Who died in 2024? Gems that we lost this year

The year 2024 took many gems from us belonging to the Hindi film industry, Hollywood, leaders, Indian tycoons, and notable personalities across the world.

Here are some significant personalities we lost this year.

Born in the heart of Gujarat, Saurashtra, an Indian ghazal and playback singer, Pankaj Udhas passed away on February 26, 2024. Udhas was suffering from cancer and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai.

The Gujarat-born singer was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006 and is known for rendering many hit songs in Bollywood in Hindi and other languages.

Founder of the Ramoji Film City, Ramoji Rao died at 88 on June 8, 2024.

Rao was the founder of a Telugu daily and a group of channels, along with the Ramoji Film City.

It was September when Gujarat lost its renowned historian and author Makrand Mehta at the age of 93. Mehta authored more than 20 books in English and Gujarati. He also published numerous research papers on social and economic history.

Moreover, after battling a respiratory tract infection for a few days on respiratory support, Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary and former Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury (72) passed away on September 12.

India was shocked this October after the death of legend Ratan Naval Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons.

The 86-year-old Parsi industrialist and philanthropist had his roots in Gujarat’s Navsari.

Before India could process the death of Tata, the fateful month of December came with the demise of Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and former PM Manmohan Singh.

Hollywood celebrities that we lost

English singer and songwriter Liam Payne passed away on October 16, 2024, from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, at the age of 31.

British star of the iconic Harry Potter series, Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (Maggie Smith) passed away on September 27  at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Maggie was the recipient of two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and four Emmy Awards.

Just a few days away from the new year, America’s longest-lived former President Jimmy Carter died at 100 on December 30.

Carter had met then-Indian president Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and prime minister Morarji Desai and addressed the Parliament. A village he had visited then in Gurugram (then Gurgaon) was named Carterpuri and retains that name.

Also read:

World events that shaped 2024: US election, Modi 3.0, Bangladesh, and more