Lilavati Munshi was an Indian politician and Gujarati essayist. She was a member of the

Bombay Legislative Assembly Bombay Legislative Assembly came into existence in 1937, as the legislature of Bombay Presidency, a Provinces of India, province of India. It functioned until 1960, when separate states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed. History The first se ...

from 1937 to 1946 and 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 ...

from 1952 to 1958 as a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. She wrote essays and sketches.

Biography

Lilavati was born on 21 May 1899 in a Gujarati Jain family of Keshavlal. Since the 1920s, she was associated with the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. She participated in the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and the

Civil Disobedience Movement Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". ...

. She was imprisoned by the British authorities for her activism. In the 1950s, she founded the Society for the Prevention of Unhealthy Trends in Motion Pictures in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. In 1954, she moved a resolution to prohibit screening of 'undesirable' films and obscene scenes, which was adopted by the House following which the government amended the Cinematograph Act in 1959. Kissing scenes were not uncommon in Indian films till the 1950s; it was largely due to her movement that they vanished. She was a member of erstwhile

from 1937 to 1946. She served as a member of the

, the upper house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

from 3 April 1952 to 2 April 1958 representing

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

as a member of the

. She died on 20 February 1978.

Literary works

She contributed significantly in the field of character sketches and personal essays. ''Rekhachitro ane Bija Lekho'', a collection of character sketches, was published in 1925. It consists of character sketches of mythical, historical and literary personalities and of contemporary men and women, mostly Gujaratis. ''Vadhu Rekhachitro'' (1935) included some more sketches. ''Kumardevi'', a collection of her essays, was published in 1929. Her short stories and short plays were collected in ''Javan Ni Vate'' (1977). ''Sanchaya'' (1975) is the compilation of articles written by her.

Personal life

Her first marriage was to Lalbhai Sheth. After he died in 1926, she married Gujarati writer

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned t ...

. They had two sons and four daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munshi, Lilavati 1899 births 1978 deaths Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Gujarati people Gujarati-language writers Indian essayists Women members of the Rajya Sabha Politicians from Mumbai Writers from Mumbai 20th-century Indian Jains Indian women essayists

Biography

Literary works

Personal life

See also

References

External links