In the current era, women in India are not just advancing, flourishing or becoming independent, but they are etching their names as leaders, successful businesspersons and also influential icons all across the world, leveraging their excellence in diverse fields. Not just in the corporate or business world, but Indian women nowadays are excelling by leading nations worldwide, being great leaders in the political realm. In this article, we will learn about some of the women politicians, who are driving changes in society. However, this article will differ from various other articles available on the internet as in this article we will specifically talk about five Indian-origin women politicians, who have not just set an example by becoming a political leader but have created history by driving societies from a good place to a better spot. This is a fact which is not hidden anymore that the Indian-origin politicians are occupying top offices across the world more than ever before. Even a simple internet search will reveal around 250 Indian-origin people who have participated in mainstream politics of different countries and held crucial positions in governments. But now, other than the Girmitya countries, where the Indian diaspora has existed since before the days of Indian Independence, a large number of Indians immigrating to the West for better career opportunities has led to a rise in Indian-origin politicians in some of the world’s most developed nations. Let’s have a look.
Anita Anand, Canada
Anita Anand, born as Anita Indira Anand is the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Member of Parliament for Oakville in the House of Commons of Canada. She is the first Indian Canadian of a Hindu background to become a federal minister in Canada. Prior to her political career, Anand was a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law specializing in corporate governance and the regulation of the capital markets. A professor of law at the University of Toronto, Anita was born in the town of Kentville in the province of Nova Scotia. Her parents, both medical professionals, are from India. Her late mother Saroj Ram was from the Amritsar area in Punjab and her father SV Anand is a Tamilian. A mother to four children, Anita was the earlier chairperson of the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilisation. She also conducted research for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182.
Kamala Harris, US
The vice president-elect of the United States, Kamala Harris, an American politician and attorney, was born Kamala Devi Harris to immigrant parents and is of half Indian and half Jamaican descent. A member of the Democratic Party, Kamala is all set to assume office from January 2021. Prior to which she has served as the junior senator from California since 2017 and has served as the former 32nd Attorney General of California. She is the daughter of a Tamil Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, and a Jamaican father, Donald Harris. Kamala’s mother was a prominent breast cancer researcher, who emigrated from Chennai in 1960. Her father was a Stanford University economics professor, who emigrated from Jamaica in 1961. Kamala is the grand-daughter of Rajam Gopalan, a known Indian diplomat. Kamala has added several firsts to her name after winning the election, as she is the first female, first Indian-American and first Asian vice president-elect of the US. Kamala was only the third woman vice presidential nominee to be selected on a major party ticket.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Trinidad
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer and a politician who was the seventh Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from May 2010 to September 2015. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, whose forefather went to Trinidad from India as an indentured labourer was elected the first woman prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago after the political alliance led by her emerged victoriously and ended the ruling party's 43 years in power. Just like Kamala Harris, but before her, Kamla Persad added several firsts to her name when she became the head of the country. She was the country's first female Prime Minister, Attorney General, and Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to chair the Commonwealth of Nations and the first woman of Indian origin to be a prime minister of a country outside of India and other South Asian countries. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was born in Siparia in southern Trinidad to Raj and Rita Persad, both of Indian descent. She was born into a Hindu Brahmin family. Her ancestors emigrated from India to Trinidad under the Indian indenture system.
Nikki Haley, US
Nikki Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to an Indian Punjabi American Sikh family at Bamberg County Hospital in Bamberg, South Carolina. Her parents, Ajit Singh Randhawa and mother Raj Kaur Randhawa, hailed from Amritsar and moved to Canada after her father secured a scholarship in the University of British Columbia. Later, the family immigrated to the US and settled in South Carolina. Nikki was the first female Governor of South Carolina and the second Indian American, after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal, to serve as a Governor in the United States. She served as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018, prior to which she served as the 116th Governor of South Carolina from January 2011 to January 2017. In 2016, Haley was named among ‘The 100 Most Influential People’ by Time magazine.
Priti Patel, UK
Priti Patel, born Priti Sushil Patel is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for the Home Department since 2019. She previously served as Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Witham since 2010. She is ideologically positioned on the right-wing of the Conservative Party and considers herself to be a Thatcherite. Priti began her career in politics with being elected MP from Witham, she then served as exchequer secretary and a work and pensions minister. She was then appointed international development secretary in 2016 and resigned from the post in 2017. Prior to being a politician, Priti worked as a public relations consultant. Patel was born in London to a Ugandan-Indian family. Her parents are Sushil and Anjana Patel. The pair are first-generation immigrants from Uganda who moved to the UK in the 1960s and settled in Hertfordshire where they went on to set up a chain of newsagents.
The above-mentioned personalities are some of the few Indian-origin politicians who have etched their name as great leaders in their own spaces. These women who have achieved big despite being surrounded in the constrictive environment are certainly wondered women, and they are the symbol of encouragement for other women in this world.
