Arjun Singh, politician
- Vasundhara Raje
- Sharad Yadav
- Jaya Bachchan
- Sumitra Mahajan
- Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
- Prithviraj Chavan
- Shivraj Singh Chouhan, current chief minister
- Uma Bharti
- Digvijaya Singh
- Satish Kumar Sharma, politician
- Prahlad Pandey, politician
Hockey
Cricket
Militants
Skiing
Information Technology and Research
Contribution in other fields
See also
References