Basanta Manjari Devi (1900 – 7 June 1961) was an Indian politician who served as the first woman minister of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. She was the Deputy Minister of Health in the 1946

Harekrushna Mahatab Harekrushna Mahatab (21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and again from 1956 to 1961. He wa ...

government.

Early life and family

Devi was born into the royal family of

Nilgiri State Nilagiri State was one of the Princely States of India during the British Raj. It belonged to the Orissa States Agency and its capital was at Raj Nilgiri, which is the modern town of Nilagiri. The state was bounded in the north and west by th ...

. Her father was Shyama Chandra Bhanja Mardaraj Harichandan. She was married to Biranchi Narayan Singh Deo of Ranapur State. In the 1946 general election she was elected from Ranpur constituency as an

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

candidate. She was a Minister of Health, Relief and Rehabilitation in the 1946 Harekrushna Mahtab ministry. In Independent India she was Deputy Health Minister, Odisha in 1953.

References

1900 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Odisha MLAs 1952–1957 Odisha MLAs 1957–1961 Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{Odisha-INC-politician-stub