Maneka Gandhi was an Indian politician and animal rights activist. She is from the Bharatiya Janata Party and is also the MP from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. Maneka is the founder of People For Animals; India’s largest animal welfare and animal rights organization.
Wiki/Biography
Maneka Gandhi was born in New Delhi on Sunday, August 26, 1956 (age 67; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She was educated at Lawrence School in Sanwar, Himachal Pradesh; one of the best boarding schools in India.
Maneka Gandhi at school
She graduated from Lady Sriram College for Women, New Delhi. She studied German at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She participated in many beauty pageants and fashion shows while in college. This sparked her interest in modeling and she took on several modeling assignments during college.
Maneka Gandhi participated in many beauty pageants in college
She got her first major modeling assignment when she was chosen as an advertising model for Bombay Dyeing Company. She was widely appreciated for this ad. Sanjay Gandhi fell in love with her after seeing her in an advertisement.
Maneka Gandhi dyes advertisement in Mumbai
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (approximately): 65kg
Eye color: black
Hair color: black
Maneka Gandhi
family, caste and husband
Maneka Gandhi belongs to a Sikh family. She was born to Lieutenant Colonel Tallokan Singh Anand and Amteshwar Anand. Her father is in the army and her mother is the publisher of her magazine Surya. She has a sister, Ambika Shukla, who is an animal rights activist. Maneka’s husband Sanjay Gandhi is the son of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Maneka Gandhi’s father Tallochan Singh Anand
Maneka Gandhi’s mother Amteshwar Anand
Maneka Gandhi’s sister Ambika Shukla
Maneka Gandhi’s husband Sanjay Gandhi
Gandhi family tree
Profession
Maneka Gandhi entered politics immediately after marrying Sanjay Gandhi. She had campaigned and attended rallies with Sanjay, but she had never campaigned or been active in politics. After her husband’s death, she was sure that she would get Sanjay’s party post and join politics with Indira Gandhi, but instead Sanjay entered politics by Rajiv Gandhi, which was a big deal for Maneka. It was quite a shock; because she felt she had been cheated. After falling out with Indira Gandhi, she formed a political party called “Rashtriya Sanjay Manch” in 1983 with supporters of Sanjay Gandhi.
Maneka Gandhi assists Sanjay in political campaign
Her party contested the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and won 4 out of 5 seats. This is a huge achievement for her; as her party is fairly new. In 1984, she contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi against Rajiv Gandhi, but she lost; he enjoyed public sympathy following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Maneka Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi
In 1988, her party merged with the People’s Party and she was appointed general secretary of the People’s Party. In 1999, she was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in the name of the People’s Party. She was also appointed Minister of State for Environment in Vice President Manmohan Singh’s government. She contested the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from Pilibhit and won. In 1999, she supported the Bharatiya Janata Party as an independent candidate and was appointed Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet.
Maneka Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee
In 2004, she and her son Varun Gandhi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. She contested the Lok Sabha elections from Pilibhit constituency and she has been winning ever since. In 2014, she entered the Narendra Modi government as Minister of Women and Child Development.
Maneka Gandhi sworn in as Union Women and Child Development Minister
dispute
- In 1982, Indira Gandhi forced Maneka to leave her home and live alone. After Sanjay’s death in 1980, Maneka wanted to succeed Sanjay as she thought she should replace her husband, but Indira Gandhi brought Rajiv Gandhi into politics, which came as a shock to Maneka . Maneka along with Sanjay’s supporters formed a group called ‘Sanjay Vichar Manch’. They used to hold rallies and speak against the Gandhi family. Indira Gandhi was furious about this. She confronts Maneka and accuses her of badmouthing her. This sparked an argument, after which Maneka was asked to leave Indira’s home, saying she didn’t deserve to stay there.
Maneka Gandhi leaves Indira Gandhi’s home
- In 2014, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Maneka Gandhi approached the BJP leadership and appealed to them to appoint her son Varun Gandhi as the chief ministerial candidate of Uttar Pradesh. She discussed the matter publicly and was criticized by many as desperate.
Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi
- In 2019, she received a showdown notice from the Election Commission for uttering hate speech at a rally in Sultanpur. She said if Muslims in her constituency did not vote to put her in power, she would not help them find jobs. The comments were condemned by many, including her own party, who distanced themselves from the statement, saying they were not the party’s views.
Awards and Honors
- 1992 Lord Erskine Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
- 1994 Environmentalists and Vegetarians
- Prani Mitra Award 1996
- De Waliban Charitable Trust Award, 1999
- Venu Menon Animal Alliance Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999
- Dinanath Mangeshkar Aadishakti Puraskar in the field of environment and animal welfare, 2001
- 2001 Woman of the Year Award from the International Women’s Association
- Rukmini Devi Arundale Animal Welfare Award, 2011
- Human Achievers Foundation of India conferred Human Achievers Award in the field of Women Empowerment and Child Welfare
fact
- In the 1970s, she became known as the “Towel Girl” for her towel commercials for Bombay Dyeing Company.
Maneka Gandhi in Bombay Dyeing Advertisement
- She founded her own magazine Surya in 1977. It was a political magazine that published articles and interviews with Indira Gandhi. This helped the Congress party and Indira Gandhi a lot; as it swayed public opinion in their favour, and ultimately helped the Congress get re-elected in 1980.
- In 1989, at the age of 33, she became the youngest member of Parliament to be appointed a federal minister.
- When her son Varun Gandhi was born, he was named after Sanjay’s father Feroze. Later Indira Gandhi named him Varun. Varun’s official name remains Feroze Varun Gandhi.
- Her husband Sanjay Gandhi wanted to raise their children according to Zoroastrianism.
- She is an avid animal lover. She founded an organization called People For Animals in 1992. This is India’s largest animal rights and welfare organization, of which she is also the president. Her organization works with international organizations in the same field, such as Humane Society International (HSI) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Maneka Gandhi for humans and animals
In September 2023, Maneka Gandhi accused ISKCON of selling cows to butchers. While making these allegations, Maneka mentioned in an interview that she visited the ISKCON Goshala in Ananathapur, Andhra Pradesh and noted that there were no calves there. However, ISKCON representatives denied these claims. ISKCON spokesperson Yudishthir Govinda Das later shared CCTV footage of the day of Maneka Gandhi’s visit, a letter from Goshara’s veterinarian and photos of cows and calves on social media, as evidence to refute her accusation.
Sri Gandhi commented on the Veterinary Medical Doctor’s letter on the Goshala of Ananathapur Government maintained by ISKCON.
Goshalas serve 76 bulls and 246 non-milking and milking cows with love and dedication. pic.twitter.com/ThAbglRcpp
— Yudhistir Govinda Das (@yudhistirGD) September 26, 2023
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education