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First Ladies and Gentlemen of India
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| First Lady of India | |
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| Residence |
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| Inaugural holder | Rajvanshi Devi |
| Formation | 26 January 1950 |
| Deputy | Spouse of the Vice President of India |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of India |
First Lady of India or First Gentleman of India is the title given to the spouse of the President of India and is the official host/hostess of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. There are no official roles or duties assigned to the spouse but he or she generally attends the official ceremonies and functions.[1]
The position of First Lady of India is currently held by Savita Kovind, wife of President Ram Nath Kovind. She assumed the position after her husband took the oath of office to the post of president on 25 July 2017.[1]
The role should not be confused with the spouse of the prime minister of India.
History[edit]
Rajvanshi Devi, wife of India's first president, was the country's first first lady from 1950 until 1962.[1] Devi kept a very low profile during this era and did not attend public events with President Rajendra Prasad.[1]
Saraswati Bai, wife of the country's fourth president, V. V. Giri, was the first first lady to take a more public role.[1] Bai's role marked a change from the lower profile of her predecessors.[1] She attended and hosted public events and became a recognizable figure to the Indian public.[1]
Begum Abida Ahmed, India's first lady from 1974 to 1977, further expanded the public role of the first lady's position by organizing ceremonies and official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.[1] She was also the first among the first spouses to hold a public office, when she was Member of Parliament between 1980 and 1989.
Usha Narayanan was the first first spouse of foreign origin.
Before Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of India, the role of the wives of the president were to act as the chief hostess of the Bhavan. In 2007, the office room meant for the first lady went for some minor changes to accommodate the husband of Pratibha Patil, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, the country's inaugural "first gentleman".[2]
Former first lady Suvra Mukherjee, the wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, died in office on 18 August 2015. The position of First Lady remained vacant for the remainder of President Mukherjee's term.[3]
The current first lady Savita Kovind has assumed the position since 2017.
Role[edit]
The role of a first spouse is largely ceremonial. The first spouse has no official duties, but he or she generally attends the official ceremonies and functions held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the president. Most of the first spouses have maintained a low profile.[2]
Non-spouses in the role[edit]
In case of the absence of a spouse, another relative of the President may take up the role of host or hostess during official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, this is not mandatory, and the role of hostess has been vacant during the tenure of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[2]
Zail Singh's daughter had served as hostess for some events.[4][2] Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee served as hostess for some events, during her mother's illness.[5]
List of first ladies and gentlemen of India[edit]
| President No. |
Portrait | Name | Tenure | Reason of tenure end or vacancy | President |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .jpg)
|
Rajvanshi Devi [6] |
26 January 1950 – 12 May 1962 |
President's end of tenure | Rajendra Prasad m. 1896 |
| 2 | Vacant[lower-alpha 1] | President was a widower | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | ||
| 3 | .svg)
|
Shah Jahan Begum [8] |
13 May 1967 – 3 May 1969 |
President died in office | Zakir Husain m. 1915 |
| 4 |
|
Saraswati Bai | 3 May 1969 – 20 July 1969 |
Husband was Acting President | V. V. Giri m. 1917 |
| 5 |
|
Pushpa Shah[lower-alpha 2] | 20 July 1969 – 24 August 1969 |
Husband was Acting President | Mohammad Hidayatullah m. 1948 |
| (4) |
|
Saraswati Bai | 24 August 1969 – 24 August 1974 |
President's end of tenure | V. V. Giri m. 1917 |
| 6 |
|
Begum Abida Ahmed | 24 August 1974 – 11 February 1977 |
President died in office | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed m. 1945 |
| 7 |
|
Sangamma Jatti | 11 February 1977 – 25 July 1977 |
Husband was Acting President | B. D. Jatti m. 1922 |
| 8 |
|
Neelam Nagaratnamma Reddy [9] |
25 July 1977 – 25 July 1982 |
President's end of tenure | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy m. 1935 |
| 9 |
|
Pardhan Kaur[lower-alpha 3] [12][13] |
25 July 1982 – 25 July 1987 |
President's end of tenure | Zail Singh m. 1934 |
| 10 | Janaki Venkataraman | 25 July 1987 – 25 July 1992 |
President's end of tenure | Ramaswamy Venkataraman m. 1938 | |
| 11 |
|
Vimala Sharma [14] |
25 July 1992 – 25 July 1997 |
President's end of tenure | Shankar Dayal Sharma m. 1950 |
| 12 | 
|
Usha Narayanan[lower-alpha 4] | 25 July 1997 – 25 July 2002 |
President's end of tenure | K. R. Narayanan m. 1951 |
| 13 | Vacant[lower-alpha 5] | President was a bachelor | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | ||
| 14 | 
|
Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat[lower-alpha 6] [16] |
25 July 2007 – 25 July 2012 |
President's end of tenure | Pratibha Patil m. 1965 |
| 15 | 
|
Suvra Mukherjee[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8] | 25 July 2012 – 18 August 2015 |
First Lady died in office | Pranab Mukherjee m. 1957 |
| 16 | 
|
Savita Kovind | 25 July 2017 – present |
Incumbent | Ram Nath Kovind m. 1974 |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Sivakamu Radhakrishnan, wife of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died at her home in Madras in 1956, before her husband became President. She was the Second Lady of India at the time of her death.[7]
- ↑ Second Lady of India from 1979–1984
- ↑ Zail Singh's daughter had served as hostess for some events.[10][11]
- ↑ India's first foreign born (Burma) First Lady and the first one of foreign origin[15]
- ↑ The role of hostess, during official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, was vacant during the tenure of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[11]
- ↑ Shekhawat was India's first and only First Gentleman.
- ↑ Suvra Mukherjee was the first First Lady to die during her husband's presidency.
- ↑ While the position of First Lady was vacant following the death of First Lady Suvra Mukherjee, Mukherjee's daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, served as hostess for some events, during her mother's illness and following her death.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Rathi, Nandini (26 July 2017). "Savita Kovind enters Rashtrapati Bhavan, but India's First Ladies are yet to make a mark". Indian Express. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "The first ladies of Rashtrapati Bhavan". Live Mint. HT Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ Nandan Jha, Durgesh (23 August 2015). "Suvra Mukherjee, President Pranab Mukherjee's wife, passes away". Times of India. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ↑ Ramachandran, Smriti Kak (27 July 2014). "President's daughter turns politician". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ Sandhu, Veenu (5 April 2013). "Sharmistha Mukherjee chose not to live in India's biggest house". Business Standard India. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ "Dr. Rajendra Prasad –> 1st President of India". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ Gandhi, Gopalkrishna (26 January 2013). "Only half our story". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.[dead link]
- ↑ "ZAKIR HUSAIN, DR". Vice President of India. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ "Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy's wife passes away". The Hindu. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ↑ Ramachandran, Smriti Kak (27 July 2014). "President's daughter turns politician". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The first ladies of Rashtrapati Bhavan". Live Mint. HT Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ "Giani Zail Singh's widow dead". The Tribune. India. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy (26 December 1994). "Zail Singh, 78, First Sikh To Hold India's Presidency". New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ↑ "President Pranab Mukherjee pays tributes to Shanker Dayal Sharma". Zee News. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ "Ex-First Lady Usha Narayanan dies at 86". The Indian Express. The Indian Express Ltd.
- ↑ "The constant gardener". Hindustan Times. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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