Charan Singh

Born in Meerut district in 1902, Singh studied science, history, and law before the independence movement pulled him in. He followed Gandhi into nonviolent resistance and spent years in British jails - twelve years for breaking salt laws in 1930, then stints in 1940 and 1942. After independence he rose through Congress on a platform of agricultural reform, eventually breaking away to found his own party and becoming the first non-Congress chief minister in northern India. He served as deputy prime minister under Morarji Desai in early 1979, then took the top job himself that July when the Janata coalition splintered. His government collapsed before it could face Parliament, and he stepped down in January 1980. He died in 1987 and received the Bharat Ratna in 2024.