Flashback 2022: Remembering notable personalities we lost in 2022

Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September was arguably the most high-profile death in 2022. Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, died on September 8 at the age of 96 at her Scottish estate after reigning for 70 years. Back home, India bid goodbye to many celebrities who breathed their last starting from 'Nightingale of India' Lata Mangeshkar, Indian billionaire businessman Rahul Bajaj and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and many more. 

Many of them were big politicians while some were associated with the fields of social service and music. Here is a list of famous people of India, who said goodbye to this world in the year 2022: 

Pandit Birju Maharaj

Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj died at his home in Delhi after suffering a heart attack on January 17. A recipient of the country’s second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, he was born Brij Mohan Nath Mishra on February 4, 1937, in a well-known family of Kathak dancers.

Rahul Bajaj

Veteran industrialist and head of the Bajaj group, Rahul Bajaj, passed away on February 12. Bajaj, 83, who had pneumonia and also a heart problem, was admitted to the Ruby Hall Clinic a month ago before breathing his last at 2.30 pm on February 12.

Hemananda Biswal

Former Odisha Chief Minister and prominent tribal Congress leader Hemananda Biswal died while undergoing treatment for pneumonia in Bhubaneswar at the age of 82 on February 25. He was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1974 and continued till 1977. Later, he become an MLA in 1980 and held the post till 2004 from Laikera Assembly segment.

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Santoor virtuoso Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, who took the stringed instrument to the global stage and successfully, straddled the worlds of classical and film music, died on May 10 following a heart attack. He was 84. He had been active till the end and was due to perform in Bhopal next week. He was also suffering from renal ailments.

Pandit Sukh Ram
Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram passed away on May 11. Sukh Ram, 94, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on May 7 and was undergoing treatment there when died. Sukh Ram was the Union Minister of State, Communications (Independent Charge) from 1993 to 1996. He was a member of Lok Sabha from the Mandi constituency of Himachal Pradesh. He won the Vidhan Sabha elections five times and the Lok Sabha elections three times.

Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry

Shapoorji Pallonji group chairman and billionaire industrialist Pallonji Mistry passed away in Mumbai on June 27. He died while sleeping at his south Mumbai residence. He was 93. Mistry accumulated a net worth of almost $29 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him one of the richest men in India. Most of his family wealth was derived from being the largest minority shareholder in Tata Sons.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Veteran stock investor and newly-launched Akasa Air founder Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passed away on August 14 in Mumbai following a prolonged illness. He was 62. The promoter of Akasa Air, Jhunjhunwala appeared days ago at its public launch. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Cyrus Mistry

Cyrus P. Mistry, industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons, was killed in a road accident about 150 km from Mumbai on September 4 when the car he was travelling in hit a road divider. Mistry, 54, along with three others, was heading towards Mumbai from Gujarat when he met with the mishap.

Mulayam Singh

Founder of the Samajwadi Party and three-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav died on October 10 after a prolonged illness at a private hospital in Gurugram. His cremation took place the next day with state honours, where a number of political leaders were present.

Jamshed J Irani

Jamshed J Irani, the former Tata Steel managing director who was called the Steel Man of India, passed away on October 31 at Jamshedpur. He was 86. Irani was associated with Tata Steel for over four decades, starting out as an assistant to the director in-charge of R&D. In 2001, he retired as managing director, capping off an illustrious career.

Ela Bhatt

Ela Bhatt, a champion of gender justice and equality who secured protections for millions of Indian women in the workforce and helped them become self-reliant, died on November 2 in Ahmedabad. She was 89.  A lawyer by training, Bhatt became an activist in the late 1960s when she began representing trade union workers who were fighting for fair wages in the budding textile industry in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Heeraba

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother, Heeraba, died at the age of 100 on December 30. She was admitted to U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Ahmedabad earlier this week due to health issue. PM Modi’s mother Heeraba’s last rites were performed at a crematorium in Gandhinagar. PM Modi set fire to his mother’s funeral pyre and, with folded hands, paid his final respects. Besides PM Modi and close members of his family, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also attended Heeraba Modi’s last rites at a crematorium in Gandhinagar.