UIL 2024 Social Studies People

Gautama, Siddhartha

most commonly referred to as the Buddha ("the awakened"), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

Wangchuck, Jigme Dorji

the 3rd Druk Gyalpo (head of state) of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization.

Mahendra, King

the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972. Following the 1960 coup d'état, he established the partyless Panchayat system which governed the country for 28 years until the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990. During his reign, Nepal experienced a period of industrial, political and economic change that opened it to the rest of the world for the first time after the 104-year-long reign of the Rana rulers, who had kept the country under an isolationist policy, came to an end in 1951.

Nanak, Guru

the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Didi, Muhammad Fareed

the last Sultan of Maldives and the first Maldivian monarch to assume the title of "King" with the style of "His Majesty". He was the Sultan of the Maldives from March 7, 1954, until November 11, 1968. He was deposed in 1968 from the throne when Maldives became a republic, and died the following year in Maldives.

Mueenudheen II, Muhammad

the sultan of the Maldives from 1886 to 1888. On 16th of December of 1887, he accepted British protection and the country became a British protectorate within the British Empire while retaining the local monarchy.

Zafar, Bahadur Shah

the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor of India as well as an Urdu poet. He was the second son and the successor to his father, Akbar II, who died on 28 September 1837. He was a titular Emperor, as the Mughal Empire existed in name only and his authority was limited only to the walled city of Old Delhi. Following his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British exiled him to Rangoon in the British-controlled Burma in 1858, after convicting him on several charges.

Koirala, B.P.

- was a Nepali revolutionary, political leader, and writer. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960. Koirala was the first democratically elected and 22nd Prime Minister of Nepal. He held the office for 18 months before being deposed and imprisoned at the instruction of King Mahendra. The rest of his life was spent largely in prison or exile and in steadily deteriorating health.

Khan, Liaquat Ali

Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. On 15 August 1947, one day after independence, Khan became the first prime minister of Pakistan; he also held cabinet positions as the first foreign minister, defense minister, and frontier regions minister from 1947 until his assassination in 1951.

Rahman, Ziaur

a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in a coup d'état staged by some of his colleagues in the army.

Ershad, Hussain Muhammad

a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time many consider to have been a military dictatorship. He was forced to resign in a massive pro-democracy uprising.

Wazed, Sheikh Hasina

a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the prime minister of Bangladesh since January 2009. Daughter of the founding father and first president of Bangladesh. Under her tenure as prime minister, Bangladesh has experienced democratic backsliding. Human Rights Watch documented widespread enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings under her government.

Islam, Kazi Nazrul

a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, stories, etc. with themes that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled as "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi" (Rebel Poet).

Tagore, Rabindranath

a Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of the "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful" poetry of Gitanjali, he became in 1913 the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He denounced the British Raj and advocated independence from Britain.

Mountbatten, Lord Louis

a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. He later served as the last viceroy of British India and briefly as the first governor-general of the Dominion of India. In March 1947, Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy of India and oversaw the Partition of India into India and Pakistan. He then served as the first Governor-General of India until June 1948. In August 1979, Mountbatten was assassinated by a bomb planted aboard his fishing boat in Ireland by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Curzon, Lord

a British statesman, Conservative politician, and writer who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905.

Ponnambalam, G.G.

a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the first political party to represent the Ceylon Tamils.

Bandaranaike, Solomon

a Ceylonese colonial-era headmen. He was appointed as Head Mudaliyar and the aide-de-camp to the British Governor of Ceylon, therefore he was one of the most powerful personalities in British colonial Ceylon.

Nasheed, Mohamed

a Maldivian politician and activist currently serving as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis since May 2019. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, he served as President of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. He is the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and the only president to resign from office.

Gayoom, Maumoon Abdul

a Maldivian politician who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008.

Sharif, Nawaz

a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms (12th, 14th, and 20th prime minister). He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pakistan, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures. Each term has ended in his ousting.

Yousafzai, Malala

a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pakistani and the first Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children in her native homeland, Swat, where the Pakistani Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali

a Pakistani leader who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and later as the ninth prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution in 1979.

Zia-ul-Haq, Muhammad

a Pakistani military general and politician who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death. He also served as the second chief of army staff from 1976 until his death. In July 1977, Zia organized the Operation Fair Play, in which he deposed Prime Minister Bhutto and declared martial law. Zia remained de facto leader for over a year, assuming presidency in September 1978. He directed the Islamization of Pakistan, escalated Pakistan's atomic bomb project and instituted industrialization and deregulation, significantly improving Pakistan's economy. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Zia adopted an anti-Soviet stance and aided the Afghan mujahideen. He bolstered ties with China and the United States and emphasized Pakistan's role in the Islamic world. In August 1988, Zia was killed in an aircraft crash near the Sutlej River.

Musharraf, Pervez

a Pakistani military general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Musharraf resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment and emigrated to London in a self-imposed exile. His legacy as leader is mixed; he saw the emergence of a more assertive middle class, but his open disregard for civilian institutions greatly weakened democracy in Pakistan. In 2019, Musharraf, in absentia, was sentenced to death for treason charges, but the death sentence was later annulled by the Lahore High Court. Musharraf died in Dubai in February 2023 after suffering from a prolonged illness.

Khan, Ayub

a Pakistani military general who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. He remains the country's longest-serving president and second-longest serving head of state.

Sharif, Shehbaz

a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022.

Khan, Imran

a Pakistani politician and former cricketer who served as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He is the founder and chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Amid a constitutional crisis, Khan became the first prime minister to be removed from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022. In August, he was charged under anti-terror laws after accusing the police and judiciary of detaining and torturing an aide. In October, Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan from taking office regarding the Toshakhana reference case. In November, he survived an assassination attempt during a political rally in Wazirabad, Punjab. On 9 May 2023 Khan was arrested on corruption charges at the High Court in Islamabad.

Bhutto, Benazir

a Pakistani politician and stateswoman who served as the prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman elected to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country. Ideologically a liberal and a secularist, she chaired or co-chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her assassination in 2007.

Zardari, Asif Ali

a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, the first president born after Independence. He is the widower of twice-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.

Iqbal, Mohammad

a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, scholar and politician, whose poetry in the Urdu language is considered among the greatest of the twentieth century, and whose vision of a cultural and political ideal for the Muslims of British Raj was to animate the impulse for Pakistan. He is commonly referred to by the honorific Allama. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across the world, but in particular in South Asia; a series of lectures he delivered to this effect were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Iqbal was elected to the Punjab Legislative Council in 1927 and held a number of positions in the All India Muslim League. In his 1930 presidential address at the League's annual meeting in Allahabad, he formulated a political framework for Muslims in British-ruled India. Iqbal died in 1938. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he was named the national poet there.

Jinnah, Mohammed Ali

a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death. He is revered in Pakistan as the Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader") and Baba-e-Qaum ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is observed as a national holiday in Pakistan.

Rokeya, Begum

a prominent Bengali feminist thinker, writer, educator, professor, teacher, writer and women empowerment and political activist for Muslim girls from East Bengal, undivided Bengal in present-day Bangladesh. She is widely regarded as a pioneer of women's liberation in South Asia.

Singh, Milkha

also known as "The Flying Sikh", was an Indian track and field sprinter who is the only athlete to win gold at 400 meters at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. From beginnings that saw him orphaned and displaced during the Partition of India, Singh has become a sporting icon in his country.

Mother Teresa

an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. On 4 September 2016, she was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa founded Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation, which grew to have over 4,500 nuns across 133 countries as of 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis. The congregation also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counseling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools.

Muhammad

an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Vivekananda, Swami

an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion. Vivekananda was one of the most influential philosophers and social reformers in his contemporary India, and the most successful missionaries of Vedanta to the Western world. He was also a major force in contemporary Hindu reform movements, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. He is now widely regarded as one of the most influential people of modern India and a patriotic saint.

Kalam, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul

an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007. Kalam was elected as the 11th president of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the "People's President", he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term.

Nehru, Jawaharlal

an Indian anti-colonial nationalist and author who was a central figure in India during the middle third of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he became the first prime minister of India, serving for 16 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation.

Tata, J.R.D.

an Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group. He is best known for being the founder of several industries under the Tata Group, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Salt, Voltas and Air India.

Patel, Vallabhbhai

an Indian independence nationalist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India from 1947 to 1950. He was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, who played a leading role in the country's struggle for independence, guiding its integration into a united, independent nation. In India and elsewhere, he was often called Sardar, meaning "Chief" in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Persian. He acted as the Home Minister during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

Ambedkar, B.R.

an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement after renouncing Hinduism.

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "great-souled", "venerable"), first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world. Assassinated by Hindu nationalist in 1948.

Bose, Subhas Chandra

an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific Netaji (Hindi: "Respected Leader") was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India. Bose was killed in a plane crash in 1945.

Gandhi, Indira

an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the third prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and, to date, only female prime minister, and a central figure in Indian politics as the leader of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, and the mother of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded her in office as the country's sixth prime minister. Furthermore, Gandhi's cumulative tenure of 15 years and 350 days makes her the second-longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father.

Modi, Narendra

an Indian politician who has served as the 14th Prime Minister of India since May 2014. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization.

Gandhi, Rajiv

an Indian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian prime minister at the age of 40. During his tenure, Gandhi introduced several initiatives and policies aimed at modernizing India and promoting economic development. He emphasized technology, computerisation, and telecommunications, launching the "Vision 2020" program to transform India into a technologically advanced nation. Was assassinated by a suicide bomber while campaining in 1991.

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, followed by a full term from 1999 to 2004. Vajpayee was one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the BJP. He was a member of the RSS, a Hindu nationalist volunteer organization. He was the first Indian prime minister not of the INC to serve a full term in office.

Pandey, Mangal

an Indian soldier who played a key part in the events immediately preceding the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy (infantryman) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment of the British East India Company.

Chawla, Kalpana

an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

Narayanaswami, Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer

better known as R.K. Narayan; was an Indian writer and novelist known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was a leading author of early Indian literature in English.

Subbulakshmi, Madurai Shanmukhavadivu

frequently known as M. S. Subbulakshmi; an Indian Carnatic (which is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu texts and traditions, particularly the Samaveda) singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu (southern India). She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

Rahman, Sheikh Mujibur

was the founder of Bangladesh. First served as the titular president of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh between April 1971 and January 1972. He then served as Prime Minister of Bangladesh from the Awami League between January 1972 and January 1975. Mujib finally served as President again during BAKSAL from January 1975 till his assassination in August 1975. He was killed along with most of his family in his private home during a military coup by renegade army officers.

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo

was the world's first female prime minister when she became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960. She chaired the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) from 1960 to 1994 and served three terms as prime minister, two times as the chief executive, 1960 to 1965 and 1970 to 1977, and once again in a presidential system from 1994 to 2000.