Bonily Khongmen (25 June 1912 – 17 March 2007) was an Indian politician in the

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 ...

Party. She was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, lower house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

from the Autonomous District constituency

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in 1952. She was a member of the

1st Lok Sabha The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 after India's first general election. The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957. The First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. ...

.She was also the Deputy Speaker in Assam assembly.

Early life and career

Khongmen was educated at Welsh Mission Girls' High School, Shillong, and Diocesan College, Calcutta. Between 1932 and 1946, she worked in education, as headmistress of Golaghat Girls' School (1932–33), Assamese Girls School, Shillong (1935-1940), and Lady Reid School, Shillong (1940-1946).

Political career

In 1946, Khongmen participated in the provincial elections to the Assam legislative assembly, contesting and winning the Shillong reserved seat, which was then part of Assam. She was subsequently elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, the first woman to serve in that position. Khongmen contested the first Lok Sabha election in 1951 from the Autonomous District constituency of Assam. She won the election with 54% of the vote, defeating Wilson Reade of the KJD who was runner-up with 30% of the votes.

Other career

After serving as an MP in the first Lok Sabha, Khongmen served as the first female Chairperson of the Assam Public Service Commission.

Personal life

She played the violin, and took an interest in spinning and weaving clothes, collecting books, gardening, reading, and knitting.

References

External links

Official Biographical Sketch in Lok Sabha Website

Kabon Neli (Khongmen) Timungpi: the first woman from Northeast India to be a Member of Parliament (M.P.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khongmen, Bonily 1912 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians India MPs 1952–1957 Deputy Speakers of the Assam Legislative Assembly Indian National Congress politicians from Assam Lok Sabha members from Assam Members of the Assam Legislative Assembly Women members of the Assam Legislative Assembly Women members of the Lok Sabha People from West Jaintia Hills district