Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: इंदिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गांधी Indirā Priyadarśinī Gāndhī; née: Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination  in 1984, a total of fifteen years.

She was India's first and to date, only female prime minister. She is the world's all time longest serving female Prime Minister.

Noorjehan or Noorjehan was the adopted stage name for Allah Wasai (September 21, 1926 – December 23, 2000) who was a singer and actress in British India and Pakistan. Her career spanned seven decades.

She was renowned as one of the greatest and most influential singers of her time in South Asia and was given the honorific title of Malika-e-Tarannum (English: the queen of melody).

Irom Sharmila Chanu (born March 14, 1972), also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur" or "Menghoubi" ("the fair one"), is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur.

Since November 2000, she has been on hunger strike to demand that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), which she blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India's northeast.

Kiran Bedi has a surprising resume. Before becoming Director General of the Indian Police Service, she managed one of the country's toughest prisons -- and used a new focus on prevention and education to turn it into a center of learning and meditation.

She shares her thoughts on visionary leadership at TEDWomen.