The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India, those being environmentalism, women's rights, animal rights, spirituality, truth, nonviolence, asceticism, among others. Thus Gandhians hailing from a wide range of work profile attribute their ideas to him.
An overwhelming number of Bharat Ratna awardees are such individuals. In a 2012 poll called The Greatest Indian, the jury decided to keep Gandhi out as it "is impossible for anyone to come close to the father of the nation when it comes to leadership, impact and contribution". The poll included as many as 10 individuals in top 20 who were either close aides, disciples, successors or Gandhian ideologues. +NameNotesJawaharlal NehruGandhi designated him as his political heir.Vallabhbhai PatelAlong with Nehru, Patel was the closest aide of Gandhi.Vinoba BhaveHe is deemed as the spiritual heir of GandhiNelson MandelaFirst president of South AfricaFrançois BayrouFrench politician who served as cabinet minister of various departments Martin Luther King Jr.American civil rights movement activistHo Chi MinhFounding father of VietnamMaulana AzadFirst education minister of IndiaAtal Bihari VajpayeeFormer Prime Minister of India Official Visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the United States, 13–14 September 2000, p. 98Narendra ModiCurrent Prime Minister of India Abdul Ghaffar KhanAlso called "the Frontier Gandhi"Sarojini Naidu1st Governors of the United Provinces of Independent IndiaTanguturi PrakasamFirst Chief Minister of Andhra PradeshK. Chandrashekar RaoFormer Chief Minister of TelanganaC. RajagopalachariLast Governor-General of IndiaMaria Lacerda de MouraBrazilian reformerEric AdamsMayor of New York CityGeorge JosephIndian independence activistHabib BourguibaFirst Prime Minister of TunisiaKailash SatyarthiNobel Peace Prize laureateAshok GehlotCurrent Chief Minister of RajasthanShankarrao DeoIndependence activistMehdi BazarganLeading figure of Iranian Revolution along with Ruhollah Khomeini and Morteza MotahhariMirabehnIndependence activist, described Gandhi as Jesus ChristGovind Vallabh PantFirst Chief Minister of Uttar PradeshSushila NayyarIndian politician and independence activistJamnalal BajajIndian industrialistSharad PawarFormer Chief Minister of MaharashtraDraupadi MurmuCurrent President of IndiaM.G. RamachandranFormer Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and influential actor in tamil cinema.K. KamarajFormer Chief Minister of Tamil NaduDalai LamaTibetan Spiritual Leader Aung San Suu KyiMyanmar Pro Democracy leader Cesar ChavezAmerican Civil Rights ActivistAlbert EinsteinWorld Renowned Physicist Barack Obama44th US PresidentLula Da Silva Current President of Brazil
See also Eleven vows
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