VIJAYALAKSHMI PANDIT (1900-1990)

She was born on August 18, 1900 as Swarup Kumari Nehru at Allahabad. She was the elder daughter of Shri Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani.

At the time when Vijayalakshmi came into this world Jawaharlal, her elder brother, was about 11 years old. He had long nourished a secret grievance at not having any brothers or sisters when everybody else seemed to have them, and the prospect of having at least a baby brother or sister all to himself was exhilarating.

She was born not with silver but a diamond spoon in her mouth as her father had earned distinction, name and wealth, and the costliest luxuries of life by the time she was born.

At a very early age, when she was just 4 or 5 years old, she accompanied her father and mother on a tour to Europe. It was then that her father kept a European governess named Miss Hooper, who was known to be a very fine governess with extremely good qualifications. She came from a very good family.

Vijayalakshmi was taught to be very regular and punctual in her childhood days in the company of Miss Hooper. Lessons, play and other activities went on with strict regularity under the careful supervision of the governess and teachers in the spacious and beautiful gardens of their magnificent residence.

As her father had become a great political leader, their family home at Allahabad, Anand Bhavan became the venue of the meetings for the eminent personalities of India. In 1915 she accompanied her father to the Annual Session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay (now Mumbai).

In 1919 the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh occurred. That year the Nehru family came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi. It was beginning of the 'conversion' of the Nehru family and as such, of the 'conversion' of Vijayalakshmi too.

Ranjit Pandit was a cultured litterateur, aristocrat, and barrister from Kathiawar. Vijaya and Ranjit fell in love and married on May 10, 1921, when she was about 21 years old.

The birth of three children - Chandra Lekha, Nayantara and Rita Vitasta added to the fulfillment of her life. But for the untimely death of her husband and other occasional disruptions, which the family had to bear for the cause of the country, in all other respects theirs was a happy, integrated family.

Pandit Motilal Nehru used to tell his daughters, that patriotism was in their blood. In December 1931, when Gandhiji returned from England after having attended the Round Table Conference, most tumultuous scenes in the history of Indian political struggle were witnessed - the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1932 started.

Vijayalakshmi responded to the call of the hour. She joined the ranks of surging millions in demonstrating to the Government the resentment of the Indian people against foreign rule. She delivered speeches, led processions and organised hartals (strikes) at different places. As a result a notice was served on her, prohibiting her from taking part in such movements for a period of one month.

She did not abide by the government order and was arrested on January 27, 1932, along with her sister, Krishna. Thus, all members of the Nehru family were in Jail, except their frail mother. Vijayalakshmi was tried and sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment with fine. During that year she was kept in Lucknow Jail. Her youngest child at the time was only 2 ^1/2 years old.

In 1935 she contested for the Municipal Board membership in Allahabad and was elected with an overwhelming support of votes. Her period of stay in the Board was, however, uneventful. During that period she was also elected as the Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Board. In that capacity she worked for about 18 months and gathered considerable experience of the civic and educational life of the people around.

Then came the General Elections of the year 1937. She stood as a candidate for the Provincial Assembly of the United Provinces from Cawnpore (Kanpur) Bilhaur constituency, opposing Lady Srivastava, the wife of the then Minister of Education in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Government. She won convincingly. On Thursday, the July 29, 1937 at 11 a.m., the United Provinces Assembly met at the Assembly Hall, where Vijayalakshmi took her oath as the Minister of Local-Self Government. She became the head of the Local Self-Government Department, covering Health and Sanitation. When Vijayalakshmi Pandit took charge of the Department, she had several problems to tackle and many obstacles to overcome. At many places, especially in some rural areas, drinking water facilities did not exist. The inhabitants of those places were rather hard-pressed for pure drinking water. Maternity and child welfare facilities from the Government side were almost non-existent.

With the start of the Second World War in 1939, the Congress Ministry resigned. Gandhiji gave the slogan of "Do or Die" to the masses of India, and to the British, "Quit India". Vijayalakshmi Pandit with other soldiers of freedom took to her duty and played her role in the struggle for freedom of the motherland. In the face of indiscriminate firing, she rushed to crowds, helped the wounded and arranged to carry them to hospitals. She was arrested on August, 12, 1942 and was lodged in Naini Jail.

After about 9 months imprisonment she was released on June 11, 1943 on grounds of ill-health. In spite of her weak health, however, immediately after release from Naini Jail, she took up the famine relief work, became president of the "Save the Children" Fund Committee started by the All-India Women's Conference, and devoted herself whole-heartedly to other public welfare activities.

After Independence, Vijayalakshmi Pandit became free India's first ambassador to the Soviet Union. She had a distinguished innings in the field of foreign affairs. She headed the country's delegation to the United Nations during 1947-49. When she returned to India in 1952, she contested the first general elections in independent India and won a Lok Sabha seat.

It was the year 1953 which saw her at the peak of her popularity as the first woman elected president of the UN General Assembly where she spoke against apartheid and in favour of world peace.

Her differences with Mrs. Indira Gandhi came to the fore during 1975-77. She opposed the imposition of Emergency tooth and nail. She decided to retreat to Dehradun. She came out of her self-imposed exile when she campaigned actively for the Janata Party in 1977. The fall of the Janata Party left her a sad and bitter person.

Her health took a turn for the worse when she suffered a stroke. She made a quick recovery, and returned to Dehradun. Her 90^th birthday on August 18, 1990 was celebrated as a major event, with many members of the Nehru clan taking time off to spend the day with her. Arun Nehru, Maneka Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were all there to make it a special family affair. She died on December 1, 1990.