Contributor: Sri Narayan Varma

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam has been voted the Most Trusted in a list of 100 public figures from across the country. The Trust Survey was conducted by Reader's Digest magazine. A cross section of 750 people were surveyed online and asked to rank the shortlisted individuals and professions they have the most faith in.

Chairman of the Tata Group Ratan Tata comes second in the list. The magazine calls the personalities in the list the architects of modern India.

Former police official and TV personality Kiran Bedi appears third in the list. Reader's Digest says these eminent personalities have inspired a whole generation of Indians with their vision, determination and perseverance to overcome the odds and reach the pinnacle of success.

Co-founder of Infosys and author Narayan Murthy has been listed fourth in the survey. The magazine says honesty, simplicity and a social consciousness are just some of the defining traits common to most trusted individuals in the country.

Oscar winning music director AR Rahman comes fifth in the Trust Survey, conducted for the first time in India.

Chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand comes sixth in the list. 'Although we cannot claim this survey to be absolutely scientific, you'll agree with me that the overall results mirror public perceptions fairly accurately,' the editorial of the magazine says.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is ranked seventh while Congress president Sonia Gandhi is listed 72nd. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is ranked 29th.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar comes eighth in the survey which has more than its share of surprises, with cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ranked at 42nd, way below shooter Abhinav Bindra (25th), while tennis star Sania Mirza is ranked 81st.

Cartoonist R K Laxman is ranked ninth while actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan appear at 14 and 18 positions respectively.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is ranked at 10th place along with Wipro chairman Azim Premji and former Indian Space Research Organisation chief M. Madhavan Nair.