Kumudben Manishankar Joshi (31 January 1934 – 14 March 2022) was an Indian politician and Deputy Minister in

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

headed by

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

Biography

She was the Governor of the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

from 26 November 1985 to 7 February 1990. She was the second female Governor of the state after Sharda Mukherjee. She also became Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting (October 1980 – January 1982) and Deputy Minister of Health and Family Welfare (January 1982 – December 1984). Joshi was a member of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

thrice, from 15 October 1973 to 2 April 1976, 3 April 1976 to 2 April 1982 and from 3 April 1982 to 25 November 1985. She was also the General Secretary, Gujarat P.C.C. Soon after taking charge, she travelled to all the state's 23 districts and often outside, to create a record of sorts - that of being more active than her 13 predecessors in Hyderabad's

Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also * Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Ashiana *Rashtrapati Bhavan *Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilaya ...

. Between 26 November 1985 and 30 September 1987 she travelled to the districts on 108 occasions, and outside the state 22 times.

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

, the then Chief Minister and his partymen saw this as an attempt by Joshi to build a stronger base for the Congress.

Controversies

Joshi reacted by granting a number of interviews to local newspapers in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. She dismissed the charges as "rubbish" and said, "it is below my dignity to reply to such criticism."

Death

She died in Changa Dhanori village near

Gandevi Gandevi is a City and a Municipality in Navsari district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city has a special place in Shivaji Maharaj's 1st Surat campaign, Battle of Surat Demographics As of 2001 India census A census (from Latin ''cens ...

, on 14 March 2022, at the age of 88.

References

1934 births 2022 deaths Governors of Andhra Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Women state governors of India Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat Women in Gujarat politics Union deputy ministers of India Women in Andhra Pradesh politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Women union ministers of state of India Women members of the Rajya Sabha {{Governor of Andhra Pradesh