How Vijay Lakshmi Pandit Came To Be First Woman President Of UNGA

Multifaceted lady Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was a politician, independence fighter, and diplomat. Jawaharlal Nehru's younger sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born on August 18, 1900, in Prayagraj (then Allahabad). Pandit was one of many women who stood up to defend India throughout its difficult struggle for freedom from British domination. In 1953, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit of India was chosen as the President of the United Nations General Assembly by UN Member States, becoming the eighth President of UNGA and the first woman to hold the position.

The Government of India Act of 1935 required the holding of provincial elections, which happened in 1937. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the first woman to be elected to a cabinet seat in pre-independence India during this period when she was chosen to serve as the United Provinces' Minister of Health and Local Self-Governments. 

Ms. Pandit's Unbeatable Legacy

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit started her official political career in her early thirties. Like many other women of the period, she became a member of the All Indian Women's Conference (AIWC).

Ms.Pandit rose to prominence in the 20th century as one of the most prominent women in public life worldwide thanks to her involvement in India's independence movement. She was the highest diplomat for newly independent India, having held positions as high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1961 as well as ambassador to the United States and the Soviet Union at the time.  

As a newly-independent India's top diplomat, Pandit served as ambassador to the Soviet Union (1947-49), the United States and Mexico (1949-51), Ireland (1955-61), and Spain (1958-61), and high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1955-61). 

Vijay Lakshmi Pandit was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which was accountable for drafting the Constitution of India. She criticized the Indian delegates at the San Francisco Conference, pointing out that they had been chosen by the British to represent the colonized version of India rather than the authentic India, her words were

“I desire to make it clear that the so-called Indian representatives attending the Conference have not the slightest representative capacity, no sanction, no mandate from any of the responsible groups in India and are merely nominees of the British Government. Anything they say here or any vote they cast can have no binding effect or force on the Indian people.”

She travelled to three different continents throughout her fifteen years of diplomatic service. Following her return to India, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit presided over Maharashtra as Governor from 1962 to 1964. From 1964 to 1968, she was also a minister representing the Phalpur constituency. She left the Lok Sabha in 1968 because she found it impossible to function under Indira, Gandhi's leadership. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit also represented India at the UN Human Rights Commission in 1979.

One rarely known fact about Ms. Pandit is that she was imprisoned thrice by the British from 1932 to 1933, 1940, and 1942 to 1943, after she revolted against the British. 

For women in India, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit has overcome numerous obstacles and waged numerous conflicts. Even now, it's challenging for a woman in politics, but she started when such opportunities were essentially nonexistent. She recognizes the benefit of being a member of the Nehru family, but she also understands that being a woman comes with a lot of challenges.