Maneka Gandhi
Encyclopedia
Maneka Gandhi is an Indian politician, animal rights activist
, environmentalist
, former model and widow of the 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 member of the Nehru-Gandhi Political Clan
.
family to Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand and Amardeep Kaur Anand. She was born in Delhi and educated at the Lawrence School, Sanawar
and later at Lady Shri Ram College for Women
in New Delhi
she earned an ISC. She did modeling for Bombay Dyeing
and that was where she was spotted by Sanjay Gandhi. She met him when she was 17 and got married within a year.
Sanjay and Maneka lived with Indira Gandhi
and Sanjay grew increasingly involved in Indian politics as part of the Youth Congress. Maneka often accompanied him on his travels. She was also the Founder Editor of Surya, a political news monthly. When the Congress party was defeated in 1977, Maneka turned the magazine into a platform to promote and defend the Congress party, her husband and mother-in-law. Surya magazine carried regular interviews with Indira Gandhi, and was instrumental in refurbishing her image. Maneka accompanied Indira Gandhi to Chikmagalur from where Indira was re-elected. Dom Moraes
who covered that visit remarked on the junior Mrs Gandhi’s lively intelligence and charisma. Khushwant Singh once likened Maneka to ‘Durga’.
During the period between 1977–1980, Sanjay was ruthlessly hounded and often jailed by the new Government. It even sought to impound Maneka’s passport against which she went to court and won a landmark decision on personal liberty. In the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India,[3] of 1979, 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 democratic setup."[5][6]
With Maneka by his side, Sanjay led the Congress back to power within just three years. A son was born to the couple that same year, 1980. Sanjay named the child Feroze after his own father . Indira added the name Varun. Maneka was just 23 years and her son , just 100 days old, when Sanjay died in an air crash.
In March 1983, Maneka founded her own political party, the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch which focused on youth empowerment and employment. The Manch won 4 out of the first 5 seats it contested—in the state elections of Andhra Pradesh.
Maneka filed her own nomination from her husband’s seat, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, and the election campaign of 1984 was in full swing when her mother in law, Indira was assassinated by her own bodyguards. Maneka condemned the assassination as a "frightening act of violence".[31] She called for an independent commission to probe the assassination composed of "eminent persons with a reputation for honesty and fearlessness who have no political connection".
Riding the massive sympathy wave in the ensuing elections, Rajiv Gandhi
defeated Maneka in Amethi and became Prime Minister.
In 1988, Maneka merged the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch with the main opposition party, the Janata Dal and became its General Secretary. The party won the general elections and at 33, Maneka Gandhi became India’s youngest Minister. As Minister of Environment & Forests in two successive governments, Maneka introduced a number of historic legislations including the Coastal Zone Regulation Act and The Public Liability Act for Hazardous Chemicals. She also created the National Zoo Authority to regulate zoos, set up Environmental Tribunals, notified protection for old monuments as Heritage sites, introduced testing and controls for vehicular pollution, devised the comparative testing scheme Eco-Mark for environmentally friendly products, formed the Vivisection Regulatory Committee to eliminate duplicative animal research, and set up the National Animal Welfare Board of India. She negotiated the Montreal Protocol on behalf of the Government of India and introduced the ‘polluter pays’ concept.
Contesting as an Independent candidate from Pilibhit
, Maneka was re-elected in 1996 and again in 1998 with among the highest margins of victory in the country.
In 1999, Maneka lent support to the congress India’s leading opposition party led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The party was elected to power and Maneka became Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Here 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 this scheme, going up to the point where it was transferred to the Ministry of Finance 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 also restructured the Rehabilitation Council of India, simplified the adoption laws, initiated a helpline for street children, funded the first disability hospitals in the country, initiated a national network of outlets for tribal products, funded training facilities for retired armed forces personnel and put together an $11 million rehabilitation programme for the disabled.
She was instrumental in creating India’s Animal Welfare Ministry—a first in the world, and serving as its first Minister. As Minister for Animal Welfare, she banned the use of bears, primates and big cats in public performances, designed an Animal Welfare Institute to impart training in the field, and made it mandatory for food and cosmetics to be labeled veg and non veg (green and brown dots) depending on their ingredients.
Maneka Gandhi was subsequently Minister for Culture and Minister for Programme Implementation.
In 2004 , Maneka joined the congress and again contested and won from Pilibhit. She has won 5 out of the 6 times she has contested from Pilibhit. This is a measure of her enormous personal popularity in the region attributed to her assiduously nurturing the constituency.
In 2009, Maneka fought and won from neighbouring Aonla while her son, Varun Gandhi fought and won from Pilibhit.
As a six term Member of Parliament , Maneka Gandhi is among the most senior legislators of India. She is currently Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Govt. Assurances.
leader 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, CPCSEA members carried unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted.
She started the organisation People for Animals in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in India. Maneka Gandhi is also a patron of International Animal Rescue
. 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 is a cast member for the documentary A Delicate Balance.
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
.
when he was in jail.
Maneka and Sanjay had a son in 1980 who was named after Sanjay’s father Feroze. Indira added a second name , Varun. Months later, Sanjay was killed in a plane crash.
An editor and activist, Gandhi’s entry into politics was more by accident than design. And though she has been extremely successful, winning parliamentary elections six times and serving as Minister in four governments, her heart has always remained in environmental and animal protection. Here she has earned international awards and acclaim. She has filed Public Interest Litigations that have achieved the replacement of the municipal killing of homeless dogs with a sterilization programme, the unregulated sale of airguns and a ban on mobile or traveling zoos. She currently chairs the Jury of International Energy Globe Foundation which meets annually in Austria to award the best environmental innovations of the year. She is a member of the Eurosolar Board and the Wuppertal Institute, Germany.
She is Chairperson of Rugmark
which works to rehabilitate children in the carpet trade. Rugmark has won awards for rescuing the maximum number of bonded child labour.
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, former model and widow of the Indian politician, Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
. She has been a minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
. Maneka Gandhi is member of the Nehru-Gandhi Political Clan
Nehru-Gandhi family
The Nehru–Gandhi family or Nehru - Feroze Gandhi family is an Indian political family which has been dominant in the Indian National Congress for most of India's history since independence...
.
Early life
Maneka Gandhi was born in a SikhSikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
family to Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand and Amardeep Kaur Anand. She was born in Delhi and educated at the Lawrence School, Sanawar
Lawrence School, Sanawar
The Lawrence School is situated in Sanawar, adjacent to Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, India. It was founded by Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence of the Indian Army of British India and was established on 15 April 1847.The school has educated many notable people...
and later at Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Lady Shri Ram College for Women , is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. It is recognized as one of the premier women's institutions for liberal arts education in India.It isalso known as the Wellesley of the East....
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
she earned an ISC. She did modeling for Bombay Dyeing
Bombay Dyeing
Bombay Dyeing is the flagship company of the Wadia Group, engaged mainly into the business of Textiles...
and that was where she was spotted by Sanjay Gandhi. She met him when she was 17 and got married within a year.
Sanjay and Maneka lived with Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
and Sanjay grew increasingly involved in Indian politics as part of the Youth Congress. Maneka often accompanied him on his travels. She was also the Founder Editor of Surya, a political news monthly. When the Congress party was defeated in 1977, Maneka turned the magazine into a platform to promote and defend the Congress party, her husband and mother-in-law. Surya magazine carried regular interviews with Indira Gandhi, and was instrumental in refurbishing her image. Maneka accompanied Indira Gandhi to Chikmagalur from where Indira was re-elected. Dom Moraes
Dom Moraes
Dominic Francis Moraes , popularly known as Dom Moraes, was a Goan writer, poet and columnist. He published nearly 30 books.-Early life:...
who covered that visit remarked on the junior Mrs Gandhi’s lively intelligence and charisma. Khushwant Singh once likened Maneka to ‘Durga’.
During the period between 1977–1980, Sanjay was ruthlessly hounded and often jailed by the new Government. It even sought to impound Maneka’s passport against which she went to court and won a landmark decision on personal liberty. In the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India,[3] of 1979, 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 democratic setup."[5][6]
With Maneka by his side, Sanjay led the Congress back to power within just three years. A son was born to the couple that same year, 1980. Sanjay named the child Feroze after his own father . Indira added the name Varun. Maneka was just 23 years and her son , just 100 days old, when Sanjay died in an air crash.
In March 1983, Maneka founded her own political party, the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch which focused on youth empowerment and employment. The Manch won 4 out of the first 5 seats it contested—in the state elections of Andhra Pradesh.
Maneka filed her own nomination from her husband’s seat, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, and the election campaign of 1984 was in full swing when her mother in law, Indira was assassinated by her own bodyguards. Maneka condemned the assassination as a "frightening act of violence".[31] She called for an independent commission to probe the assassination composed of "eminent persons with a reputation for honesty and fearlessness who have no political connection".
Riding the massive sympathy wave in the ensuing elections, Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
defeated Maneka in Amethi and became Prime Minister.
In 1988, Maneka merged the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch with the main opposition party, the Janata Dal and became its General Secretary. The party won the general elections and at 33, Maneka Gandhi became India’s youngest Minister. As Minister of Environment & Forests in two successive governments, Maneka introduced a number of historic legislations including the Coastal Zone Regulation Act and The Public Liability Act for Hazardous Chemicals. She also created the National Zoo Authority to regulate zoos, set up Environmental Tribunals, notified protection for old monuments as Heritage sites, introduced testing and controls for vehicular pollution, devised the comparative testing scheme Eco-Mark for environmentally friendly products, formed the Vivisection Regulatory Committee to eliminate duplicative animal research, and set up the National Animal Welfare Board of India. She negotiated the Montreal Protocol on behalf of the Government of India and introduced the ‘polluter pays’ concept.
Contesting as an Independent candidate from Pilibhit
Pilibhit
Pilibhit |Hafizabad]]) is a city and a municipal board in the Pilibhit district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Pilibhit is the north-eastern most district of Bareilly division, situated in the Rohilkhand region of the sub-Himalayan Plateau belt on the boundary of Nepal, known for the origin...
, Maneka was re-elected in 1996 and again in 1998 with among the highest margins of victory in the country.
In 1999, Maneka lent support to the congress India’s leading opposition party led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The party was elected to power and Maneka became Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Here 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 this scheme, going up to the point where it was transferred to the Ministry of Finance 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 also restructured the Rehabilitation Council of India, simplified the adoption laws, initiated a helpline for street children, funded the first disability hospitals in the country, initiated a national network of outlets for tribal products, funded training facilities for retired armed forces personnel and put together an $11 million rehabilitation programme for the disabled.
She was instrumental in creating India’s Animal Welfare Ministry—a first in the world, and serving as its first Minister. As Minister for Animal Welfare, she banned the use of bears, primates and big cats in public performances, designed an Animal Welfare Institute to impart training in the field, and made it mandatory for food and cosmetics to be labeled veg and non veg (green and brown dots) depending on their ingredients.
Maneka Gandhi was subsequently Minister for Culture and Minister for Programme Implementation.
In 2004 , Maneka joined the congress and again contested and won from Pilibhit. She has won 5 out of the 6 times she has contested from Pilibhit. This is a measure of her enormous personal popularity in the region attributed to her assiduously nurturing the constituency.
In 2009, Maneka fought and won from neighbouring Aonla while her son, Varun Gandhi fought and won from Pilibhit.
As a six term Member of Parliament , Maneka Gandhi is among the most senior legislators of India. She is currently Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Govt. Assurances.
Environmental activism
Maneka Gandhi is a self-described environmentalist and animal rightsAnimal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
leader 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, CPCSEA members carried unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted.
She started the organisation People for Animals in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in India. Maneka Gandhi is also a patron of International Animal Rescue
International Animal Rescue
International Animal Rescue, also known as IAR, is an animal welfare non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom that comes to the aid of wild and domestic animals with hands-on rescue and rehabilitation. International Animal Rescue returns rehabilitated animals to the wild while also...
. 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 is a cast member for the documentary A Delicate Balance.
Career in journalism
As a journalist, Maneka Gandhi made headlines for her shocking publication in Surya Magazine of photos showing sexual intercourseSexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
between Suresh Ram (son of the then Defence Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram) and Sushma Chaudhury, a University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
student. Her daring publication of the photos ran the risk of violation of obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
laws. The revealing pictures were published apparently to discredit Jagjivan Ram, who defected from the Indira Gandhi government and helped bring Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
to power in 1977. He was one of the contenders for the post of Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
.
Personal life
Maneka married Sanjay Gandhi, the son of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 23 September 1974 at a simple but elegant civil ceremony. She wore a sari gifted by her mother in law , Indira made of Khadi spun by Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
when he was in jail.
Maneka and Sanjay had a son in 1980 who was named after Sanjay’s father Feroze. Indira added a second name , Varun. Months later, Sanjay was killed in a plane crash.
An editor and activist, Gandhi’s entry into politics was more by accident than design. And though she has been extremely successful, winning parliamentary elections six times and serving as Minister in four governments, her heart has always remained in environmental and animal protection. Here she has earned international awards and acclaim. She has filed Public Interest Litigations that have achieved the replacement of the municipal killing of homeless dogs with a sterilization programme, the unregulated sale of airguns and a ban on mobile or traveling zoos. She currently chairs the Jury of International Energy Globe Foundation which meets annually in Austria to award the best environmental innovations of the year. She is a member of the Eurosolar Board and the Wuppertal Institute, Germany.
She is Chairperson of Rugmark
Rugmark
Rugmark is a network of non-profit organizations dedicated to ending illegal child labour in the rug making industry. Founded in 1994 by children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, it provides a certification program that allows companies that pass inspection to attach a logo certifying that...
which works to rehabilitate children in the carpet trade. Rugmark has won awards for rescuing the maximum number of bonded child labour.
Positions held
- 1988-89 - General-Secretary, Janata DalJanata DalJanata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
(J.D.)
- 1989 - Elected to 9th Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(1st term) From Pilibhit parliamentary constituency
- 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 SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(2nd term) From Pilibhit parliamentary constituency
- 1996-97 - Member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests
- 1998 - Re-elected to 12th Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(3rd term) From Pilibhit parliamentary constituency
- 1998-99 - Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Social Justice and Empowerment
- 1999 - Re-elected to 13th Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(4th term) From Pilibhit parliamentary constituency
- 13 October 1999- 1 September 2001- Union Minister of State, Social Justice and Empowerment (Independent Charge)
- 1 September 2001- 18 November 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 SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
( 5th term), Member, Committee on Health & Family Welfare, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests From Pilibhit parliamentary constituency
- 5 August 2007 - onwards Member, Committee on Health & Family Welfare
- 16 May 2009 - Re-elected to 15th Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(6th term) From Aonla parliamentary constituencyAonla (Lok Sabha constituency)Aonla Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.-Assembly segments:Presently, Aonla Lok Sabha constituency comprises five Vidhan Sabha segments...
Awards
- Shining World Compassion Award along with a cheque for 20,000 dollars from Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.
- 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 Foundation Award for Excellence in the sphere of Truth, Non-violence and Vegetarianism, 1999
- Ahimsa and Sadbhawna Award, 1999
- Dewaliben Charitable Trust Award, 1999
- International Women's Association Woman of the Year Award, Chennai , 2001
- Dinanath Mangeshkar Aadishakti Puraskar in the field of Environment and animal welfare, 2001 *Rukmini Devi Arundale Animal Welfare Award
- A.S.G. Jayakar award, 2008