Journalist PREM AHlUWAlIA has chronicled the journeys of some successful women from various fields in her book, India’s Most Powerful Women. The women include Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Rajashree Birla, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushma Swaraj, Ritu Dalmia, Mary Kom, and many others. Some of them are featured below
Bachendri Pal is the first Indian woman, and the fifth in the world to scale Mount Everest. She was born at Nakuri near Uttarkashi in Garhwal, into a poor family. In school, she excelled in every sport she participated in. After completing her post-graduation and B.Ed, Bachendri took part in basic as well as advanced mountaineering courses in Uttarkashi where she performed briliantly. Her selection for the Indian Everest Expedition was done over a two-year period
Sudha Murthy is the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation. She is highly regarded for her social work and the books she has written. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006. She completed her BE in Electrical Engineering from BVB College of Engineering and Technology and stood first in all the branches of engineering. She topped her class in ME in Computer Science at IIS. She is married to Narayana Murthy and is mother to Akshata and Rohan
The first woman (and the current) Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, was born on March 8, 1953, in Mumbai. Her father was the late Ruler of Gwalior. She completed her schooling at the Presentation Convent, Kodaikanal, and Tamil Nadu. Thereafter she graduated with Honours in Economics and Political Science from Sophia College, University of Mumbai. By 1982, she was an active member of the BJP and in 1984, she won the elections to the Rajasthan State legislative Assembly from Dholpur
Sulajja Firodia Motwani is the Vice Chairperson of Kinetic Group and responsible for their overall business strategy and development. She comes from a highly nationalistic family and takes pride in the fact that her grandparents were freedom fighters. As a student, she topped in the Maharashtra HSC exam and stood second in Pune University at her graduation. She holds an MBA from Craneige Mellon University and is married to Manish Motwani. They have a son, Sidhant
Born in Bangalore in 1953, Nirmala Kannan is the first woman officer of the Indian Armed Forces to graduate from the National Defence College, New Delhi and one of the first women to have made it to the rank of Rear Admiral in the Indian Navy. She graduated from the Government Medical Carmel College at Aurangabad (Maharashtra) in 1976 and after her entry into the Indian Navy in 1977, she completed her MD in Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Nirmala’s husband Bhagavatheswaran Kannan is a retired Vice Admiral from the Indian Navy
Aruna Dalmia was born in 1940 in Kanpur to a large orthodox family. Her father is Padampat Singhania of JK Group of Industries. Her schooling was mostly done from home because she fell sick outside. She managed to complete her Intermediate but got married (into the famous industrial family, the Dalmias) before turning 15. After her children grew up and married, she felt a void in her life. She asked her father-in-law to allow her to do social work and he encouraged her. Today, she is an intrepid social worker and head of her school, Akshya Pratisthan in New Delhi