Maneka Gandhi

Maneka Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; née Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist.

She is a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

She is the widow of Indian politician Sanjay Gandhi.

Maneka Anand was born on 26 August 1956 in Delhi, India into a Sikh family.

Her father was an Indian Army officer Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand and her mother was Amardeep Kaur Anand, daughter of Sir Datar Singh.

She was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar and later at Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

She subsequently studied German at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Maneka first met Sanjay Gandhi in 1973 at a cocktail party thrown by her uncle, Major-General Kapur, to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of his son.

Maneka married Gandhi, the son of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, one year later on 23 September 1974.

The Emergency of 1975–77 saw the rise of Sanjay into politics and Maneka was seen with him almost every time on his tours as she helped him in campaigns.

It is often said that during the Emergency, Sanjay had total control over his mother (Indira) and that the government was run by the PMH (Prime Minister House) rather than the PMO (Prime Minister Office).

Maneka Gandhi founded the news magazine Surya which later played a key role in promotion of the Congress party after its defeat in the 1977 election following the Emergency.

Gandhi went to court to fight an attempt by the government in power at the time to confiscate her passport and won a landmark decision on personal liberty.

In the case of Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, the court found that "Democracy is based essentially on free debate and open discussion, for that is the only corrective of government action in a democratic setup."

In 1980, Gandhi gave birth to a son, Feroze, named after his paternal grandfather.

Her mother-in-law added the name Varun.

Gandhi was just twenty-three years old, and her son just 100 days old, when her husband died in an air crash.

Maneka's relationship with Indira Gandhi gradually disintegrated after Sanjay's death and they would continually argue with one another.

Maneka was eventually forced out of 1, Safdarjung Road, the prime minister's residence, after a fallout with Indira.

On 3 April 1983, she founded the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch along with Akbar Ahmad.

The party primarily focused on youth empowerment and employment.

It won four out of five seats in the Elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Gandhi published The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names, in recognition of her husband's Zoroastrian faith.

She later published The Penguin Book of Hindu Names for Boys.

Gandhi contested the Amethi constituency from Uttar Pradesh for the 1984 general election for the Lok Sabha, but lost to Rajiv Gandhi.

In 1988, she joined V. P. Singh's Janata Dal Party and became the General Secretary.

In the 1989 Indian general election, Gandhi won her first election to Parliament and became a Minister of State as the Minister for Environment.

Gandhi is an environmentalist and animal rights leader in India.

She has earned international awards and acclaim.

Gandhi started the organisation People for Animals in 1992 and it is the largest organisation for animal rights/welfare in India.

Gandhi is also a patron of International Animal Rescue.

She was appointed chairwoman of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) in 1995.

Under her direction, CPCSEA members carried unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted.

In 1996, Gandhi protested the opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in India.

Justifying her protest, she stated that "we don't need cow killers in India".

Gandhi has filed Public Interest Litigations that have achieved the replacement of the municipal killing of homeless dogs with a sterilisation programme (Animal Birth Control programs, commonly abbreviated as ABCs), the unregulated sale of airguns and a ban on mobile or travelling zoos.

She currently chairs the Jury of International Energy Globe Foundation which meets annually in Austria to award the best environmental innovations of the year.

She is a member of the Eurosolar Board and the Wuppertal Institute, Germany.

She has been a minister in four governments, most recently in Narendra Modi's government from May 2014 to May 2019.

She also authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare.