Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician,

animal rights activist The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...

, and environmentalist. She is a member of 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-p ...

, the lower house of the Indian parliament and a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

(BJP). She is the widow of Indian politician

Sanjay Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician and the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of parliament, Lok Sabha and the Nehru–Gandhi family. During his lifetime, he was widely expected ...

. She has been a minister in four governments, most recently in

Narendra Modi's government The premiership of Narendra Modi began on 26 May 2014 with his swearing-in as the prime minister of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He became the 14th Prime Minister of India, succeeding Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress. Modi's ...

from May 2014 to May 2019. Gandhi inspired many individuals towards social entrepreneurship for example TreeAndHumanKnot in August 2020 which triggered it become a nationwide movement to plant fruit trees by couples. She also authored a number of books in the areas of

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

, law and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

Personal life

Maneka Anand was born on 26 August 1956 in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

into a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family. Her father was

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

officer Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand and her mother was Amteshwar Anand, daughter of Sir Datar Singh. She was educated at

The Lawrence School, Sanawar The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia. It is located in the ...

and later at

Lady Shri Ram College for Women Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi, and has a legacy in women's education. History Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife ...

. She subsequently studied

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties an ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

. Maneka first met

in 1973 at a cocktail party thrown by her uncle, Major-General Kapur, to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of his son. Maneka married Gandhi, the son of the Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

, one year later on 23 September 1974. The Emergency of 1975–77 saw the rise of Sanjay into politics and Maneka was seen with him almost every time on his tours as she helped him in campaigns. It is often said that during the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

, Sanjay had total control over his mother (Indira) and that the government was run by the PMH (Prime Minister House) rather than the PMO ( Prime Minister Office). Maneka Gandhi founded the news magazine ''Surya'' which later played a key role in promotion of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

party after its defeat in the 1977 election following the Emergency. Gandhi went to court to fight an attempt by the government in power at the time to confiscate her passport and won a landmark decision on personal liberty. In the case of '' Maneka Gandhi v Union of India'', 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 democratic setup." In 1980, Gandhi gave birth to a son, Feroze, named after his paternal grandfather. Her mother-in-law added the name Varun. Gandhi was just twenty-three years old, and her son just 100 days old, when her husband died in an air crash.

Early life and career

Maneka's relationship with

gradually disintegrated after Sanjay's death and they would continually argue with one another. Maneka was eventually forced out of 1,

Safdarjung Road Safdarjung Road ( hi, सफ़दरजंग मार्ग) is a main road in New Delhi, India, named after the 18th century Tomb of Safdarjung near it. At the north end, the road stretches from the junction of the Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Roa ...

, the prime minister's residence, after a fallout with Indira. She founded the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch along with Akbar Ahmad. The party primarily focused on youth empowerment and employment. It won four out of five seats in the

Elections in Andhra Pradesh Elections in Andhra Pradesh state, India are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India. The Assembly of Andhra Pradesh creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislatu ...

. Gandhi published ''The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names'', in recognition of her husband's

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

faith. She later published ''The Penguin Book of Hindu Names for Boys''. Gandhi contested the Amethi constituency from

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

for the 1984 general election for the

, but lost to

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

. In 1988, she joined

V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister to ...

Janata Dal Party Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 October 1988 on the birth anniversa ...

and became the General Secretary. In the

1989 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 22 and 26 November 1989 to elect the members of the 9th Lok Sabha. The incumbent Indian National Congress government under the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi lost its mandate, even though it was still the ...

, Gandhi won her first election to Parliament and became a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

as the Minister for Environment.

Activism

Gandhi is an environmentalist and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

leader in

. She has earned international awards and acclaim. She was appointed

chairwoman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) in 1995. Under her direction, CPCSEA members carried unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted. Gandhi has filed

Public Interest Litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...

s that have achieved the replacement of the municipal killing of homeless dogs with a sterilisation programme (Animal Birth Control programs, commonly abbreviated as ABCs), the unregulated sale of airguns and a ban on mobile or travelling zoos. She currently chairs the Jury of International Energy Globe Foundation which meets annually in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

to award the best environmental innovations of the year. She is a member of the

Eurosolar Eurosolar - European Association for Renewable Energies (Own spelling: EUROSOLAR) is a German association with headquarters in Bonn. The association has sections in 13 countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Georgia, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, ...

Board and the Wuppertal Institute,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Gandhi started the organisation ''

People for Animals People For Animals is one of India’s largest animal welfare organisations, originally founded by Maneka Gandhi in 1992. Currently, the headquarters of this organisation is located in New Delhi, with over 100 regional units located around India. ...

'' in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in

. Gandhi is also a patron of

International Animal Rescue International Animal Rescue (IAR) is an Animal protectionism, animal protection and conservation non-profit organisation that comes to the aid of suffering animals with hands-on rescue and Wildlife rehabilitation, rehabilitation and the protecti ...

. While she is not a vegan, she has advocated this lifestyle on ethical and health grounds. She also anchored the weekly television program ''Heads and Tails'', highlighting the suffering 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. She is a cast member for the documentary ''A Delicate Balance''.

Criticism

Gandhi has often been criticized for her comments. ;Threatening a veterinarian over phone In June 2021, She has called up a veterinarian threatening to cancel his license for a allegedly botched up amputation surgery of a dog. Despite a veterinarian was trying to make her aware of situation- that he has exercised all due care during surgery and it was a ferocious dog which has torn up bandage and surgical wound after surgery, she has hurled abusive and unparliamentary words. The call was recorded and was made viral in all social media. All veterinary associations have condemned and protested her behavior. ;Male Suicide Views In June 2017, during a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

Live session, she commented that men do not commit suicide. She received negative responses to the comment and spent the rest of the chat answering questions related to this, with chatters pointing out that 68% of the suicide cases reported in

were committed by men. ;False Harassment Threat In January 2021, Deepika Narayan Bharadwaj came forward with an audio tape where Maneka Gandhi was allegedly berating a man for hitting a dog, and was threatening to file sexual harassment cases against him. The man on the tape claimed that it was in self defense, as the dog had bitten his daughter. ;Curfew for Women In March 2017, she said that an early curfew for girls in hostels helped young women control their "hormonal outbursts" and received a backlash for the comment. ;Views on Marital Rape In 2016, she stated that she was against the criminalization of

marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic v ...

and received a heavy backlash for the comment. ;Alleged spread of hatred against Muslims Police in Kerala booked Gandhi the basis of complaints against her for promoting hatred by levelling accusations coated with communal overtones for a death of a pregnant elephant, against residents in the Muslim-majority district of

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarte ...

in June 2020. While the elephant died in Mannarcad,

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

, nearly 90 km from Malappuram, BJP leaders including Gandhi targeted the only Muslim-majority district of Kerala. She said: “It’s a murder. Malappuram is famous for such incidents, it’s India’s most violent district. For instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300–400 birds & dogs die at one time”. The incident was used by many right-wingers to proliferate anti-Muslim resentment and to demonize the community. A multitude of hateful messages towards Malappuram and its people accompanied her remarks, triggering enraged responses. She was charged with adding communal color to an animal-related issue that would otherwise be constrained within the Department of Forests. A group calling themselves Kerala Cyber Warriors briefly hacked Maneka Gandhi's website, People for Animals, India.

Electoral history

* 1984 – Lost to

from

Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency) Amethi Lok Sabha constituency is in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It covers the entire Amethi district and was created in 1967. The seat has almost always been held by the Indian National Congress (INC), save for a half-dozen years in the ...

over 2.7L votes, was contesting as an Independent Candidate * 1989–91 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected on a Janata Dal party ticket * 1991 – Lost as Janata Dal candidate to BJP's Parashuram in Pilibhit * 1996–98 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected on a Janata Dal party ticket * 1998–99 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected as an Independent Candidate * 1999–2004 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected as an Independent Candidate * 2004–09 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected on a

ticket * 2009–14 – Member of Lok Sabha from

Aonla (Lok Sabha constituency) Aonla Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Assembly Segments Assembly Segments are: Members of Parliament Election results See als ...

, elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket * 2014–19 – Member of Lok Sabha from Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency), elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket * 2019–present – Member of Lok Sabha from

Sultanpur (Lok Sabha constituency) Sultanpur is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the ...

, elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.

Positions held

* 1988–89 – General-Secretary,

Janata Dal Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 October 1988 on the birth annivers ...

(J.D.) * 1989–91 – Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment and Forests * January–April 1990 – Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Programme Implementation * 1996–97 – Member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests * 1998–99 – Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Social Justice and Empowerment. * 13 October 1999 – 1 September 2001– Union Minister of State, Social Justice and Empowerment (Independent Charge) * 1 September 2001 – 18 November 2001 – Union Minister of State, Culture with an additional charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge) Programme Implementation and Statistics with added charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge) * 18 November 2001 – 30 June 2002 – Union Minister of State, Programme Implementation and Statistics with an additional charge of Animal Care (Independent Charge) * 2002–2004 – Member, Committee on External Affairs * 2004 – Member, Committee on Health & Family Welfare, Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests * 5 August 2007 – onwards Member, Committee on Health & Family Welfare * 31 August 2009 – Became Member of Committee on Railways * 23 September 2009 – Chairperson, Committee on Government Assurances * 19 October 2009 – Member, General Purposes Committee * 26 May 2014 – Union Minister of Women & Child Development

In popular culture

Gandhi hosted ''Maneka's Ark'', an environmental talk show which aired on the Indian national public broadcaster Doorarshan's

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television chann ...

channel in the 1990s. She had earlier hosted ''Heads & Tails'', an animal rights show, on the same channel.

Awards

*Shining World Compassion Award along with a cheque for 20,000 dollars from Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. *Lord Erskine Award from the RSPCA, 1992 *Environmentalist and Vegetarian of the year 1994 *Prani Mitra Award, 1996 *Maharana Mewar Foundation Award, 1996 for Environmental work *Marchig Animal Welfare and selling Prize, Switzerland, 1997 *Venu Menon Animal Allies Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999 *Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation Award for Excellence in the sphere of Truth, Non-violence and Vegetarianism, 1999 *Dewaliben Charitable Trust Award, 1999 *International Women's Association Woman of the Year Award, Chennai, 2001 *Dinanath Mangeshkar Aadishakti Puraskar in the field of Environment and animal welfare, 2001 *Rukmini Devi Arundale Animal Welfare Award *A.S.G. Jayakar award, 2008India News – News from India, Latest India News, Online India News Headlines
* Human Achiever Award in field of Women Empowerment and Children Welfare by Mrs Caroline W/O Ambassador Of Namibia and Ms Sanorita Issac, founder & Chairperson, Human Achiever Foundation, India.

Books

*''1000 animal quiz'', Calcutta : Rupa and Co., 1989, 201 p. *''Brahma's hair : the mythology of Indian plants'', Calcutta : Rupa and Co., 1991, 175 p. With Yasmin Singh. *''The Penguin book of Hindu names'', London : Penguin Books; New Delhi : Penguin Books India, 1992, 522 p. Latest edition in 2008. *''Dogs, dogs, dogs'', New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 1994, 261 p. With Ozair Husain. Latest edition in 2004. *''The complete book of Muslim and Parsi names'', New Delhi : Indus, 1994, 522 p. With Ozair Husain. *''Heads and tails'', Mapusa, Goa, India : Other India Press, 1994, 182 p. On animal rights and animal rights. *''The rainbow and other stories'', New Delhi : Puffin Books, 1999, 67 p. Children's short stories. *''The Penguin book of Hindu names for boys'', New Delhi : Penguin Books, 2004, 429 p. *''The Penguin book of Hindu names for girls'', New York : Penguin Books, 2004, 151 p. *''The Rupa book of animal quiz'', Rupa & Co., 2004, 201 p. *''Animal laws of India'', New Delhi, India : Universal Law Publishing, 2016, 1649 p. With Ozair Husain and Raj Panjwani. *''Sanjay Gandhi'', New Delhi : Prestige Publishers, 2017, 244 p. With Himani Bhatia Narula. *''There's a monster under my bed! : and other terrible terrors'', Gurgaon : Puffin Books, 2019, 54 p. Children's short stories. Illustrations by Snigdha Rao.

References

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External links

Profile
at Lok Sabha, Parliament of India * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Maneka 1956 births Living people Janata Dal politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Indian animal rights activists Indian environmentalists Indian Sikhs Indian women environmentalists Punjabi people 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian writers Nehru–Gandhi family People from Pilibhit India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 India MPs 2014–2019 India MPs 2019–present V. P. Singh administration Animal welfare and rights in India Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Women in Uttar Pradesh politics Narendra Modi ministry Women writers from Delhi 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women members of the Lok Sabha People from Bareilly district National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Culture Ministers of India