Indira Anant Maydeo


Indira Anant Maydeo was an Indian parliamentarian who represented Pune South in the 1st Lok Sabha as a member of the Indian National Congress.

Early life

Born on 7 September 1903, Maydeo attended the Fergusson College, from where she received her B.Sc. degree.

Career

Maydeo was actively involved in the Indian independence movement and was a member of the Indian National Congress. In 1933, she joined the Maharashtra division of Harijan Sevak Sangh. She was the most prominent women member of the party in Pune and when the first general elections of independent India were held, the INC made her its official candidate for Pune South constituency. Maydeo obtained roughly 64% of the votes cast and defeated the Socialist Party candidate Shridhar Limaye to become the first women representative of Pune in the house. She still holds this record. As a Member of Parliament, she brought a bill in the Lok Sabha concerning divorce but it was not discussed and eventually lapsed. Maydeo became the president of National Students' Union of India in 1952.

Personal life

Indira married Anant Govind Maydeo in 1927, from whom she had one son and three daughters.