Maneka Gandhi (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, an ardent animal rights activist, and a former journalist. She has been a Minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare. Maneka Gandhi is an estranged member of the Nehru-Gandhi Family. August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The logo of the Great Ape Project, which is campaigning for a Declaration on Great Apes. ... Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying, and presenting news regarding current events, trends, issues and people. ... Not to be confused with Entomology, the study of insects. ... // Balancing scales are symbolic of how law mediates peoples interests For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ... Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ... The family of Motilal Nehru, who is seated in the centre. ...

Early life

Gandhi was born in Delhi and educated at the prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar, and later at Lady Shriram College in New Delhi. She married Sanjay Gandhi, the son of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A former model ^[1] and editor of Surya India magazine, Gandhi entered politics in 1982 after her husband's death in a plane crash. She had a public falling out with Indira Gandhi, "after [Maneka] signalled her intention to step into her late husband's shoes in the Congress" ^[2] For the capital of India, see New Delhi. ... Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text here To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... New Delhi   (Hindi: , Punjabi: , Urdu: ‎) is an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, and the capital city of the Republic of India, as well as the seat of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. ... Sanjay Gandhi (December 14, 1946 –- June 23, 1980) was an Indian politician, the younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and politician Feroze Gandhi. ... Indira PriyadarÅ›inÄ« GāndhÄ« (DevanāgarÄ«: इन्दिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गान्धी, IPA: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was Prime Minister of India from January 19, 1966 to March 24, 1977, and again from January 14, 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Indira PriyadarÅ›inÄ« GāndhÄ« (DevanāgarÄ«: इन्दिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गान्धी, IPA: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was Prime Minister of India from January 19, 1966 to March 24, 1977, and again from January 14, 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984. ...

Political career

Gandhi was the petitioner in the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, a 1979 case involving freedom of movement. "The case involved the refusal by the government to grant a passport to [Gandhi], which thus restrained her liberty to travel."^[3] In its ruling in the case, the Supreme Court of India in a departure from its earlier stand taken in its ruling in A.K.Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), expanded the scope and content of the right to life and liberty by introducing the concept of substantive due process to Indian law. ^[3] In writing that decision, the court found that "Democracy is based essentially on free debate and open discussion, for that is the only corrective of government action in a democratice [sic] setup."^[4][5] The Fundamental Rights in India enshrined in the Part III of the Constitution of India guarantee civil liberties such that all Indians can lead their lives in peace and harmony as citizens of India. ... The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ... Due process of law is a legal concept that ensures the government will respect all of a persons legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights, when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property. ...

Gandhi formed the Sanjay Vichar Manch ("Platform for Sanjay's Thought") in 1983 and joined the Janata Dal in 1988. She was the general secretary of JD 1988-1989. She won her first election in 1989 and served as Minister of the Environment from 1989 to 1991 in the cabinet of V.P. Singh. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger one of the major Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal and a group of Congressmen led by V.P. Singh. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vishwanath Pratap Singh (born 25 June 1931) was the seventh Prime Minister of the Republic of India. ...

In 1996 and 1998, she was reelected to the Lok Sabha as an independent member from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and served in the BJP led governments as Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, and Minister for Culture. She created the Department for Animal Welfare and served as its Minister along with her other portfolios. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P. It is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ... The BhāratÄ«ya Janatā Party (BJP) (Hindi: , English: ), created in 1980, is one of the two major national political parties in India. ...

While she was Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, she played a historic role in the Indian pension reforms effort, through the early phase of `Project OASIS'. OASIS is an acronym for Old Age Social and Income Security. Maneka Gandhi played a key role in the initiation and early thinking on these issues, going upto the point where it was transferred to the Ministry of Finance (where Yashwant Sinha was minister) for implementation. This went on to become the celebrated New Pension System (NPS) which was implemented for new recruits into the central government from 2004 onwards. Yashwant Sinha Yashwant Sinha (born November 6, 1937) is an Indian politician belonging to the BJP and a former finance minister and foreign minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayees cabinet. ...

She stood for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the BJP ticket and is currently a Member of Parliament from Philibit. She has won every time she has contested from Philibit except once, even though she has changed parties often and contested on different tickets. This is considered to be an indicator of her personal popularity in the region, which has been attributed to her nurturing the constituency and her Punjabi origins.^[6][7] Her son Varun Gandhi is also a member of the BJP. Legislative elections were held in India, the worlds largest democracy, in four phases between April 20 and May 10, 2004. ... Varun Gandhi is the only son to Maneka Gandhi, Indias foremost environmentalist and animal rights activist and four time cabinet minister, and the late Sanjay Gandhi, second son of the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and brother of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. ...

Environmental activism

Gandhi is an environmentalist who brought to the mainstream the issue of animal rights in India. She was appointed chairwoman of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) in 1995. Under her direction, unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted, and abominable conditions and cruelty were documented and exposed. The CPCSEA imposed restrictions that brought some of the abuse to a stop. She started the organisation People for Animals in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in India. She is a vegan and has advocated a vegetarian lifestyle on ethical and health grounds. She also anchored a weekly Television program named "Heads and Tails" highlighting sufferings meted out to animals due to their commercial exploitation. She has also authored a book under the same title. Her other books were about Indian people names.^[8] The logo of the Great Ape Project, which is campaigning for a Declaration on Great Apes. ... Hens kept in cramped conditions — the avoidance of animal suffering is the primary motivation of people who become vegans A vegan is a person who avoids the ingestion or use of animal products. ... For animals adapted to eat primarily plants, sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals, see Herbivore. ...

Career in journalism

As a journalist, Maneka Gandhi is popular for her shocking publication in Surya Magazine of photos showing sexual intercourse between Suresh Ram (son of the then Defence Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram) and Sushma Chaudhury, a University of Delhi student.^[9] Her daring publication of the photos ran the risk of violation of obscenity laws. The revealing pictures^[10] were published apparently to discredit Jagjivan Ram, who defected from the Indira Gandhi government and helped bring Janata Party to power in 1977. He was one of the contenders for the post of Prime Minister of India.^[11] Sexual intercourse, also called coitus, or simply, to have sex is the human form of copulation. ... Jagjivan Ram (Devanāgarī: जगजीवन राम) (5 April 1908 - 6 July 1986), known popularly as Babuji was a freedom fighter and a social reformer hailing from the backward classes of Bihar in India. ... The University of Delhi (Hindi: दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय) is a university in India. ... Indira Priyadarśinī Gāndhī (Devanāgarī: इन्दिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गान्धी, IPA: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was Prime Minister of India from January 19, 1966 to March 24, 1977, and again from January 14, 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984. ... The Janata Party (Peoples Party in Hindi) was an Indian political party that contested the Indian Emergency (1975-77) and became the first political party to defeat the Indian National Congress in the 1977 elections, forming the national government from 1977 to 1980. ... The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ...

Notes and References

External links

• Official biography from Parliament of India records
• Detailed Biodata at energyglobe
• Biodata at Indianembassy.org