Inspirational Quotes by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (Indian Politician, Diplomat)

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–90,) née Swarup Kumari Nehru, was an Indian politician and diplomat. She was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister. Pandit was active in the Indian freedom movement and held prominent national and international diplomatic positions following independence.

Born in Allahābād, Pandit was the daughter of Motilal Nehru, a prominent lawyer from a family with its roots in Kashmir. Eleven years younger than Jawaharlal, she was educated privately.

Pandit entered Government service in 1935 and was local government and health minister (1937–39,) and, as a member of the opposition, was imprisoned in 1940 and 1941 for her nationalist campaigns. She was the All India Women’s Conference president during the Bengal famine in 1943, establishing camps for infants and young children.

Leader of the Indian United Nations delegation (1946–48, 1952–53,) Pandit also held several ambassadorial posts (1947–51,) including to the Soviet Union and America. She became the first woman president of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953, and then Indian High Commissioner in London (1954–61.) She returned to parliament in 1964.

Pandit opposed her niece Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian policies, especially during the nation’s state of emergency (1975–77,) and successfully campaigned against Indira Gandhi’s party.

Pandit wrote So I Became a Minister (1939,) Prison Days (1946,) and The Evolution of India (1958.) Her memoirs, The Scope of Happiness, were published in 1979.

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