The renowned Indian politician, Sumitra Mahajan celebrated her 77th birthday this year on April 12. Sumitra who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party has represented the Indore constituency of Madhya Pradesh from 1989 to 2019 and has served as a Union Minister from 2002 to 2004 in the Ministry of Human Resources, Communications and Petroleum. She retired from electoral politics after serving as the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019.
Sumitra Mahajan Biography
Sumitra Mahajan was born on April 12, 1943, in a Chitpavan Brahmin family in Chiplun, Maharashtra to Usha and Purushottam Neelkanth Sathe. She holds a MA and LLB from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, formerly Indore University. Sumitra has maintained a clean track record in her political career and was known as a leader of simplicity and honesty. She implemented several developmental projects in Indore during her tenure as a cabinet minister. She has delivered several lectures and public discourses on the teachings of Mahabharata and Geeta, Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar.
Sumitra Mahajan Political Career
Sumitra served as the chairman of the Indore Municipal Corporation from 1982 to 1985 and as the deputy mayor of the Indore Municipal Corporation from 1984 to 1985. In 1989, she was elected to the ninth Lok Sabha for the first term. During 1990-1991, she was a member of the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and also the president of Mahila Morcha the women’s wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh.
She was re-elected to the tenth Lok Sabha for the second term in 1991. She also served as a member of the Joint Committee for 73rd Constitution Amendment Bill from 1991 to 1992, member of the Joint Committee for Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse Bill – 1991) from 1991 to 1993 and a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Communications from 1991 to 1996. In 1992, she was elected as the State Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh which she held till 1994. From 1995 to 1996, she was the Secretary of BJP Parliamentary Board and as the chairman of Parliamentary Board, Madhya Pradesh. In 1996, she was re-elected to the 11th Lok Sabha for the third term and in 1997, she became a member of the Committee on Public Accounts. In 1998, she was elected as the General Secretary of BJP and re-elected to twelfth Lok Sabha for the fourth term.
During 1998-1999, she served various positions including convenor of Sub-Committee on Drug Control under the Committee on Human Resource Development, member of the Committee on Human Resource Development and its Sub-Committee-I on Value-based Education, member of the Joint Committee on the Empowerment of Women and its Sub-Committee on Appraisal of Laws relating to Women-Criminal Laws, member of Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADs), member of Consultative Committee under Ministry of Human Resource Development and member of Panel of Chairmen.
In 1999, she was re-elected to thirteenth Lok Sabha for the fifth term. She held the position of Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1999 to 2002, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology from 2002-2003 and Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas from 2003 to 2004. She was re-elected to fourteenth Lok Sabha for the sixth term in 2004. From 2004 to 2009, she was a member of the General Purposes Committee and Chairperson of the Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment. In 2005, she served as the Prabhari of Mahila Morcha and as a member of the Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation. She was the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment from 2007 to 2009. She was re-elected to fifteenth Lok Sabha for the seventh term in 2009. In 2009, she also served as a member of the Panel of Chairpersons, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Rural Development and member of the Committee on Empowerment of Women. She was re-elected to sixteenth Lok Sabha for the eighth term in 2014 and was unanimously elected as the Speaker of 16th Lok Sabha which she held till June 17, 2019.
Sumitra Mahajan Achievements
Sumitra Mahajan entered the LIMCA book of records for being first Indian woman to represent the same Lok Sabha constituency on the same party ticket for eight consecutive terms. She was the eldest among the women Members of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha and was the second woman after Meira Kumar to be elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Sumitra Mahajan Personal Life
Sumitra is married to Jayant Mahajan of Indore. They have two sons. Sumitra’s favourite hobbies are reading, listening to music and watching drama and cinema. The inspirational figure in her life is the 18th-century social reformer Ahilyabai Holkar.
Sumitra Mahajan Images on India Content Website
The India Content website has a good stock of Sumitra Mahajan images. The high-definition images on the website are available in three sizes – small, medium and large.
You can purchase various other content images from the https://www.indiacontent.in
