Maneka Gandhi is a very famous Indian politician since she is the widow of Indian politician Sanjay Gandhi and daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi. Maneka was born in the year 1956 as Menaka Anand. Maneka is an animal rights activist & a passionate environmentalist. In this blog we are going to tell you the Maneka Gandhi, so read this full blog to get the complete information.
She is a parliamentarian in the Indian parliament and a member of the BJP. Maneka Gandhi has been a minister in four different governments. Currently, she is serving in Narendra Modi’s government. Maneka has inspired many women and individuals towards social entrepreneurship. She founded TreeAndHumanKnot in 2020, where she triggered a nationwide movement to plant fruit trees by young couples.
Apart from her political career, Menaka has authored some books covering the areas of etymology, animal welfare, and law.
Personal Life of Maneka Gandhi
Maneka was born to a Sikh family in 1956 in Delhi, India. She was named Maneka Anand by her father, an Indian Army officer, Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand, and her mother, Amteshwar Anand. Maneka completed her education at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and then Lady Shri Ram Colledge for Women. After that, she studied the German language at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
In 1973, Maneka’s uncle, Major-General Kapur threw a cocktail party, where she met Sanjay Gandhi for the first time to celebrate their son’s forthcoming marriage.
After a year in 1974, Maneka married Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
During the Emergency of 1975-77, Sanjay Gandhi rose into politics, and Maneka was always seen with him on his tours and helped him in campaigns.
It is believed that, during the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi had complete control over Indira Gandhi and the government was run by Prime Minister House rather than Prime Minister Office.
However, in 1980, Maneka Gandhi gave birth to her son, Varun Gandhi. When he was just 100 days old, Maneka Gandhi’s husband Sanjay Gandhi met with an air crash and died.
Maneka Gandhi: The Founded of Surya Magazine
Maneka Gandhi founded her news magazine named Surya. It played a crucial role in promoting the Congress party after the huge defeat in the 1977 election.
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Electoral history
- In 1984 – Maneka Gandhi lost Lok Sabha constituency to Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi as an Independent Candidate
- In 1989–91 – She was elected on a Janata Dal party ticket to become a Member of the Lok Sabha
- In 1991 – She lost an election to BJP’s Parashuram in Pilibhit as Janata Dal candidate
- In 1996–98 – She was elected on a Janata Dal party ticket to become a Member of Lok Sabha from the Lok Sabha constituency
- In 1998–2004 – Maneka again become a Member of Lok Sabha as an Independent Candidate
- 2004–09 – Maneka Gandhi elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket for Lok Sabha constituency
- 2009–14 – She elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Aonla for the Lok Sabha constituency
- 2014–19 – Maneka stood from Pilibhit on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket
- 2019–present – She is a Member of Lok Sabha from Sultanpur in the BJP government
Books by Maneka Gandhi
- 1000 animal quiz published in 1989
- Brahma’s hair: the mythology of Indian plants published in 1991 with Yasmin Singh
- Dogs, dogs, dogs published in 1994 with Ozair Husain
- The complete book of Muslim and Parsi names was published with Ozair Husain.
- Heads and tail, published in 1994. It was on animal rights
- The rainbow and other stories were published in 1999. It was a children’s short stories
- Animal laws of India published in 2016 with Ozair Husain and Raj Panjwani
- Sanjay Gandhi published 2017 with Himani Bhatia Narula
- There’s a monster under my bed! : and other terrible terrors published in 2019. It is a children’s short story.