Sushila Kerketta (27 April 1939 – 19 October 2009) was a member of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha from 1985 to 2000 and also in Lok sabha from

Khunti Khunti is the headquarter of Khunti district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is in South Chotanagpur division and one of the 24 districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district of Khunti was carved out of Ranchi district on 12 Sept ...

. She held several important portfolios in the Bihar government. She was minister of state for irrigation (independent charge) from 1985 to 1988. She was promoted to cabinet rank in 1989 and headed mines and geology and the food and civil supplies departments. She represented the

constituency of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

and was a member of 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 ...

. She was also a lecturer in the Birsa College, Khunti and later went on to become its principal.

Early life and education

Sushila Kerketta was born on 27 April 1939 in

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

to Prabhudayal Marki and Maini Marki. She did a bachelor in education and a masters in philosophy from St. Xavier's College, Ranchi. Later she was married to Shri Nottrot Kerketta on 28 Dec. 1970 and had three sons and two daughters named Roshan, Praween, Naveen, Sandhya and Asha.

Personal interests

Kerketta was a social worker and teacher who regularly visited local villages and promoted such enterprises as local hand looms. Her sports interests included archery, football and hockey. She led the Jharkhand Women Hockey Association, Mahila Hockey Association, Chotanagpur, and the Bihar Women Hockey Association.

Positions held

* 1985–2000 Member,

Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the Bihar Legislature where the first elections were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated m ...

(three terms) * 1985–88 Minister of State, (Independent Charge), Irrigation,

Government of Bihar The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...

* 1988–89 Cabinet Minister, Rural Development, Food and Civil Supply,

* 1989–90 Cabinet Minister, Mines and Geology,

* 1990–95 Co-ordinator, Public Accounts Committee,

; Co-ordinator, Nivadan Committee, Bihar Legislative Assembly * 1990–2000 Deputy Leader, Congress Party,

; Chairman, Child & Woman Development Committee (two terms) * 2004 Elected to 14th Lok Sabha; Member, Committee on Empowerment of Women; Member, Committee on Labour * 16 August 2006 Member, Committee on Empowerment of Women * 5 August 2007 Member, Standing Committee on Labour

Personal life

She married Nottrott Kerketta on 28 December 1970 and later had three sons and two daughters. Nottrot preceded her in death. Kerketta died in Ranchi on 19 December 2009 following a heart attack. She was 70 and is survived by three sons and a daughter. Kerketta had been staying with her eldest son Roshan Kumar Surin and had not been keeping well for the last few weeks. She suffered a heart attack at noon and was rushed to the nearby Raj Hospital by her family, where efforts to save her failed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerketta, Sushila 1939 births 2009 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Jharkhand People from Khunti district India MPs 2004–2009 Lok Sabha members from Jharkhand Women in Jharkhand politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women members of the Lok Sabha