Prabha Thakur (born 10 September 1951) is an Indian politician,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

leader, renowned

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

poet and social worker. She was the Rajya Sabha MP for two consecutive terms from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

during 2004 to 2014 as well as Lok Sabha MP from

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

during 1998-99. She served as the President of the

All India Mahila Congress All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), also referred to as Mahila Congress, is the women's wing of the Indian National Congress (INC). It was founded in 1940 to promote the political and social empowerment of women in India. Currently Alka Lamba he ...

. Thakur has also produced, directed and sung for some Hindi and Rajasthani films.

Early life

Prabha Thakur was born on 10 September 1951 to father Devi Singh Barhath, an RAS officer and mother Sushila Devi, and belonged to Chota Udaipur (or Udaipur Khurd) village in

Kishangarh Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council located in the Ajmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the Kishangarh State, founded in 1611 AD by Kishan Singh of the Rathore clan of Rajputs. It is served ...

Career

Thakur was a member of

12th Lok Sabha The 12th Lok Sabha (23 March 1998 – 26 April 1999), was constituted after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that did not provide the ...

from

constituency in

from 1998 to 1999. In 2009, she was openly critical of the Left Front rule of the state of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, saying that crimes against women have been growing in the previous 33 years of rule. In 2014, she was part of a group of women who supported an ''Aam Sabha'' for the 33% Women's Reservation Bill. She stated that the bill would help "empower Indian women socially, economically and politically." Thakur has spoken out on other women's issues, calling for stricter anti-

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

provisions in India. Thakur was also a supporter of laws against ' honour killings.' She has responded to comments about implementing dress codes to combat incidents of rape and has been quoted saying, "The question is not about the dress code, but the mentality of men. What the girls should wear should be the concern of the girl, her parents and her family only. I don't think there is a need for anyone else to say anything about how a girl should behave." Thakur believes instead, that as more women see rapists being dealt "justice," they will be more likely to file cases against assailants. She has previously spoken out about the amount of violent crime against women in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. Prabha has been a member of

Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. T ...

working for world peace and harmony through

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. As a social worker and parliamentarian, she made special efforts in the field related to women and children. Thakur donated a sum of 1 lakh rupees to CM Fund during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Positions held

Literature and films

Prabha Thakur is a well-known poet and her poems have been regularly published in literary magazines such as ''Saptahik Hindustan'', '' Dharmayuga'', and ''Kadambani'' as well as on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

and

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

. She takes part in various Hindi literary conferences and poets' symposiums. She has also produced, directed, written, composed and sung for some Hindi and Rajasthani films.

Films

Playback singer

Lyrics

Books

* ''Bauraya Man'' (Poetry Collection) (1982) * ''Aakhar Aakhar'' (Poetry Collection) (1990) * ''Dehri Ka Man'' (Poetry Collection) (2013)

Edited

* '' Chetna Ke Swar'' (Collection of Poems) (1985)

References

External links

Detailed Profile in india.gov.in website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thakur, Prabha 1949 births Living people Indian National Congress politicians from Rajasthan Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan India MPs 1998–1999 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Women in Rajasthan politics 20th-century Indian women politicians People from Ajmer district Women members of the Lok Sabha Women members of the Rajya Sabha India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 21st-century Indian women politicians Hindi-language poets Indian feminists Indian feminist writers Indian women activists