- Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid (born 11 January, 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh) is an Indian cricketer, and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He started his international cricket career in 1996. He is, at present, ranked among the 10 best Test batsmen by the ICC in world cricket and has the highest Test batting average of any Indian batsman in history.
- H. D. Deve Gowda
Haradanahalli Dodde Deve Gowda was the twelfth Prime Minister of the Republic of India (1996-1997) and the 14th chief minister of the state of Karnataka (1994-1996). He is widely respected and regarded for his struggle toward the cause of the farming community and is proudly hailed as "son of the soil". A member of a farming family, he was trained as a farmer and won his first seat in the Karnataka state assembly in 1962, rising to become Karnataka's chief minister.
- H. D. Kumaraswamy
Haradanahalli Deve Gowda Kumaraswamy (born December 16, 1959) is the present Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka, India. He is one of the sons of former Prime Minister of India H. D. Deve Gowda. Popularly known as "KumarAnna" (Kumar, the name and anna in Kannada means elder brother) among his friends and followers, was a noted film producer, distributor and exhibitor in the Kannada film industry. He owns a cinema theater at his home town Holenarasipura.
- Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble(Kannada:ಅನಿಲ್ ಕುಂಬ್ಳೆ) (born 17 October, 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 1990. He is currently the highest wicket-taker for India in both One-Day International and Test matches, having taken over 545 Test wickets and 330 ODI wickets. He is one of only two bowlers ever to have taken all 10 wickets in a test innings, the other being Jim Laker.
- Dharam Singh
Narayan Dharam Singh (born December 25, 1936), was the 17th Chief Minister of Karnataka state in India and a former Lok Sabha member. He was sworn into office on May 28, 2004, and left office on February 3, 2006. He represents Congress (I) in the state. The coalition government formed by the Congress (I) with the help of Janata Dal (Secular) came to an end in February, 2006 when H. D. Kumaraswamy engineered the downfall of the Dharam Singh administration.
- S. M. Krishna
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, generally referred to as S M Krishna (born 1932) is the Governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was also the chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka from October 1999 to May 2004. S.M. Krishna is the son of S.C. Mallaiah. He completed his Bachelor's in Arts from Maharaja's College, Mysore and obtained a Law degree from Government Law College, Bangalore.
- B. S. Yediyurappa
B.S. Yediyurappa (born February 27, 1943) is an Indian politician. He is from the BJP and represents Shikaripur in the Karnataka legislative assembly. He is married to Smt. Mythradevi, and has two sons and three daughters. He is a graduate in the faculty of arts. An agriculturist by profession, his stint in public office began in 1975 when he was elected as Councilor to the Town Municipality of Shikaripura.
- Bangarappa
S.Bangarappa (born 26 October, 1933) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Shimoga constituency of Karnataka and is a member of the Samajwadi Party (SP) political party. He was the founder of Karnataka Vikas Party and Karnataka Congress Party. He was born on 26 October 1933 in Kubatur village of Shimoga District in Karnataka, India. His father was the late Shri Kallappa and his mother was Kallamma. He was married on 1 January 1958 to Smt. Shakuntala.
- Veerappa Moily
Veerappa Moily was Chief Minister of Karnataka state .He was elected to Karnatka state legislative assembly from Karkala constituency of Udupi district. He is currently working as chairman of Overseeing Comittee appointed for implementation of reservations for Other backward classes (OBC) by government of India. He is appointed as the Chairman of 2nd Administrative Reform Commission of India. Till date this commission has presented 3 reports.
- Siddaramaiah
Born on August 12, 1948 Siddaramana Hundi, a remote village in Varuna Hobli of Mysore District, Shri. Siddaramaiah hails from a poor farming Community. Coming from an illiterate family, Shri. Siddaramaiah is the maiden sophomore of is family who graduated from Mysore University with B. Sc Degree. Later he did his L.L.B from the same university and pursued the Law Profession for more time.
- Ramakrishna Hegde
Ramakrishna Hegde born on August 291926 at Siddapur, Uttara Kannada district was an Indian politician, Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms and later served as Union Commerce Minister. His father was Mahabaleshwar Hegde and mother Saraswati Hegde. He was a lawyer by training; he participated in theQuit India Movement of 1942 (Indian freedom struggle) and was an active member of Congress Party.
- Ananth Kumar
Ananth Kumar (born 22 July, 1959) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Bangalore South constituency of Karnataka and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party.
- T. N. Chaturvedi
Triloki Nath Chaturvedi (born January 18, 1928) is the governor of Karnataka, a state in India. He has been governor of that state since August 21, 2002. He was also the governor of Kerala from February 25, 2004, following the death of Sikander Bakht, until June 2004, when he was replaced by a newly appointed governor. Mr. Chaturvedi is a retired IAS officer and has gained wide recognition for his role as Karnataka Governor.
- P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 1935) is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded several songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, language and Kannada. Her career spanned about four decades. Susheela was born in 1935 in Vijayanagaram, Andhra Pradesh. In 1950, music director Nageswara Rao was looking for new talent and scouted for new singers at All India Radio. Of the five people referred, Susheela was selected and Susheela sang her first song, …
- Oscar Fernandes
Oscar Fernandes is a Minister of state for Labour Affairs (Independent charge) in Dr. Manomohan Singh's UPA government in India. He is a senior Indian National Congress Leader and AICC General Secretary. He is from Udupi, Karnataka.
- V. S. Acharya
Dr. V. S. Acharya is presently minister of medical education and animal husbandry in Government of Karnataka.He is sometimes known as V.S.Achar.He is native of Udupi.He is a physician by profession.He started his career in erstwile Jansangh (predecessor of Bharatiya Janata Party).He was elected as muncipal councillor ,then as president in Udupi muncipal council.
- Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali or Haidar 'Ali (c. 1722 - 1782), was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Hyder Ali was a Shia Muslim soldier-adventurer, who, followed by his son Tipu Sultan, became one of the most formidable Asiatic rivals the British had ever encountered in India. He was the great-grandson of an Islamic fakir from Gulbarga, Deccan. His father was a "naik" or chief constable at Budikota, near Kolar in present-day Karnataka.
- Purandara Dasa
Purandara Dasa (kannada:ಪುರಂದರ ದಾಸ) is one of the most prominent composers in Carnatic music. His contribution to music is immeasurable, and he is often called the "Karnataka sangeeta pitamaha" (Father of Carnatic Music). The "dasas", among them Sripadaraya, Kanaka Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Vijaya Dasa, and Kamalesha Vittala and others, propounded bhakti to the Lord through music over several years.
- Narendra Nayak
Narendra Nayak is a well known rationalist from Mangalore, Karnataka, India. A postgraduate in Medical biochemistry, Narendra Nayak was an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the Centre for Basic Sciences, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore until the 25th November 2006 when he quit the job to continue full time his work in the field of the rationalist movement. He is the founder of Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association and has been its Secretary since 1976.
- Kadri Gopalnath
Kadri Gopalnath (b. 1950) is an Indian saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music on the saxophone. Kadri Gopalnath was born in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. He acquired a taste for music from his father Thaniappa, a nadhaswaram vidwan. Young Gopalnath once saw the saxophone being played in the Mysore palace band set. Thrilled on hearing the vibrant tone of the saxophone, Gopalnath decided to master it.
- Venkatesh Prasad
Bapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad(Kannada:ಬಾಪು ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾವ್ ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್) (born August 5, 1969 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer, now retired. He made his debut for the Indian national team in 1996. Prasad, opened the Indian bowling with his Karantaka team-mate, Javagal Srinath. Prasad, being tall and bony, was ideally suited for medium pace bowling.
- D. V. Sadananda Gowda
D. V. Sadananda Gowda (born 18 March, 1953) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Mangalore constituency of Karnataka and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party.
- Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath (born August 31, 1969 in Mysore, Karnataka) is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the only Indian pace bowler apart from Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. He is arguably India's fastest bowler.
- Sunil Joshi
Sunil Joshi (born June 6, 1970, Gadag, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer. He is an all-rounder who bowls slow left arm spin and bats left handed. Joshi played both Test and One-day International cricket for India between 1996 and 2001. His usual role in the team was to provide runs from the lower order and act as a secondary spin bowler to support the likes of Anil Kumble. Despite being a regular in the national team during this period, …
- S. Nijalingappa
Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa (December 10, 1902 - August, 2000 was a senior Congress politician and the Chief Minister of Karnataka between 1956 and 1958 and once again between 1962 and 1968. He played important roles in both the Indian independence movement and the "Karnataka Ekikarana" movement.
- Sunil Shetty
Sunil Shetty is an Indian actor. He was born in Mulki, near Mangalore, Karnataka, India. He is not related to Shilpa Shetty, another Indian actress,even though both belong to same Bunt (community).
- K. S. Hegde
K. S. Hegde was speaker of Lok Sabha from 1977 to 1980. Earlier he was a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was born in 1909 and died in 1990. He was from Karnataka.
- Kengal Hanumanthaiah
Kengal Hanumanthaiah was the chief minister of the Old Mysore State (Karnataka) in India from 1952 to 1956. He is best remembered for his vision and contribution to the construction of Vidhana Soudha or the state assembly house.
- Sudha Murthy
Sudha Murthy is an Indian social worker and accomplished author. She is known for her philanthropic work through the Infosys Foundation. Among other things, she has initiated a move to provide all government schools in Karnataka with computer and library facilities. She also teaches computer science and writes fiction. "Dollar Bahu" ("Dollar daughter-in-law"), a book she wrote, was adapted to a television serial in 2001. She completed her M.Tech.
- K. S. Eshwarappa
K. S. Eshwarappa is a senior politician in Karnataka state India today. He was also president of Bharatiya Janata Party state unit. Now he is a MLA from Shimoga and BJP Leader. Currently he is Holding Minister of Water Resource management.
- Sudhakar Rao
Ramchandra Sudhakar Rao is a former Indian cricketer. He played domestic cricket for Karnataka and played one one-day international for India against New Zealand in 1976.
- Yashwantrao Chavan
Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan (12 March 1913 - 25 November 1984) was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the division of Bombay State, and subsequently Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was Chief Minister of Maharashtra from May 1, 1960 to November 19, 1962. Yashwantrao Chavan was born in the village of Devrashtre in Karad Taluka of Satara District of Maharashtra State of India. He was from poor Maratha family.
- Vishnuvardhana
Vishnuvardhana (1108-1152 CE), was a king of the Hoysala Empire in present day Indian state of Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana took the first step in consolidating the Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against the Cholas and is overlords, the Western Chalukya empire. It is said that The Hoysala feudatory gained the dignity of an Kingdom starting from his rule onwards.
- Gangubai Hangal
Gangubhai Hangal is one of the greats of the Hindustani classical music. She is a vocalist and an exponent of the Kirana Gharana. She learnt her music under the tutelage of Sawai Gandharva. Gangubhai lives in the city of Hubli in Karnataka. She is known to let herself drift in the melody of the raga she renders. She believes that Music helped her have a communion with God.
- Prakash Padukone
Prakash Padukone is a famous badminton player from Karnataka, India.
- Sai Kumar
Sai Kumar (27 July, 1960 - present) is an Indian Tollywood actor who speaks the Telugu language. Now he is South Indian hero, actor, and campanigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka. He belongs to a middle class family and started his career at an early age of his life as a dubbing child artist. His father is P J Sarma is leading dubbing artist. Sai Kumar followed his father's foot steps with dubbing, who is consider the dubbing king.
- Dodda Ganesh
Doddanarasiah Ganesh (born June 30, 1973, Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer who played in 4 Tests and one ODI in 1997. Ganesh failed to make an impression in his limited Test opportunities, picking up just five wickets at an average of 57.4. In first-class cricket, he has 365 wickets from 104 matches, all for Karnataka.
- Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni is an Indian Actor who has won two National Awards. Atul Kulkarni is an Indian actor and winner of a National Award for his portrayal of Shriram Abhyankar(श्रीराम अभयंकर) in the film "Hey Ram". Although he started his career in theatre, he has won critical acclaim for his performances in films like "Page 3" and more recently, "Rang De Basanti".
- Akka Mahadevi
Akka Mahadevi (ಅಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ) Born to Nirmala and Sumati in Udatadi (or Udugani) near the ancient city of Banavasi (in Shikaripura taluk Shimoga district) in a Shiva temple was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement in 12th century Karnataka. Her Vachanas, a form of poetry are considered her greatest contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature.
- N. Ravikiran
Chitravina N. Ravikiran (born February 12, 1967 in Mysore, Karnataka, India) is a composer of Indian Carnatic music. He has been called the "Indian Mozart". He is probably most famous for his concept of "melharmony", which is harmony which stays within the melodic rules of an Indian raga (musical mode). Considered a virtuoso chitravina player, he has been described as "probably the greatest slide instrumentalist in the world today" by Radio Australia.