Prabha Thakur (born 10 September 1951) is an Indian politician,

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 a ...

leader, renowned

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poet and social worker. She was the

Rajya Sabha MP A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected ...

for two consecutive terms from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

during 2004 to 2014 as well as Lok Sabha MP from

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

during 1998-99. Thakur also the President of the

All India Mahila Congress All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), also referred to as Mahila Congress, is the women's wing of the Indian National Congress (INC). The most recent President was Sushmita Dev who left office in 2021. Currently Netta D'Souza heads the All India Mah ...

. Thakur has also produced, directed and sung for some Hindi and Rajasthani films.

Early life

Prabha Thakur was born on 10 September 1951 to father Devi Singh Barhath, an

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officer and mother Sushila Devi, and belonged to Chota Udaipur (or Udaipur Khurd) village in

Kishangarh Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Kishangarh State was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Prior to the rule of Kishan Singh this area was ruled by Ra ...

Career

Thakur was a member of

12th Lok Sabha This is the list of members of the 12th Lok Sabha, (10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999) after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that d ...

from

constituency in

from 1998 to 1999. In 2009, she was openly critical of the Left Front rule of the state of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, saying that crimes against women have been growing in the previous 33 years of rule. In 2014, she was part of a group of women who supported an ''Aam Sabha'' for the 33%

Women's Reservation Bill The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 th March, 2010, is a bill passed in the Parliament of India which says to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 1/3 of all seats in the lower house of Parliament of ...

. She stated that the bill would help "empower Indian women socially, economically and politically." Thakur has spoken out on other women's issues, calling for stricter anti-

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

provisions in India. Thakur was also a supporter of laws against '

honour killings An honor killing (American English), honour killing (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect wha ...

.' She has responded to comments about implementing

dress code A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies an ...

s to combat incidents of rape and has been quoted saying, "The question is not about the dress code, but the mentality of men. What the girls should wear should be the concern of the girl, her parents and her family only. I don't think there is a need for anyone else to say anything about how a girl should behave." Thakur believes instead, that as more women see rapists being dealt "justice," they will be more likely to file cases against assailants. She has previously spoken out about the amount of violent crime against women 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 ...

. Prabha has been a member of

Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. The ...

working for world peace and harmony through

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. As a social worker and parliamentarian, she made special efforts in the field related to women and children. Thakur donated a sum of 1 lakh rupees to CM Fund during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Positions held

Literature and films

Prabha Thakur is a well-known poet and her poems have been regularly published in literary magazines such as ''Saptahik Hindustan'', '' Dharmayuga'', and ''Kadambani'' as well as on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

and

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

. She takes part in various Hindi literary conferences and poets' symposiums. She has also produced, directed, written, composed and sung for some Hindi and Rajasthani films.

Films

Playback singer

Lyrics

Books

* ''Bauraya Man'' (Poetry Collection) (1982) * ''Aakhar Aakhar'' (Poetry Collection) (1990) * ''Dehri Ka Man'' (Poetry Collection) (2013)

Edited

* '' Chetna Ke Swar'' (Collection of Poems) (1985)

References

External links

Detailed Profile in india.gov.in website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thakur, Prabha 1949 births Living people Indian National Congress politicians from Rajasthan Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan India MPs 1998–1999 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Women in Rajasthan politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians People from Ajmer district Women members of the Lok Sabha Women members of the Rajya Sabha India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 21st-century Indian women politicians Hindi-language poets Indian feminists Indian feminist writers Indian women activists