First Men in India

Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of independent India on August 15, 1947, and served until his death in May 1964 — the longest tenure of any Indian PM.

Harilal Jekisundas Kania (H.J. Kania) was the first Chief Justice of India, serving from 1950 to 1951. He was appointed when the Supreme Court of India was established in 1950.

G.V. Mavalankar (Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar) was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1956. He is also known as the 'Father of the Lok Sabha'.

Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize, receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his collection 'Gitanjali'. He was also the first Asian to win this prize.

Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel to space on April 2, 1984, aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11. When PM Indira Gandhi asked how India looked from space, he replied 'Saare Jahan Se Accha'.

General K.M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1949, replacing British General Roy Bucher. He later received the rank of Field Marshal in 1986.

Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 10m Air Rifle shooting. K.D. Jadhav had won a Bronze in 1952 (first individual Olympic medal).

Tenzing Norgay (along with Edmund Hillary of New Zealand) first summited Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Tenzing was an Indian citizen (of Nepali origin), making him the first Indian to achieve this feat.

C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) was the first and last Indian Governor-General of India, serving from June 1948 to January 1950. Lord Mountbatten served before him as the first Governor-General.

Sir C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for the discovery of the 'Raman Effect' (inelastic scattering of light). He was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Mihir Sen became the first Indian and first Asian to swim across the English Channel in 1958. He went on to complete solo swims of five major bodies of water in 1966, establishing a world record.

Sukumar Sen became the first Chief Election Commissioner of India in 1950. He conducted India's first two general elections (1951-52 and 1957) and is credited with establishing a robust electoral system.

Vinoba Bhave received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958, becoming the first Indian recipient of this prestigious Asian award, often called the 'Asian Nobel Prize'.

Viswanathan Anand became the first Indian and first Asian to win the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000. He went on to become World Champion five times (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012).

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (sister of Jawaharlal Nehru) became the first Indian and first woman to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953.

The Bharat Ratna was first awarded in 1954 to three recipients simultaneously — C. Rajagopalachari (statesman), C.V. Raman (scientist), and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (philosopher). Rajendra Prasad received it in 1962.

India won its first Olympic gold medal in Field Hockey at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. India went on to dominate Olympic hockey, winning eight gold medals between 1928 and 1980.

Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (posthumously) for his bravery during the Battle of Badgam on November 3, 1947, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

Sam Manekshaw (S.H.F.J. Manekshaw) was the first Indian Army officer to hold the rank of Field Marshal, receiving the five-star rank in January 1973 for his leadership in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.