Sumitra Mahajan

Sumitra Mahajan is a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha. She was named for the Padma Bhushan in 2021 in the field of public affairs, from Madhya Pradesh ^[1].

Early life

Mahajan was born on 12 April 1943 in Chiplun, Maharashtra, to Usha and Purushottam Neelkanth Sathe ^[2]. She holds a law degree and a postgraduate degree in psychology, and in 1965 married the lawyer Jayant Mahajan ^[2]. The life of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar was a lasting inspiration to her ^[2].

Indore’s member

She began as a municipal corporator, and was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Indore in 1989 ^[2]. She went on to represent the seat for a record eight consecutive terms ^[2]. As a Union minister of state from 1999 to 2004 she pushed for gender budgeting and better service conditions for anganwadi workers, and set up five national Stree Shakti awards for women’s social work ^[2].

Speaker

In 2014 she was elected Speaker unanimously, presiding over the 16th Lok Sabha ^[2]. As Speaker she created the Speaker’s Research Initiative, a forum linking members of Parliament with subject experts, and started fellowship and internship programmes for young students ^[2]. She also held a national conference of women legislators and gave weight to parliamentary diplomacy ^[2]. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul gave her an honorary doctorate ^[2].