VK Krishna Menon, Amir Khusrau and Bahadur Shah Zafar

(25P) Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian nationalist, diplomat and statesman, described as the second most powerful man in India by Time magazine and others, after his ally and intimate friend, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Noted for his eloquence, brilliance, and forceful, highly abrasive persona, Menon inspired widespread adulation and fervent detraction in both India and the West; to his supporters, he was an unapologetic champion of India in the face of Western imperialism, who famously "taught the white man his place"; to his Western detractors, "Nehru's evil genius". U.S. president Dwight D Eisenhower characterised him as a"menace (…) governed by an ambition to prove himself the master international manipulator and politician of the age". Menon remains an enigmatic and controversial figure.

He was repeatedly elected to both houses of the Indian parliament from constituencies as varied as Bombay, Bengal, and his native Kerala, and served as a minister without portfolio, and later as Minister of Defense, overseeing the modernization of the Indian military and development of the Indian military-industrial complex, and spearheading the Indian annexation of Goa. He resigned in the wake of the Sino-Indian War, following allegations of India's military unpreparedness, but remained counselor to Nehru, member of parliament and elder statesman until his death.

(50P) Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 CE) better known as Amīr Khusraw (also Khusrow, Hazrat Khusrow, Ameer Khusru) Dehlawī (meaning Amir Khusrau of Delhi) was a Sufi musician, poet and scholar. He was an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent. He was a mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi. Amīr Khusrau is reputed to have invented certain musical instruments like the sitar and tabla. He wrote poetry primarily in Persian, but also in Hindavi. A vocabulary in verse, the Ḳhāliq Bārī, containing Arabic, Persian, and Hindavi terms is often attributed to him.

He is regarded as the "father of Qawwali" (a devotional music form of the Sufis in the Indian subcontinent), and introduced the ghazal style of song into India, both of which still exist widely in India and Pakistan. He is also credited with introducing Persian, Arabic and Turkish elements into Indian classical music and was the originator of the khayal and tarana styles of music.

Khusrau was an expert in many styles of Persian poetry which were developed in medieval Persia, from Khāqānī's qasidas to Nizami's khamsa. He used 11 metrical schemes with 35 distinct divisions. He has written in many verse forms including ghazal, masnavi, qata, rubai, do-baiti and tarkib-band.

(Re1.00) Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal emperor and a member of the Timurid dynasty. He was the son of Akbar II and Lal Bai, a Hindu Rajput. He became the Mughal emperor when his father died on 28 September 1837. He used Zafar, a part of his name, meaning “victory”, for his nom de plume (takhallus) as an Urdu poet, and he wrote many Urdu ghazals under it. His authority was limited to the city of Delhi only. Following his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British tried and then exiled him from Delhi and sent him to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma.

 Bahadur Shah Zafar was a noted Urdu poet, and wrote a large number of Urdu ghazals. While some part of his opus was lost or destroyed during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a large collection did survive, and was later compiled into the Kulliyyat-i-Zafar. The court that he maintained was home to several Urdu writers of high standing, including Mirza Ghalib, Dagh, Mumin, and Zauq.

Even in defeat it is traditionally believed that he said

As long as there remains the scent of faith in the hearts of our Ghazis, so long shall the Talwar of Hindustan flash before the throne of London

His end was sad. He had this to say:

kitnā hé bad-naseeb zafar dafn ke liye
do gaz zamīn bhī na milī kū-e-yār méń

How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial
Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved.