- Sucheta Kriplani
Sucheta Kriplani (born Sucheta Mazumdar) (1908-1974) was an Indian
freedom fighter and politician. She became the first woman to be electedChief Minister of a state.Early life
She was born in
Ambala ,Haryana to aBengal i family. Her father, S.N. Majumdar though a government doctor was a nationalist. Educated atIndraprastha College andSt.Stephen's College, Delhi she became a lecturer at theBanaras Hindu University . In 1936, she marriedsocialist ,Acharya Kriplani and became involved with theIndian National Congress .Freedom Movement and Independence
Like her contemporaries
Aruna Asaf Ali andUsha Mehta , she came to the forefront during theQuit India Movement . She later worked closely withMahatma Gandhi during the Partition riots. She accompanied him toNoakhali in 1946. She was one of the few women who were elected to the Constituent Assembly and was part of the subcommittee that drafted theIndian 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 sangVande Mataram in the Independence Session of theConstituent Assembly .Post Independence
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 fromKanpur 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.
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