Vasundhara Raje Scindia (born 8 March 1953) is an Indian politician, who has held two terms as the
chief minister of Rajasthan
The chief minister of Rajasthan is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian state of Rajasthan. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governors of states of India, governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto' ...
. She was previously a minister in the Union Cabinet of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
and was India's first
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. She is currently one of the national vice presidents of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP). A member of the
Scindia family
The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal servan ...
, she is also the matriarch of the Bamraulia family of Dholpur.
Early life
Vasundhara Raje singh was born on 8 March 1953 in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(now Mumbai). She is the daughter of
Vijayaraje Scindia
Vijaya Raje Scindia (12 October 1919 – 25 January 2001), born Lekha Divyeshwari Devi and known popularly as the Rajmata of Gwalior, was a prominent Indian political personality. In the days of the British Raj, as consort of the last ruling Ma ...
-Shinde and
Jivajirao Scindia
Maharaja Jivajirao Scindia KStJ (26 June 1916 – 16 July 1961) was an Indian prince and government official.
In the British Raj, he was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Gwalior in central India from 1925 until 1947. Afte ...
-Shinde,
Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
of
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
, members of the prominent
Scindia
The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal servan ...
royal
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
family.
Raje completed her school education at Presentation Convent School in
Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
, Tamil Nadu, and later graduated with economics and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
degrees from the
Sophia College for Women
Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...
,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
.
Personal life
She married Maharaj Rana
Hemant Singh, of the royal
Dholpur
Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...
family, on 17 November 1972, but they separated a year later. Her son,
Dushyant Singh
Dushyant Singh (born 11 September 1973) is an Indian politician and businessman, presently serving as the Member of Parliament for Jhalawar-Baran (Lok Sabha constituency), Jhalawar-Baran in the Lok Sabha. He has been elected to four terms, each ...
, was elected to the Lok Sabha from her former constituency, Jhalawar.
Her siblings are
Yashodhara Raje Scindia
Yashodhara Raje Scindia (born 19 June 1954) is an Indian politician and Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare, Technical Education and Skill Development and Employment of Madhya Pradesh. She is also the former Minister for Commerce, Industries an ...
, a former industries minister of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, the late
Madhavrao Scindia
Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia (10 March 1945 – 30 September 2001) was an Indian politician and a minister in the Government of India. He was a member of the Indian National Congress party.
Scindia was the son of Jiwajirao Scindia, the last rul ...
, the late Padmavati Raje "Akkasaheb" Burman (1942–64), who married Kirit Deb Burman, the last ruling Maharaja of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
, and Usha Raje Rana (b. 1943) who married into the
Rana family
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
of Nepal.
Children
She has one son
Dushyant Singh
Dushyant Singh (born 11 September 1973) is an Indian politician and businessman, presently serving as the Member of Parliament for Jhalawar-Baran (Lok Sabha constituency), Jhalawar-Baran in the Lok Sabha. He has been elected to four terms, each ...
a four-time member of Parliament through Loksabha and the Yuvraj of Dholpur.
Political career
In 1984, Raje entered the Indian political system. Initially, she was made a member of the national executive of the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party. She was also elected as a member of the 8th Rajasthan Assembly from
Dholpur
Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...
. In the same year, she was appointed vice president of the Yuva Morcha,
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 ...
BJP.
[Life and Career – Vasundhara Raje]
/ref>
Membership of legislative assembly
* 1985-90 member, 8th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Dholpur
* 2003-08 member, 12th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
Jhalrapatan is a city and municipality, near city of Jhalawar in Jhalawar district in the state of Rajasthan in India. Its population is approximately 37,506. The former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, has been three times elected ...
* 2008–13, 13th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
* 2013–18, member, 14th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
*2018–present, member, 15th Rajasthan legislative assembly from Jhalrapatan
Membership of parliament
* 1989-91 : member, 9th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 9th Lok Sabha (2 December 1989 – 13 March 1991) elections in 22–26 November 1989. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. Twelve sitting members from Rajya Sabha were electe ...
, from Jhalawar
Jhalawar () is a city, municipal council and headquarter in Jhalawar district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located in the southeastern part of the state. It was the capital of the former princely state of Jhalawar, and is the admin ...
.
* 1991-96 : member, 10th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 10th Lok Sabha, (20 June 1991 – 10 May 1996) elected during 1991 Indian general election held during May–June 1991. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India, four sitting memb ...
* 1996-98 : member, 11th Lok Sabha
General elections were held in India in 1996 Indian general election, April–May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha. The result of the election was a hung parliament, which would see three Prime Ministers in two years and force t ...
* 1998-99 : member, 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 ...
* 1999-03 : member, 13th Lok Sabha
The 13th Lok Sabha (10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004) is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha (House of the People, or lower house in the Parliament of India). It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–Oc ...
Positions held
* 1985-87 : vice-president, Yuva Morcha BJP, Rajasthan
* 1987 : vice-president, BJP, Rajasthan
* 1990-91 : member, Library Committee, member, Consultative Committee, Ministries of Commerce and Tourism
* 1991-96 : member, Consultative Committees, Ministries of Power, Science and Technology, Environment and Tourism
* 1996-97 : member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, Member, Consultative Committees, Ministries of Power, Science and Technology and Tourism
* 1997-1998 : joint secretary, BJP Parliamentary Party
* 1998-99 : Union minister of state, External Affairs
* 13 October 1999 – 31 August 2001: Union minister of state (Independent Charge), Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries; Department of Personnel and Training; Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space
* 1 September 2001 – 1 November 2001: Union minister of state, Small Scale Industries; Personnel, Training, Pensions, Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances; Department of Atomic Energy; and Department of Space (Independent Charge) 2 November 2001-
* 29 January 2003 – 8 December 2003: Union minister of state, Small Scale Industries; Personnel, Training, Pensions, Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances; Planning; Department of Atomic Energy; and Department of Space (Independent Charge) 14 November 2002 -
* 14 December 2003 – president, BJP, Rajasthan
* 8 December 2003 – 8 December 2008: chief minister, Rajasthan
* 2 January 2009 – 8 December 2013: leader of opposition, Rajasthan legislative assembly
* 8 December 2013 – 11 December 2018: chief minister, Rajasthan
* 11 January 2019 : national vice president of Bharatiya Janata Party
Works
* Vasundhara Raje, ''Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra''
* Vasundhara Raje, ''Bhamashah Yojana
Bhamashah Yojana is a scheme introduced by the Government of Rajasthan to transfer financial and non-financial benefits of governmental schemes directly to women recipients in a transparent way. The scheme was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vasun ...
''
* Satyam Kumar and Vasundhara Raje, ''iStart Rajasthan''
* Vasundhara Raje, ''Jal Swavlamban''
* See More Schemes of Vasundhara Raje
Achievements
In 2007, she received the "Women Together Award" from the UNO for services rendered towards the self-empowerment of women.
In 2018, she received the 'Best Chief Minister of the Year' Award at the 52nd Skoch Summit.
Book
A book on the life of Vasundhara Raje named '' Vasundhara Raje aur Vikasit Rajasthan'' was written by the historian Vijay Nahar and published by Prabhat Prakashan
Prabhat Prakashan is an Indian publishing house. It was co-founded in 1958 by Shyam Sunder. They publish books in English and Hindi languages. They are the first Indian publisher to bring out Hindi translations of Russian classics including the ...
.
See also
*First Vasundhara Raje ministry
Vasundhara Raje was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Rajasthan state in India on 8 December 2003. She was elected as the leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. She remained chief minister until 11 December 2008. Her ...
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raje, Vasundhara
1953 births
Living people
Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party
Scindia dynasty of Gwalior
Chief Ministers of Rajasthan
Sophia College for Women alumni
Women in Rajasthan politics
Rajasthan MLAs 1985–1990
People from Jhalawar district
Rajasthani people
India MPs 1989–1991
India MPs 1991–1996
India MPs 1996–1997
India MPs 1998–1999
India MPs 1999–2004
Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan
Women chief ministers of Indian states
Rajasthan MLAs 2013–2018
Rajasthan MLAs 2003–2008
Rajasthan MLAs 2008–2013
Leaders of the Opposition in Rajasthan
Indian female royalty
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Rajasthan
20th-century Indian women politicians
20th-century Indian politicians
21st-century Indian women politicians
21st-century Indian politicians
Women members of the Lok Sabha
Women union ministers of state of India
Rajasthan MLAs 2018–2023