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Literary, Artistic & Scientific Accomplishments
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Participated in discussions and delivered lectures on historical personalities and Ramayana including a play on Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar; Marathi literature and poetry; and associated with several cultural organizations/forums promoting literary activities.
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Special Interests
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Women’s Welfare and Social Reforms; Literature (poetry in particular).
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Favourite Pastime and Recreation
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Reading, music, drama, and cinema
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Sports and Clubs
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Associated with Clubs / Organizations for promotion of Indian rural sports; protection/development of playgrounds; and women’s Kho-Kho matches.
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Countries Visited
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Travelled widely across all over the globe. The countries visited by her include : Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, Jersey, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Morocco, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.A., Vietnam, Zambia etc.
As a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and as Union Minister attended and participated in the following Conferences and Seminars held in India and abroad : 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing (China), Sept. 1995; International Forum on Parliamentarians and Local Authorities with an interest in Tourism, Bali (Indonesia), 24 - 26 Sept. 1996; As Minister of State for Women and Child Development, led an Indian Delegation to Australia to discuss bilateral issues. As Minister of State for Women and Child Development, attended various Conferences/Bilateral visits to USA, Sri Lanka, Maldives, 2001; As Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, led the Indian Delegation to ITU Conferences, Hong Kong and Morocco, 2002; 112th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Manila, Philippines, 3 - 8 April, 2005; Sixth Canadian Parliamentary CPA Seminar in Ottawa, Canada, 21 - 27 Oct. 2007; Regional Seminar for Asian Parliaments on ‘Preventing and Responding to Violence against Women and Girls : From Legislation to Effective Enforcement’, New Delhi, 15 - 17 Sept. 2011; Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) India Region Seminar on ‘Gender Justice and Responsive Governance’, New Delhi, 8 - 9 March, 2012; 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Colombo (Sri Lanka), 7 - 15 Sept. 2012;
As Speaker, Lok Sabha, attended and also led Indian Parliamentary Delegations at the following Conferences and Bilateral visits : 9th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament, Geneva (Switzerland), 4 - 5 Sept. 2014; 131st Assembly of the Inter - Parliamentary Union, Geneva (Switzerland), 12 - 16 Oct. 2014; 2nd Meeting of the Preparatory Committee of The Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments in New York (USA), 17 - 18 Nov. 2014; Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth (CSPOC) Standing Committee Meeting, Jersey, Jan. 2015; 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Hanoi (Vietnam), 28 March - 1 April 2015; 3rd Meeting of the Preparatory Committee of The Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, Geneva (Switzerland), 1 - 2 June 2015; Visit to European Parliament (Belgium), 23 - 25 June 2015; 10th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament, New York (USA), 29 - 30 Aug. 2015; 4th Meeting of Preparatory Committee of The Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, New York (USA), 30 Aug. 2015; 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, New York (USA), 31 Aug. - 2 Sept. 2015; 133rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva (Switzerland), 17 - 21 Oct. 2015; The 23rd Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth (CSPOC), Malaysia, 9 -14 Jan. 2016;
The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dhaka (Bangladesh), 30 - 31 Jan. 2016; The Pre-Assembly event on 16-17 March, 2016 and the 134th Assembly of Inter - Parliamentary Union in Lusaka (Zambia), 19 - 23 March 2016; Visit to Mongolia, 19 - 21 April, 2016; and visit to South Korea, 27 Sept. - 2 Oct. 2016;
Organized the first ever National Conference of Women Legislators, New Delhi, 5 - 6 March 2016, and Meeting of BRICS Women Parliamentarians Forum, Jaipur, 20 - 21 Aug. 2016;
As Chairperson of the All India Presiding Officers’ Conference, attended 77th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), 30 Jan. - 2 Feb. 2015; and 78th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India, Gandhinagar (Gujarat), 21 - 24 Jan. 2016
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Other Information
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Former President, Marathi Academy, Madhya Pradesh;
Chairperson,(i) Ahilya Utsav Committee, Indore;
(ii) Contemporary Study Centre, Indore;
As the Presiding Officer of directly elected House of People, the Lok Sabha, Speaker is one of the highest constitutional functionaries in India`s parliamentary system. The sustenance of people`s faith in the democratic institutions depends a great deal on the finesse and effectiveness with which the Speaker conducts the proceedings of the Lower House of Parliament. Indian Parliament, down its history, has had a galaxy of eminent Speakers, who have lent dignity and prestige to the Chair. Smt. Sumitra Mahajan joined this illustrious line of Speakers, when she was elected unanimously to the exalted position on 6th June, 2014.
One of the senior most Members of Indian Parliament, she holds the unique distinction of being the only woman MP to get elected eight consecutive times from the same Constituency (Indore) located in the Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. Her impressive victory margins bear a testimony to her immense popularity and also a reflection on her success in meeting the aspirations of the public.
As a Parliamentarian, she has contributed immensely and enriched the Parliamentary debates with her eloquence and effective speeches. She has always championed the cause of women by effectively articulating their issues. She has always set an example in upholding the values and traditions that enhance the dignity of the Parliament, the sacred temple of democracy.
She has rich administrative experience having been a Minister in key social and economic Ministries in the Government of India. She is widely respected across political spectrum for her affable and non-partisan approach as Presiding Officer in Lok Sabha.
An avid reader, an ardent theatre lover, she has been actively associated with social and cultural organizations promoting music, theatre and other performing arts
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