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Bapu came in at 12

For some, ranking people is a pastime and for some it is a profession. But one thing is certain: the result does evoke reactions. Now we have a book which ranks 1,000 personalities from the last 1,000 years.

Here Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has failed to make it to the top 10. He is languishing at the 12th spot behind the likes of Johannes Gutenberg, who developed the printing press, Christopher Columbus and even John Locke. Called “1000 years, 1000 people”, the book is compiled by Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, Henry Gottlieb, Barbara Bowers and Brent Bowers. They have used the BioGraph system for defining ‘importance’.

The authors feel the system is easy to apply if you know about the lives, times and influence of the personalities.

“It is for the first time that such a rigorous system has been employed to rank people who have shaped the world. Otherwise, we generally rely on popular appeal for such compilations.

In future, the system could be applied for people who shaped India,” claims Prakash Bal, Editor-in-chief, Flywell Publications, which has brought the book to India. He agrees that Mahatma Gandhi’s ranking could have generated controversy.

“Thankfully, the book has not been disseminated to that level yet.” Each BioGraph point is awarded on the basis of answers to five questions: lasting influence, effect on the sum total of wisdom and beauty to the world, influence on contemporaries, singularity of contribution and charisma.

The highest score possible is 24,000 but even Gutenberg fell far short with 21,768 points.

In fact, charisma has turned the tables for many in the list. Oscar Wilde has scored big in this category for his wit and flamboyance.

And surprisingly Hitler has got the most – 1,991 – for the spell he cast over a nation, taking him to number 20 in the list.

Not just Hitler, there are personalities like Stalin and Blackbeard — history’s biggest pirate — also in the list, making sure villains get their due as well. Coming back to India, Babur, Akbar, Ramanuja, Ram Singh, Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Rabindra Nath Tagore also make their presence felt.

Indira has scored big on lasting influence and singularity of contribution because she was instrumental in the creation of Bangladesh.

Interestingly, Karl Marx is rated above Adam Smith. Beyond the ranking, the book is an interesting guide on people whom we should know.

Personalities like Ibn Sina, a leading authority on herbs and crude surgery, who helped the world out of the Dark Ages.

Or for that matter Petrus Peregrinus, who is credited with explaining the use of the magnetic compass.

And not to forget artist Andy Warhol who’s No. 1,000 essentially for his prediction: “In the future everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes.”

ANUJ KUMAR

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