Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil |
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh
Patil was born on December 19, 1934 in Nadgaon village of Jalgaon
District, Maharashtra. Smt. Patil assumed office as the
12th President of India on July 25, 2007. She is the first
woman to have been elected to this august office.
Immediately prior to election as the President of India,
Smt. Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan from November
8, 2004 till June 21, 2007.
Education:
Smt. Patil received her early education from RR
Vidyalaya, Jalgaon and later obtained her Master’s degree in
Political Science and Economics from the Mooljee Jetha College,
Jalgaon. Later, she obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws
(LL.B.) from Government Law College, Bombay (Mumbai).While
in college, she took active part in sports, excelled in |
table tennis
and won several shields at various Inter-collegiate tournaments.
Even as an MLA, she pursued her studies as a law student.
Professional Career:
Smt. Patil started her professional career as a practicing lawyer
at the Jalgaon District Court and simultaneously devoted herself
to various social activities, especially, for the upliftment
of poor women.
Political Career:
At the young age of 27 years, she successfully contested her
first election to the Maharashtra State Legislature from the
Jalgaon Assembly constituency. Subsequently she was continuously
elected four times as MLA from the Edlabad (Muktai Nagar)
constituency till 1985. Thereafter, she served as a Member
of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 1985 to 1990 and
later elected as a Member of Parliament to the 10th Lok
Sabha in the 1991 General Elections from the Amravati constituency.
She enjoys the unique distinction of not having lost a single
election that she contested till date.
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her long stint in Maharashtra
has held various positions both in the Government and
the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra. She was :
- Deputy Minister, Public Health, Prohibition, Tourism,
Housing and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra
from 1967 to 1972,
- Cabinet Minister, Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra
from 1972 to 1974,
- Cabinet Minister, Public Health and Social Welfare, Government
of Maharashtra from 1974 to 1975,
- Cabinet Minister, Prohibition, Rehabilitation and Cultural
Affairs, Government of Maharashtra from 1975 to 1976,
- Cabinet Minister, Education, Government of Maharashtra
from 1977 to 1978,
- Cabinet Minister, Urban Development and Housing, Government
of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1983, and
- Cabinet Minister, Civil Supplies and Social Welfare, Government
of Maharashtra from 1983 to 1985.
- While in the Opposition, she also served as the Leader
of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra
from July 1979 to February 1980.
While in the Rajya Sabha, Smt. Patil was the Deputy Chairperson,
Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1988 and also served as the Chairperson,
Rajya Sabha from 25.7.1987 to 2.9.1987 when Dr. R. Venkataraman
got elected as President of India. She was also
the Chairperson, Committee of Privileges, Rajya Sabha and
Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha from 1986
to 1988. While in the Lok Sabha, Smt. Patil was the
Chairperson, House Committee.
Public Life:
In her long public life, she has been associated with several
institutions in wide ranging capacities. She served
as Chairperson, Maharashtra State Water Pollution Control
Board from 1982 to 1985. She was also the President, Maharashtra
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) from 1988 to 1990.
Besides holding the position of Director and Vice-Chairperson,
National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit
Societies, she also served as Member, Governing Council,
National Cooperative Union of India and Chairperson, 20-Point
Programme Implementation Committee, Government of Maharashtra.
Smt. Patil has represented India in various international
fora. She attended the International Council on Social
Welfare conferences at Nairobi and at Puerto Rico. She
was a Member of the AICC(I) delegation to Bulgaria in
1985 and represented as Member, Commonwealth Presiding Officers
Conference in London in 1988. She led the Indian delegation
to the Conference on the ‘Status of Women’ in Austria and
was a delegate at the World Women’s Conference, Beijing,
China in September 1995.
Social and Cultural Activities:
Throughout her public life, Smt. Patil has worked actively
for the welfare of women and children and the underprivileged
sections of society. For their benefit, she established several
institutions for them. To name a few, she had
set up (i) hostels for working women in Mumbai and Delhi,
(ii) an Engineering College at Jalgaon for rural youth, (iii)
the Shram Sadhana Trust which takes part in multifarious welfare
activities for development of women, (iv)an Industrial Training
School for the visually handicapped in Jalgaon, (v) schools
for poor children of Vimukta Jatis (Nomadic Tribes) and for
children of Backward Classes in Amravati District and (vi)
a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farmers’ Training Centre) at
Amravati, Maharashtra. She played a pioneering role
in setting up the Mahila Vikas Mahamandal, a Maharashtra State
Government undertaking for the development of women.
She was instrumental in organizing music, computer and sewing
classes for the poor and needy women at Amravati, Maharashtra.
Smt. Patil also organized the Women’s Home Guard in Jalgaon
District and was their Commandant in 1962.
Family Life:
Smt. Patil is married to Dr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat.
Dr. Shekhawat obtained his Ph.D. in the discipline of Chemistry
from Haffkine Institute, Mumbai. An educationist and
a social worker in his own right, he became the first
Mayor of Amravati Municipal Corporation and he has also represented
Amravati constituency as its MLA. She has two children,
a daughter, Smt. Jyoti Rathore and a son, Shri Rajendra Singh. |
