Geeta Mukherjee (8 January 1924 – 4 March 2000) was an Indian politician and social worker and a four times
MLA from
Panskura Purba, from 1967 to 1977. As a Member of Parliament, she was elected seven times from the
Panskura constituency, from 1980 to 2000, in the Indian state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
being a
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
(CPI) candidate.
She also remained the president of
National Federation of Indian Women, women's wing of Communist Party of India. She led the demand for the legislature of 1/3rd reservation for women in parliamentary elections in India.
Early life and education
She was born on 8 January 1924 in
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, West Bengal. She was married to
Biswanath Mukherjee on 8 November 1942.
Mukherjee completed Bachelor of Arts In
Bengali Literature
Bengali literature () denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali h ...
from
Ashutosh College,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
. She remained secretary of
Bengal Provincial Students Federation from 1947 to 1951.
Career
She was first elected as Member, State Council, Communist Party of India (C.P.I.), Bengal in 1946.
Popularly known as Geetadi, Geeta Mukherjee since then won every Lok Sabha election from
Panskura in West Bengal, and was in the forefront till her death in 2000.
She was elected to 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 and during 1980–84, she served as
* Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
* Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
* Member, Joint Committee on Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 1980
Since 1981 onwards, she was the Member of National Executive Council,
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
.
She was elected to her 7th term during the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
Her career spanned about five and half decades. However, it was her role in the women's reservation issue which brought her into the limelight. She was also a member of the National Commission on Rural Labour, National Commission on Women, National Children's Board, Press Council and vice-president of the National Federation of Women, besides being a secretariat member of the Women's International Democratic Federation, Berlin.
She led a Joint Parliamentary Committee which had drafted the
Women's Reservation Bill.
Besides her political career, she also wrote a few books for children, including ''Bharat Upakatha'' (Folktales of India), ''Chotoder Rabindranath'' (Tagore for Children)and ''He Atit Katha Kao''; and translated
Bruno Apitz's 1958 classic ''
Naked Among Wolves'' to Bengali.
Death
Mukherjee died on 4 March 2000, following a massive heart-attack.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...
, the then Prime Minister of India, told in his condolence message— "Mrs. Mukherjee embodied determination and dedication. She was a shining example of
women's empowerment
Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...
. Her life shall remain an inspiration for future generations, especially women."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Geeta
Communist Party of India politicians from West Bengal
Female politicians of the Communist Party of India
1924 births
2000 deaths
Asutosh College alumni
India MPs 1980–1984
India MPs 1984–1989
India MPs 1989–1991
India MPs 1991–1996
India MPs 1996–1997
India MPs 1998–1999
India MPs 1999–2004
Lok Sabha members from West Bengal
Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014
Women writers from West Bengal
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian novelists
20th-century Indian educational theorists
20th-century Indian women educational theorists
20th-century Indian women scientists
20th-century Indian social scientists
Women educators from West Bengal
Educators from West Bengal
20th-century Indian women politicians
21st-century Indian women politicians
People from Purba Medinipur district
Indian children's writers
Social workers from West Bengal
Women members of the Lok Sabha
West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969
West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971
West Bengal MLAs 1971–1972
West Bengal MLAs 1972–1977
Women members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Women in West Bengal politics