Mercy Ravi (18 March 1945 – 5 September 2009) was a member of

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...

and the wife of the Indian politician

Vayalar Ravi Vayalar Ravi (born 4 June 1937
) is an Indian politician, who served as the

. She was also a renowned social worker and author.

Early life and education

She was born in 1945 in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam (; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'') is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the Ernakulam, eponymous city division in Kochi. ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

to an elite Christian family. She was the daughter of Kuruvila Katticaren and Thandamma. She was educated at

Maharaja's College, Ernakulam The Maharaja's College is a Public university, government college located in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college campus is spread ov ...

and was a post graduate. She married politician Vayalar Ravi, who was also her college senior, in 1969. Ravi later became the Overseas Indian Affairs Minister of India. The couple had one son, Ravi Krishna, and two daughters, Lisa Rohan and Lakshmi Ravi.

Career

Mercy began her political career as a student activist. She held several key positions in the Congress party and was the General Secretary of the party in the Kerala Pradesh Mahila Congress and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. At the national level, she was elected as the President of the

Indian National Trade Union Congress The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) is a national trade union centre in India. Founded on 3 May 1947, it is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. The INTUC claims a membership of over 30 million. Early year ...

women's committee in 2000 and as member of

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

. She was a representative of the Asia Pacific Region International Confederation of Trade Unions and a member of the Indian delegation to the World Women's Conference in Beijing.

Death

At the end of her tenure in the Kerala assembly (2001–06) her health deteriorated and she underwent treatment for kidney problems. On 5 September 2009, at the age of 64, she died at the Madras Medical Mission Hospital, Chennai. She was laid to rest in Vayalar Ravi's ancestral home at Vayalar in Kerala's Alappuzha district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravi, Mercy 1945 births 2009 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Politicians from Ernakulam district Kerala MLAs 2001–2006 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians St. Teresa's College alumni Women members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly