Geeta Mukherjee (8 January 1924 – 4 March 2000) was an Indian politician and social worker and a four times MLA from Panskura Purba, from 1967 to 1977. As a Member of Parliament, she was elected seven times from the

Panskura Panskura is a town and a municipality in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as Kasai and Cossye). Etymology 1. According to many references, the ...

constituency, from 1980 to 2000, in the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

being a Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate. She also remained the president of

National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing of the Communist Party of India. It was established in 1954 June 4 by several leaders from Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti including Aruna Asaf Ali.Overstree ...

, women's wing of Communist Party of India. She led the demand for the legislature of 1/3rd reservation for women in parliamentary elections in India.

Early life and education

She was born on 8 January 1924 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, West Bengal. She was married to Biswanath Mukherjee on 8 November 1942. Mukherjee completed Bachelor of Arts In Bengali Literature from Ashutosh College,

. She remained secretary of Bengal Provincial Students Federation from 1947 to 1951.

Career

She was first elected as Member, State Council, Communist Party of India (C.P.I.), Bengal in 1946. Popularly known as Geetadi, Geeta Mukherjee since then won every Lok Sabha election from

in West Bengal, and was in the forefront till her death in 2000. She was elected to 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 and during 1980–84, she served as * Member, Committee on Public Undertakings * Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes * Member, Joint Committee on Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 1980 Since 1981 onwards, she was the Member of National Executive Council, Communist Party of India. She was elected to her 7th term during the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999. Her career spanned about five and half decades. However, it was her role in the women's reservation issue which brought her into the limelight. She was also a member of the National Commission on Rural Labour, National Commission on Women, National Children's Board, Press Council and vice-president of the National Federation of Women, besides being a secretariat member of the Women's International Democratic Federation, Berlin. Besides her political career, she also wrote a few books for children, including ''Bharat Upakatha'' (Folktales of India), ''Chotoder Rabindranath'' (Tagore for Children)and ''He Atit Katha Kao''; and translated

Bruno Apitz Bruno Apitz (28 April 1900 – 7 April 1979) was a German writer and a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Life and career Apitz was born in Leipzig, as the twelfth child of a washer woman. He attended school until he was fourteen, t ...

's 1958 classic '' Naked Among Wolves'' to Bengali.

Death

Mukherjee died on 4 March 2000, following a massive heart-attack. At the time of death, she was 76 years old. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister of India, told in his condolence message— "Mrs. Mukherjee embodied determination and dedication. She was a shining example of

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

. Her life shall remain an inspiration for future generations, especially women."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Geeta Communist Party of India politicians from West Bengal Female politicians of the Communist Party of India 1924 births 2000 deaths Asutosh College alumni India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014 Women writers from West Bengal Social workers 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian social scientists Women educators from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians People from Purba Medinipur district Indian children's writers Social workers from West Bengal 20th-century women educators Women members of the Lok Sabha West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969 West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971 West Bengal MLAs 1971–1972 West Bengal MLAs 1972–1977 Women members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly