Nathuram Godse

His finger pressed the trigger to pump three bullets into Mahatma Gandhi, conjoining for perpetuity the apostle of nonviolence with his very antithesis. Godse fervently believed Gandhian philosophy would render the nation effete and lead it to ruin. Psychologists, however, say Godse's militancy actually sprang from his confusion about his sexuality—his parents had brought him up as a girl, and his name was changed from Ramachandra to Nathuram, after the nose-ring (nath) he wore.

Gaya Ram

He's the original cause of the anti-defection law, an everlasting symbol of the political phenomenon of legislators defecting from their parties for power—and hard cash. In 1967, this MLA from Hassanpur, Haryana, changed parties faster than you and I change our socks, switching his allegiance three times in 24 hours, thus enshrining in the political...