Vijayalaksmi Pandit Indian Politician

Vijayalaksmi Pandit Indian Politician

Date of birth: 18^th August, 1900 and Date of death: 1^st December, 1990
She was an Indian diplomat and politician.  She was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru.  In 1921, she married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit.  She was the first women to hold a cabinet post.  In 1937, she was elected to the provisional legislature of the United Provinces and designated minister of local self- government and public health.  She held the latter post until 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947.  Following India’s Independence from British in 1947, she became India’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union.  She then became India’s ambassador to the United Nations.  She was the President of United Nations General Assembly during the year 1953, becoming the first women to hold that position.  She served as Governor of Maharastra from 1962 until 1964.  Pandit was a harsh critic of her niece, Indira Gandhi, after Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966.  Her daughter Nayantara Sahgal is a well- known novelist.