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Maneka Gandhi
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Maneka Gandhi (née Anand; born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, environmentalist, former journalist and the widow of influential Indian politician, Sanjay Gandhi. She has been a minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare. Maneka Gandhi is an estranged member of the Nehru-Gandhi Family.
hi was born in Delhi and educated at the prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar and later at Lady Shriram College in New Delhi.
hi was the petitioner in the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, a 1979 case involving freedom of movement.
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Encyclopedia
Maneka Gandhi (née Anand; born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, environmentalist, former journalist and the widow of influential Indian politician, Sanjay Gandhi. She has been a minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare. Maneka Gandhi is an estranged member of the Nehru-Gandhi Family.
Early life
Gandhi was born in Delhi and educated at the prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar and later at Lady Shriram College in New Delhi.
Political career
Gandhi was the petitioner in the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, a 1979 case involving freedom of movement. "The case involved the refusal by the government to grant a passport to [Gandhi], which thus restrained her liberty to travel." In its ruling in the case, the Supreme Court of India in a departure from its earlier stand taken in its ruling in A.K.Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), expanded the scope and content of the right to life and liberty by introducing the concept of substantive due process to Indian law. In writing that decision, the court found that "Democracy is based essentially on free debate and open discussion, for that is the only corrective of government action in a democratice [sic] setup."
Gandhi formed the Sanjay Vichar Manch ("Platform for Sanjay's Thought") in 1983 and joined the Janata Dal in 1988. She was the general secretary of JD 1988-1989. She won her first election in 1989 and served as Minister of the Environment from 1989 to 1991 in the cabinet of V.P. Singh. In 1996 and 1998, she was reelected to the Lok Sabha as an independent member from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and served in the BJP led governments as Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, and Minister for Culture. She created the Department for Animal Welfare and served as its Minister along with her other portfolios. While she was Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, she played a historic role in the Indian pension reforms effort, through the early phase of Project OASIS. OASIS is an acronym for Old Age Social and Income Security. Maneka Gandhi played a key role in the initiation and early thinking on these issues, going up to the point where it was transferred to the Ministry of Finance (where Yashwant Sinha was minister) for implementation. This went on to become the celebrated New Pension System (NPS) which was implemented for new recruits into the central government from 2004 onwards.
She stood for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the BJP ticket and is currently a Member of Parliament from Pilibhit. She has won every time she has contested from Pilibhit except once, even though she has changed parties often and contested on different tickets. This is considered to be an indicator of her personal popularity in the region, which has been attributed to her nurturing the constituency and her Punjabi origins. Her son is Varun Gandhi.
Environmental activism
Gandhi is an environmentalist who brought to the mainstream the issue of animal rights in India. She was appointed chairwoman of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) in 1995. Under her direction, unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted, and abominable conditions and cruelty were documented and exposed. The CPCSEA imposed restrictions that brought some of the abuse to a stop. She started the organisation People for Animals in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in India. She is a vegan and has advocated this lifestyle on ethical and health grounds. She also anchored a weekly Television program named "Heads and Tails" highlighting sufferings meted out to animals due to their commercial exploitation. She has also authored a book under the same title. Her other books were about Indian people names. She runs an NGO, People For Animals, which has its shelters across India.
Career in journalism
As a journalist, Maneka Gandhi is popular for her shocking publication in Surya Magazine of photos showing sexual intercourse between Suresh Ram (son of the then Defence Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram) and Sushma Chaudhury, a University of Delhi student. Her daring publication of the photos ran the risk of violation of obscenity laws. The revealing pictures were published apparently to discredit Jagjivan Ram, who defected from the Indira Gandhi government and helped bring Janata Party to power in 1977. He was one of the contenders for the post of Prime Minister of India.
Personal life
She married Sanjay Gandhi, the son of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A former model and editor of Surya India magazine, Gandhi entered politics in 1982 after her husband's death in a plane crash. She had a public falling out with Indira Gandhi, "after [Maneka] signalled her intention to step into her late husband's shoes in the Congress"
Position Held
- 1989-91 - Union Minister of State( Independent Charge), Environment and Forests
- Jan.-April 1990 - Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Programme Implementation
- 1996 - Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
- 1996-97 - Member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests
- 1998 - Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term)
- 1998-99 - Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Social Justice and Empowerment
- 1999 - Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (4th term)
- 13 Oct. 1999- 1 Sept. 2001- Union Minister of State, Social Justice and Empowerment (Independent Charge)
- 1 Sept. 2001- 18 Nov. 2001 - Union Minister of State, Culture with additional charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge) Programme Implementation and Statistics with additional charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge)
- 18 Nov.2001- 30 June 2002 - Union Minister of State, Programme Implementation and Statistics with additional charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge)
- 2002-2004 - Member, Committee on External Affairs
- 2004 - Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha ( 5th term),Member, Committee on Health & Family Welfare, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests
- 5 Aug. 2007 - onwards Member, Committee on Health & Family Welf
Bibliography
- Sanjay Gandhi,
- The Rainbow and other stories;
- 1001 Animal Quiz,
- Penguin Book of Hindu Names;
- Complete Book of Parsi and Muslim Names;
- Brahma`s Hair,
- Heads and Tails;
- Animal Laws of India;
- First Aid for Animals;
- Natural Health for Your Dog;
- Wise and Wonderful Animal Alphabet Quiz
- Fish Quiz
- Bird Quiz and
- Insect Quiz
Literary Artistic & Scientific Accomplishments
- Publisher/author of Etymological Directories;
- Plant Mythology;
- Animal Activism and Laws;
- Editor of political monthly magazine, Surya, 1976-80;
- Widely read columnist: writer on animal welfare and environment;
- Creator and presenter of weekly T.V. shows on animals and environment in English and Hindi.
Social And Cultural Activities
- Founder Member, People for Animals;
- Patron, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF);
- Chairperson, RUGMARK and Delhi Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA);
- Managing-Trustee, Ruth Cowell Foundation (Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Shelter and Hospital)
Special Interests
- Writing,
- Animal Welfare,
- Environmental Protection
- Reading
- Gardening
Awards Received
Recipient of the prestigious
- Lord Erskine Award from the RSPCA, 1992;
- Environmentalist and Vegetarian of the year 1994;
- Prani Mitra Award, 1996;
- Maharana Mewar Foundation Award, 1996 for Environmental work;
- Marchig Animal Welfare Trust Prize, Switzerland, 1997;
- Venu Menon Animal Allies Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999,
- Bhagwan Mahaveer Award for Excellence in sphere of Truth, Non-violence & Vegetarianism, 1999;
- Ahimsa and Sadbhawna Award, 1999;
- Dewaliben Charitable Trust Award, 1999;
- International Women`s Association Woman of the Year Award, Chennai, 2001 and
- Dinanath Mangeshkar Aadishakti Puraskar in the field of Environment and animal welfare, 2001; Delivered the Schumacher Address in U.K., 1995; Key-note Speaker at the National Alliance for Animals in Washington, 1996; Member of 5 person (UNEP) Sasakawa Environment Prize Selection Committee; Special Invitee to Peace in Peacetime, International Conference on Peace and Development, Puerto Rico, 2002
See also
- Political Families of The World
External links
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