By Gayathri Jayaraman : Ever since the time when women were considered equally important and competent to men, many women contributed their gratitude to their country and their nation. Today, women are employed in various fields, and are well skilled and capable of doing a wide range of chores such as a teacher, pilot, auto-driver, software engineer, doctor, writer, journalist, et cetera. Some of the women achievers who make India proud are:
SAROJINI NAIDU:
This well-known poet and a reformer, is also known as The Nightingale of India. She was the first Indian women to become the President of the Indian National Congress and also to become the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Her life was lived from 13th February, 1879 to 2nd March, 1949. Most of her poems such as The Golden Threshold, The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, The Broken Wing: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, The Feather of the Dawn were published.
INDIRA GANDHI:
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was born on 19 November 1917, as a daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Nehru. She was the first woman to take the position of the Prime Minister of India. During her tenure as a Prime Minister, she served the country with peace and harmony. Later, during the year 1984, she was shot by two bodyguards and was declared dead.
MOTHER TERESA:
Being the holy mother, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, is known for her charitable services to the poor, sick and orphaned. Her immense love and care for the poor people, made her achieve the Nobel Peace Prize, the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Shri and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. In spite of the critics, who spoke unpleasantly about her services, she continued to help the poor and needy; this character symbolized her kindness and humanity.
ARUNDHATI ROY:
The God of Small Things, The End of Imagination, The Algebra of Infinite Justice, The Greater Common Good are some of the works of this avid Indian writer, Arundhati Roy. In addition to her wide range of masterpieces, ‘The God of Small Things’ became the international best seller. This, being her first and the most popular novel, she continued to pen down for her second stunning success. She was awarded the Booker Prize in the year 1997 for her first novel. Gradually, she wrote books on politics, social, environmental, etc. Also, she wrote screenplays for the movie, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones and won the National Film Award for the Best Screenplay. The Norman Mailer Prizefor Distinguished Writing, the Sahitya Akademi Award was also won by her.
KIRAN BEDI:
The most energetic woman, who shared her success in the Indian Police Service, is Kiran Bedi. She was the first Indian woman officer in the IPS. Also, being a social activist, she used to voice out her opinion. She had won many awards, out of those, the recent ones are Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar and Avicenna Leadership Award 2011.
HOMAI VYARAWALLA:
Homai Vyarawalla, also known by her nick-name “Dalda 13,” was the most passionate and a bold woman. She was the first Indian woman to start her career as a photo journalist. Being a hard worker, she used to get engaged in various assignments. Most of her photographs contain Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and other political and national leaders. Even the most precious award, the Padma Vibhushan, was awarded to her in the year 2011. Her life was lasted till 15 January 2012.
M.S SUBBALAKSHMI:
Her voice…Her music describe more about her. She is well known for her divinized singing. Being raised in the musical family, even she was trained Carnatic and Hindustani music. She had a strong interest in music. Her first performance was given in 1929 at the Madras Music Academy. She was the first Indian musician to receive the highest civilian award ,the Bharat Ratna.
Although, some of these women achievers are no more, their memoirs still inspire many young women to succeed.
Thank you, Reena. I will make sure to include more valid and informative points henceforth.
Good and informative article. Nice flow of words …. Only suggestion is that it could’ve been long.
Gayathri Jayaraman, Hi,
Very informative article but i am surprise why you have not mention the real hero of Indian History. For example you have missed Rani Laxmi Bai.
Lakshmi Bai was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the northern part of India. She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a symbol of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company in the subcontinent.
Please do write for other great indian women.
Reena
Delhi