About Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Swarup Kumari Nehru was born on August 18, 1900. Motilal Nehru, her father, was a prominent political figure, political leader, and independence fighter. He was also a prominent lawyer. Vijaya Laxmi Pandit did not attend any official schooling; nevertheless, he got private tutoring. She changed her name after her marriage to Ranjit Sitaram Pandit in 1921.
Age Of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Vijaya died in 1990 at the age of 90 years.
Biography Of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Pandit’s election to the Allahabad Municipal Board in 1934 marked the beginning of Pandit’s long and successful political career. In 1936, she became the first Indian woman ever to be appointed to the Assembly of the United Provinces. The following year, in 1937, she was appointed as the secretary of local self-government and public health. She was also the first Indian lady to ever hold a cabinet position. Her resignation in 1939, along with that of every other Congress party elected official, was a demonstration against the British govt’s proclamation that India participated in World War II. After Congress passed the “Quit India” Resolution in August of 1942, she and other Congress leaders were arrested and sent to jail.
Pandit was forced to realign her life following the loss of her husband; thus, she went around the U. S. from the end of 1944 to 1946, primarily on a lecturing tour. After arriving back in India in January 1946, she immediately continued her position as minister of the United Provinces’ local self-government or public health departments. Her first formal diplomatic mission took place in the fall of 1946 when she led the Indian delegation to the U.N. General Assembly in her capacity as the head of the Indian delegation. Additionally, she served as the head of India’s mission to the United Nations General Assembly throughout 1947, 1948, 1952, 1953, and 1963.
Pandit was a member of India’s Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1947 and served till her death in 1977. Following the country’s declaration of independence in 1947, she became the country’s first ambassador to the Soviet Union. She was appointed ambassador to the U.S. in early 1949.
She came back to India in November 1951 to run for a post in the Lok Sabha (the Indian parliament) in the country’s first national elections and won. In September of that year, she became the first Asian and the first woman of color to hold the position of president of the United Nations General Assembly.
As the Indian high commissioner to the U.K. from December 1954 to December 1956, diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit handled strained British-Indian ties throughout the Suez as well as Hungarian crises. When she took office in March 1963, she acted as the state governor of Maharashtra.
The passing of Jawaharlal Nehru on May 27, 1964, left her in a state of profound disbelief. In November, she won a by-election in the Philpur seat of Uttar Pradesh and was subsequently elected to the Lok Sabha. Her brother had previously served as the representative for this district for 17 years. She successfully won another term in office in the fourth national election held in 1967, but she announced her resignation the following year, citing “personal reasons.”
Indignant at the fact that her niece, Indira Gandhi (Nehru), had suspended democratic proceedings under a period of emergency from 1975 till 1977, she campaigned against the niece. Her work ultimately led to Gandhi’s loss in the election she was running for.
When Vijaya Laxmi Pandit passed away on December 1, 1990, in Dehru Dun, India, she had been politically inactive for a number of years before her passing. Pandit was hailed as a “national treasure” by President Ramaswami Venkataraman on the occasion of her passing, “illuminating thread in the tapestry that is the fight for India’s independence. Mrs. Pandit had been an asset to the national movement because of her cultured demeanor, unflinching bravery, and unwavering commitment.”
Throughout her professional life, she fought against the practice of gender segregation and emphasized the need for men and women participating equally in the processes of the state. She is of the opinion that it is not just the element of gender that bothers us in this day and age but also the aspect of manhood. Many would have us believe that the two are distinct, but the reality is that they are not. Because of this, we cannot put them in separate boxes or deal with them independently.
FAQ
She started her career in 1934.
Vijaya was born in India.
Vijaya was the sister to Jawaharlal Nehru
