|
Sucheta Kriplani
|
|
|
|
|
| Born | June 25, 1908 Ambala, Haryana |
|---|---|
| Died | December 1, 1974 |
| Political party | INC |
Sucheta Kriplani(hi: सुचेता कृपलानी) (born Sucheta Mazumdar) (June 25, 1908[1] - December 1, 1974[2])[3] was an Indian freedom fighter and politician in Uttar Pradesh, India. She became the first woman to be elected Chief Minister of any Indian state.
Contents |
She was born in Ambala, Haryana to a Bengali family. Her father, S.N. Majumdar though a government doctor was a nationalist. Educated at Indraprastha College and St.Stephen's College, Delhi she became a lecturer at the Banaras Hindu University. In 1936, she married socialist, Acharya Kriplani and became involved with the Indian National Congress.
Like her contemporaries Aruna Asaf Ali and Usha Mehta, she came to the forefront during the Quit India Movement. She later worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi during the Partition riots. She accompanied him to Noakhali in 1946. She was one of the few women who were elected to the Constituent Assembly and was part of the subcommittee that drafted the Indian Constitution. She became a part of the subcommittee that was handed over the task of laying down the charter for the constitution of India. On 15th August, 1947 she sang Vande Mataram in the Independence Session of the Constituent Assembly.
After independence she remained involved with politics in U.P. She was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952 and 1957 and served as a Minister of State for Small Scale Industries. In 1962, she was elected to the U.P Assembly from Kanpur and served in the Cabinet in 1962. In 1963, she became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the first woman to hold that position in any Indian state. The highlight of her tenure was the firm handling of a state employees strike. The first-ever strike by the state employees which continued for 62 days took place during her regime. She relented only when the employees' leaders agreed for compromise. Although the wife of a socialist, Kriplani cemented her reputation as a firm administrator by refusing their demand for pay hike.
She retired from politics in 1971 and remained in seclusion till her death in 1974. She was a very active member.She became the first woman to be elected Chief Minister of a state.
| Preceded by Chandra Bhanu Gupta |
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 2 Oct 1963 – 14 Mar 1967 |
Succeeded by Chandra Bhanu Gupta |
No comments have been added.