9. A Magsaysay award winner, Shankar was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1986. The song Sare Jahan se Achha Hindostan Hamara was set to tune by Ravi Shankar. Written by Muhammad Iqbal in 1904, it had a more drawn-out tune until Shankar was asked to reset it in 1945. Most people are unaware of this, including HMV, which attributes the tune as “traditional” in an album featuring patriotic songs by Lata Mangeshkar.
