Savita Behen (1919-2009) was an Indian politician, social worker, educationist and a former member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of the bicameral

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. She was known to be an advocate of women empowerment and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

and was listed among the ''3300 distinguished living women'' of the world by the Council for Parity Democracy in 1990. She was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1971 with

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography

Savita Behen was born on 23 January 1919 at Rohtas in

Jhelum district Jhelum District (Urdu and pnb, ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 ...

in the erstwhile

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, presently in Pakistan. She did her college studies at the

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

and P. L. College, Shimla. Joining the

Indian freedom struggle The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

at a young age, she became active in social work. She founded ''Women Sevika Dal'' in 1944 and later, established Harijan Adult Education Centre and Tailoring and Industrial Centres for women in Delhi. She also founded three schools for

harijan Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

and

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

children. Savita Behen was the chairman of the Refugee Widow Protection Committee and was instrumental in the establishment of two industrial and education centres for the refugee women. She held the presidency of the All India Women's Council, the Women's Welfare Association of Delhi and the Super Bazar Cooperative Stores Limited, New Delhi and was the first woman vice president of the Delhi Municipal Committee, a post she held from 1956 to 1957. She served the Punjab Legislative Council, the predecessor of the

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...

from 1962 to 1966. She was elected to the

, the upper house of the

in 1972, representing Delhi and served the house till 1978. She was one of the 15 nominated members of the ''Joint Committee of Indian Parliament'' set up by Indian parliament for the establishment of the

Central Council of Homoeopathy The National Commission for Homoeopathy (formerly known as Central Council of Homoeopathy) is a statutory body under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India. Central Council of Homoeopathy was set up by the Government of India in 1973. The Nat ...

. Savita Behen was the zonal coordinator for ''Business and Industry Wing'' of the Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University for the region of

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. She was awarded the civilian honour of

in 1971 by the

. The ''Council for Parity Democracy'' listed her among 3300 distinguished living women in 1990. She died on 10 March 2009 at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behen, Savita Brahma Kumaris Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work 1919 births 2009 deaths Punjabi Hindus Pahari Pothwari people People from Jhelum District 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Rajya Sabha members from Delhi Members of the Punjab Legislative Council 20th-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women in Delhi politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian women scientists Social workers from Delhi Women educators from Delhi Educators from Delhi 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators Women members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly

Biography

See also

References