Nelson Mandela
1918-2013
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the towering figure of Africa’s struggle for freedom and a hero to millions around the world, died at the age of 95 on December 5. He was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid regime, before being freed in 1990. Mandela immersed himself in official talks to end white minority rule and in 1991 was elected ANC President to replace his ailing friend Oliver Tambo. In 1993 he and President FW de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize and on April 27, 1994 he voted for the first time in his life. On May 10, 1994 he was inaugurated South Africa’s first democratically elected President. Mandela died in the company of his family at home in Johannesburg after years of declining health that had caused him to withdraw from public life. He is survived by his wife Graca Machel, former wife Winnie and daughters Pumla Makaziwe, Zenani and Zindziswa Mandela.
M S Gopalakrishnan
1931-2013
Violin virtuoso and Padma Bhushan M S Gopalakrishnan died in Chennai on January 3. He was 82. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. An exponent in both Carnatic and Hindustani music, the career of MSG, as he was fondly referred to, spanned over 75 years.
S Ramanathan
1929-2013
The veteran Kannada film producer died on January 9. He was 83 and is survived by two daughters and a son. He was famous for bringing together superstars Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan in his film Geraftaar in 1985.
P Shanmugham
1927-2013
The former Puducherry Chief Minister passed away at Karaikal hours after sustaining head injuries in a fall on February 2. He was 85 and a bachelor. A two-time chief minister between March 2000 and October 2001, Shanmugham’s political career spanned over five decades. He was the longest serving Puducherry Congress president for nearly 25 years.
Sankaralinkam Jagannathan
1912-2013
The veteran Gandhian and Dalit leader, a co-recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize or The Right Livelihood Award, died at Gandhigram February 12. He was 100. His wife Krishnammal, a son and daughter survive him. Jagannathan participated in the Quit India Movement and was jailed for more than three years.
Hari Shankar Singhania
1933-2013
The president of JK Organisation business group and a leading industrialist, died on February 24. Singhania, a Padma Bhushan awardee, was instrumental in diversifying the JK Organisation. Apart from being president of FICCI, he was the second Indian and third Asian to be the president of International Chamber of Commerce (Paris).
Rajasulochana
1935-2013
The veteran actress and classical dancer, who starred in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam movies, passed away on March 5. She was 78. She debuted in the Kannada film Gunasagari in 1953. She went on to act in more than 250 films and shared screen space with stars like MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, NT Rama Rao, Nageswara Rao and Rajkumar.
Hugo Chavez
1954-2013
The Venezuelan President died on March 5 after a battle with cancer. He was 58. A champion of the poor who first tried to overturn Venezuela’s powerful elites in a failed 1992 coup, Chavez was democratically elected in 1999, with huge support from the country’s poor.
Sukumari
1940-2013
One of the most colourful personalities in the Malayalam film industry for nearly six decades, Sukumari, who was lovingly called Amma, passed away on March 26. She was 74. She is survived by son Suresh Bhimsingh.
Ahalya Chari
1921-2013
The senior educationist was one of the architects of the education system in independent India, dedicating seven decades to the field of teaching. She died on March 30 at the age of 92.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
1927-2013
The German-born screenwriter and novelist, the only person to win both an Oscar and a Booker died in New York on April 3. She is survived by her husband and daughters.
P B Srinivas
1930-2013
The playback singer passed away on April 14. He was 82. Srinivas approximately sang over 3,000 songs in a career spanning four decades.
Shakuntala Devi
1929-2013
Astrologer Shakuntala Devi, who was dubbed “human computer” for her swift numerical calculation abilities, passed away on April 21 after a brief illness. She was 83 and is survived by a daughter.
Vasudev Singh
1932-2013
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and MLC died on April 29. He was elected to the Begusarai Vidhan Sabha seat in 1990. He was a Council member from the teachers’ constituency in Darbhanga thrice.
Sarabjit Singh
1964-2013
The Indian prisoner who was convicted by a Pakistani court of espionage and for involvement with the 1990 bomb blasts
in Lahore died on May 2, after being brutally assaulted in a Pakistani jail.
Asghar Ali Engineer
1939-2013
Islamic scholar and leader of the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Movement, Asghar Ali Engineer passed away on May 14.
Rituparno Ghosh
1963-2013
The filmmaker died of cardiac arrest on May 30. He was 49. Ghosh was suffering from pancreatitis. He shot to fame with his children’s film Hirer Angti in 1994. His film Unishe April won the national award in 1995.
J S Verma
1933-2013
The former Chief Justice of India, who headed a panel to frame a tough law to combat crimes against women in the wake of the Delhi gangrape, died of multi-organ failure. He was 80.
V C Shukla
1929-2013
The veteran Congress leader died on June 11, battling bullet injuries suffered during a Maoist attack in Bastar on May 25. He was 83. Shukla was a master of power politics and intrigue and infamous for his iron-fist handling of the media during the Emergency.
Bahukutumbi Raman
1936-2013
One of India’s foremost security experts and a founder of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), passed away in Chennai on June 16. He was 77. Raman was a former additional secretary with the Cabinet secretariat. He was also director of the Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai.
Pran
1920-2013
The Bollywood actor who played the dreaded villain and lovable character with elan passed away on July 12 at a Mumbai hospital. He was 93 and is survived by his daughter Pinky.
V Dakshinamoorthy
1919-2013
The Carnatic musician breathed his last in Chennai on August 24. He was 94. His demise brings to an end a stellar career that spanned over six decades when he set tune to movies in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi.
Raghunath Panigrahi
1932-2013
The doyen of Indian classical music who promoted and popularised Jaydeva’s Gita Govinda, passed away on August 25. He was 79. His death came a day after the family celebrated the birth anniversary of his wife, legendary Odissi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi, who passed away in 1997. Raghunath was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010.
Sushmita Bannerjee
1964-2013
The 49-year-old Indian author who had written a Bengali bestseller on her life under Taliban regime that was turned into a Hindi film, was shot dead by suspected Taliban terrorists outside her husband’s home in Afghanistan.
Manna Dey
1919-2013
The singer, whose mastery over classical music made him the first choice for complex raga-based melodies among composers but who was also a master of fun-and frolic tracks that Hindi cinema abounds in, passed away after a prolonged illness in a Bangalore hospital on October 24. He was 94. Born in Kolkata, the nephew of the great blind singer K C Dey was the last of the ‘Super Six’ male singers Mohd Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood and Kishore Kumar being the other five—whose distinctive voices post-independence India grew up listening to. He sang over 3,500 songs in a career spanning six decades.
P S Manisundaram
1927-2013
The educationist was a pioneer in fine-tuning technical education in the country. He was the first principal of the Regional Engineering College (REC), Tiruchi, and also the first Vice Chancellor of Bharathidasan University. Born in Myanmar, Manisundaram, who did his MS in civil engineering from Nova Scotia University, Canada, started his career as a lecturer at Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi, and went on to become Principal when he was just 33.
Srikantadatta Wadiyar
1953-2013
The prince of Mysore died on December 10 after suffering cardiac arrest. A former Lok Sabha MP, Wadiyar was also a fashion designer who did much to promote Mysore silk. He was elected president of the Karnataka Cricket Association a month before his death.
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma
1922-2013
The head of the Travancore royal family passed away on December 16. A popular figure, he maintained his ritual position at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple as custodian of the temple, and was involved in events relating to this.
K. Anji Reddy
1940-2013
Founder of the country’s second largest drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) and the face of the pharma industry, lost his battler with cancer on March 15. His wife, son and daughter survive him. Reddy also founded a string of charities that today work in areas of education, healthcare and providing livelihoods.
R P Goenka
1930-2013
Renowned industrialist and founder of the RPG Group, Rama Prasad Goenka, died on April 14 at his residence in Kolkata after a long illness. He was 83, and is survived by wife Sushila and two sons Harsh Vardhan and Sanjiv. He attended Presidency College and Harvard University. He was a Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the Board of Governors of International Management Institute and a trustee of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
Lalgudi Jayaraman
1930-2013
The legendary violinist died April 22 after a brief illness. He was 82 and is survived by his wife, son GJR Krishnan and daughter GJR Vijayalakshmi. He expanded a style of violin playing by inventing a new technique designed to best suit the needs of Indian classical music known as ‘Lalgudi Bani’. His flawless and fascinating style, graceful and original, gained him numerous fans.
Arun Nehru
1944-2013
Former Union minister and powerful figure during the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi, passed away on July 25 after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife Subhadra and two daughters. A three-time Lok Sabha member, Lucknow-born Nehru had a successful corporate career before joining politics.