Sumati Oraon (born 15 February 1935) is an Indian former politician for 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 ...

Early life

Oraon was born on 15 February 1935 in

Simdega Simdega is a city in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Simdega is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and Subdivision. The city stands at an elevation of approximately 418 metres (1371 feet) above sea level and cove ...

Gumla District Gumla district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Gumla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Etymology For centuries, the place was a meeting center for people from the hinterland who flocked ...

. She was the daughter of Teju Bhagat.

Political career

Oraon served as the Union Minister of State for Welfare between 1987 and 1988 and as the Union Minister of State for the Environment and Forests between 1988 and 1989. She was first elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from the Lohardaga constituency in a 1982

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. She was re-elected in 1984 with 47% of the vote and again in 1989 with 59.17% of the vote. Oraon lost the 1991 election to Lalit Oraon, who won by a margin of 14.6%. She focused on the upliftment of the tribals in her constituency under the leadership of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

from 1984 to 1989. Oraon wrote a letter to the then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

during his tenure between 1991 and 1996 regarding the condition of the villagers of Sekuapani, a village in Gumla where the artillery shells of army practice drill fell, sometimes hurting the residents. The proposal of a permanent army cantonment was opposed in the area.

Personal life

She married fellow politician

Kartik Oraon Baba Kartik Oraon (born 29 October 19248 December 1981) was an Indian politician and an ''Adivasi'' leader from the Indian National Congress. He also participated in the Indian freedom movement of 1947. Oraon founded the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi ...

and had one son and three daughters, including Geetashree Oraon.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
1935 births Living people Indian National Congress politicians from Jharkhand India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 Women in Jharkhand politics Lok Sabha members from Jharkhand 20th-century Indian women politicians People from Lohardaga district Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar {{Jharkhand-INC-politician-stub