Pratibha Patil Biography

(Former President of India)

Birthday: December 19, 1934 (Sagittarius)

Born In: Nadgaon, Maharashtra, India

Pratibha Devisingh Patil is an Indian politician who served as the 12th President of the Republic of India. Having served from 2007 to 2012, she was preceded by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and succeeded by Pranab Mukherjee. A Political Science and Economics postgraduate, Patil also chose to get a law degree and started practising at Jalgaon District Court in Maharashtra, her home state. Her transition to the world of politics came about in the early 1960s. She joined the Indian National Congress (INC) party and subsequently won the Jalgaon Assembly seat in 1962. Later, she was elected from Muktainagar constituency four consecutive times, during which she was a minister in the Congress government and held multiple portfolios. She also served as a Member of Parliament both in Rajya and Lok Sabha. After taking a long break from politics, Patil returned and was appointed the 24th Governor of Rajasthan. She was the first woman to be picked for that office and the first woman President of India as well. Her tenure as the latter was marked by several controversies, but it also saw her being more active than many of her predecessors. She was instrumental in improving women’s rights in the country and in solving the agrarian crisis. Since her retirement, she has been primarily busy with her charity works.
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Quick Facts

Indian Celebrities Born In December

Also Known As: Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Age: 89 Years, 89 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat

father: Narayan Rao Patil

children: Jyoti Rathore, Rajendra Shekhawat

Presidents Indian Women

Height: 5'3" (160 cm), 5'3" Females

Founder/Co-Founder: Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank

More Facts

education: Mooljee Jetha College, Jalgaon

awards: Glamour Award The Chosen Ones

  • 1

    Where did Pratibha Patil serve as the 12th President of India?

    Pratibha Patil served as the 12th President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
  • 2

    What significant achievements did Pratibha Patil accomplish during her tenure as President of India?

    During her presidency, Pratibha Patil focused on education, women's rights, and rural development. She also made efforts to promote sustainable development and reduce poverty.
  • 3

    How did Pratibha Patil contribute to the empowerment of women in India?

    Pratibha Patil was a strong advocate for women's rights and empowerment. She worked towards increasing women's participation in politics, education, and workforce, and advocated for gender equality.
  • 4

    What was the role of Pratibha Patil before becoming President of India?

    Before becoming President of India, Pratibha Patil had a long career in politics. She served as the Governor of Rajasthan and was a member of the Indian National Congress party.
  • 5

    What was Pratibha Patil's stance on environmental issues during her presidency?

    Pratibha Patil was known for her commitment to environmental conservation. She emphasized the importance of sustainable development and called for collective action to address environmental challenges.
Childhood & Early Life
Born on December 19, 1934, in Nadgaon, a small village in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, India, Pratibha Patil is the daughter of Narayan Rao Patil and the sister of G. N. Patil.
She received her initial education at R. R. Vidyalaya, Jalgaon, and later enrolled at the Mooljee Jetha College, which was then under Pune University, to study Political Science and Economics. After being awarded a master’s degree in the subjects, she attended Government Law College, Mumbai, affiliated to the University of Mumbai, and got a Bachelor of Law degree.
She was equally active in sports throughout her student life. She played table tennis, even winning several shields at numerous inter-collegiate tournaments.
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Presidential Election & Tenure
Pratibha Patil wasn’t Congress’ first choice as a candidate but the left-leaning parties of UPA did not like initial options, former Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Karan Singh, put forward by Congress. She was then personally handpicked by Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi herself despite Patil’s remark of not willing to be a “rubber-stamp president”.
In the weeks leading up to the election, Patil faced several controversies, including accusations of shielding her brother and husband in connection of unrelated deaths of a teacher named Kisan Dhage and English professor Vishram Patil. Some of her critics observed that she didn’t possess the necessary charisma, experience, and ability. They also assessed that her long hiatus from politics and her beliefs in the supernatural made her unfit for the job.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chose BJP veteran and incumbent vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to challenge her. In the election conducted on July 19, 2007, she accumulated two-thirds of the total votes and took oath as the President of the Republic of India on 25 July. Dr Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister throughout her tenure.
Patil kindled even more controversies after the election. She is infamous for going on more foreign trips than any other president and allegedly took money from public funds to build herself a retirement mansion. She was also made to return the gifts that she had received in her role and had taken home after her retirement on July 25, 2012.
However, she made the full use of the limited power allocated to her position by the Indian constitution. She commuted a record 35 petitioners’ death sentences to life imprisonment, gave her full and unconditional support in abolishing abhorrent practices such as child marriage, addiction, and social suppression of women, and quietly used the power of her office to bring the agrarian crisis that was plaguing the Indian countryside into attention.
Business Ventures & Social Works
Over the years, Pratibha Patil has made various investments in the education sector. She established Vidya Bharati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, which is an educational institute that owns a chain of schools and colleges in Amravati, Jalgaon, Pune, and Mumbai, and an engineering college in Jalgaon for the students from the countryside.
She has also invested in setting up Shram Sadhana Trust, which oversees several hostels in New Delhi catering to working women; Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, a Muktainagar-based cooperative sugar factory; and Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank, a cooperative bank whose license was cancelled by the Reserve Bank of India in February 2003.
Awards & Achievements
Pratibha Patil was the recipient of The Chosen Ones Award at the 2010 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
Personal Life
On July 7, 1965, Pratibha Patil married Dr Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, who was a lecturer of Chemistry then. An accomplished educationist and social worker, he was the inaugural mayor of Amravati Municipal Corporation. Shekhawat has also been a member of INC party for the major part of his life and was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the Amravati constituency in 1985.
They have two children together, daughter Jyoti Rathore and son Raosaheb Shekhawat (born Rajendra Singh Shekhawat), who has followed his parents’ footsteps to become a politician.
Facts About Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil was the first woman to hold the position of President of India, breaking barriers and setting an inspiring example for women in leadership roles.
She has a keen interest in environmental conservation and has actively promoted initiatives to protect the environment during her time in office.
Pratibha Patil is known for her love of poetry and has often been seen reciting verses at various public events, showcasing her artistic side.
She is a strong advocate for women's rights and empowerment, championing initiatives to improve the status and opportunities for women in Indian society.
Despite her busy schedule as President, Pratibha Patil made time to visit and interact with children in schools and orphanages, showing her compassionate and caring nature.

See the events in life of Pratibha Patil in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Pratibha Patil Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/pratibha-patil-13929.php

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