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Profile: Patil -- from governor to India's first woman President
By Lu Chunhua |
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08:52, July 22, 2007 |
Pratibha Patil, former Rajasthan Governor, was elected India''s first woman President after beating Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday.
Patil, 72, was born in the southwestern state of Maharashtra. She completed her M.A. degree from M.J. College, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, and obtained a Law Degree from the Mumbai-based Government Law College. During her college days, Patil was good at playing table tennis, and even won championship in the inter- college match.
Patil stepped into the political career in 1962 at the age of 27. She became a deputy minister in the state of Maharashtra in 1967. Ever since, she has been very active in Maharashtra political field, and she chose not to take her husband''s surname.
In 1977, the Congress party split up after former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi''s defeat. Many senior leaders gave up the stance of favoring Indira Gandhi. However, Patil preferred to stand alongside with Indira Gandhi, though it verged on inviting political ridicule. This act of loyalty to the Gandhi family would be remembered later by Rajiv Gandhi and subsequently, Sonia Gandhi. She protested against the arrest of Indira Gandhi in December 1977 and spent 10 days in prison.
In 1985, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of the parliament, and served as its deputy chairperson from November 1986 to November 1988.
As a firm upholder of high political principles, Pratibha became the first woman Governor of Rajasthan in November 2004. Patil resigned from the post in June 2007, due to her presidential candidacy.
On June 14, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the ruling alliance of political parties in India headed by the Congress party, and the Left Front nominated Patil as their candidate for the 13th Presidential Election. Her loyalty to Nehru-Gandhi family was widely perceived to be a major factor in her nomination as the candidate.
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