Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

The sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, she was the first woman to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly. Well, we are talking about the well known diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit. She was an Indian envoy, who was born in the year 1900. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Vijayalakshmi Pandit, who was instrumental in the politics of the country.

In the year 1921, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit. She was the first woman to hold a prestigious position in the cabinet. In the year 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and she became the minister of the local self governing body. She held this position for two consecutive years. Later, in the year 1946, she was reelected for this position. Read on to know the complete life history of Vijayalaxmi Nehru Pandit.

In the post independence period, she made an entry into the diplomatic services and served as the ambassador of India to various countries like Soviet Union, Ireland, United States and Mexico. From 1962 to 1964, she served as the governor of Maharashtra. Thereafter, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Phulpur, which was the former constituency of her brother. She held the post for four years till 1968. Vijayalakshmi Pandit was critical about her niece, Indira Gandhi. Infact, their relations were not very good.

When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister in the year 1966, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit took retirement from active politics. After taking voluntary retirement, she went to the peaceful Dehradun city. In the year 1979, she was chosen as the representative of India to the UN Human Rights Commission. Thereafter, she went far away from public life. She had an interest in writing. Her writings consist of The Evolution of India (1958) and The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir (1979). Infact, her daughter named Nayantara Sahgal, is a wonderful novelist. Vijaylakshmi Pandit died in the year 1990.