Sumitra Kulkarni

Indian politician

Sumitra Kulkarni

Rajya Sabha
Member of Parliament
for Gujarat
In office
10 April 1972 – 9 April 1978
Personal details
Born|

Sumitra Gandhi

(1929-10-05) 5 October 1929 (age 95)
Ahmedabad, Bombay Presidency, British India
Political party| Indian National Congress (1972-1977), Congress for Democracy (1977), Janata Party (1978)
Spouse| Gajanan Raghunath Kulkarni
Relations| Family of Mahatma Gandhi
Children| Shriram, Shrikrishna, Sonali
Parents|

* Ramdas Gandhi (father)
* Nirmala Gandhi (mother)

Education| MA, LLB
Alma mater| Women's College, Banaras Hindu University
Occupation| Politician

Sumitra Kulkarni (née Gandhi) is an Indian politician. Born in family of Mahatma Gandhi, she studied MA and served as an Indian Administrative Service officer before joining politics. She served as a member of Rajya Sabha from 1972 to 1978.

## Biography

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Kulkarni was born on 5 October 1929 at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.[1][2] She is a daughter of Ramdas Gandhi and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.[1][3] She served many years in ashram of Gandhi and was raised in Sevagram near Wardha.[3] She has studied MA in History with specialisation in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy of Modern World[4][1] from Women's College, Banaras Hindu University.[5] She has also studied LLB.[1]

She was an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and was a collector in Madhya Pradesh. She was persuaded by Indira Gandhi to join the Indian National Congress (INC).[6][7] She resigned from IAS in 1972 and was elected as a INC member of Rajya Sabha representing Gujarat.[8][7][9] She became disillusioned with INC during the Emergency thus she switched to the Congress for Democracy (CFD) on 2 March 1977.[10][11][12] The CFD was later merged with the Janata Party.[13][14][1] She served as a member of Rajya Sabha from 10 April 1972 to 9 April 1978.[1][9]

She served as a member of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000-2002).[15] She had conducted anti-liquor campaign during the elections.[16]

## Personal life

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Kulkarni married Gajanan Raghunath Kulkarni, dean of IIM Ahmedabad. They have twin sons Shriram and Shrikrishna and a daughter, Sonali.[1][3][17]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g RAJYA SABHA MEMBERS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 1952-2019 (PDF). RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT, NEW DELHI. 2019. p. 244.
2. ^ "Excuse me, if I take Narendra Modi's side: Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter". DNA India. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
3. ^ a b c Kalappa, Bansy (8 June 2019). "Godse talk won't dent Gandhi's image: Mahatma's granddaughter Sumitra". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
4. ^ Kaura, Ajīta (1976). Directory of Indian Women Today, 1976. India International Publications. p. 255.
5. ^ Kool, V. K.; Agrawal, Rita (6 November 2020). Gandhi and the Psychology of Nonviolence, Volume 1: Scientific Roots and Development. Springer Nature. pp. 64–66\. ISBN 978-3-030-56865-8.64-66&rft.pub=Springer+Nature&rft.date=2020-11-06&rft.isbn=978-3-030-56865-8&rft.aulast=Kool&rft.aufirst=V.+K.&rft.au=Agrawal,+Rita&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=E48HEAAAQBAJ&dq;=Sumitra+kulkarni+rajya+sabha&pg;=PA64&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Sumitra+Kulkarni" class="Z3988">
6. ^ Singh, Shankar Dayal (1978). Emergency, Fact and Fiction. Delhi Printers Prakashan. pp. 51, 59.
7. ^ a b Kalhan, Promilla (1977). Black Wednesday: Power Politics, Emergency, and Elections. Sterling Publishers. p. 37.
8. ^ Gandhi, Indira; Gandhi, Sonia, eds. (2004). Two Alone, Two Together: Letters Between Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru 1922-1964. Penguin Books India. p. 516\. ISBN 978-0-14-303245-8.
9. ^ a b WOMEN MEMBERS OF RAJYA SABRA (PDF). RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT, NEW DELHI. 2003. p. 146.
10. ^ "Mahatma Gandhi's descendants carry forward a difficult legacy". India Today. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
11. ^ Turadagi, Dr Basavaraj M. (6 January 2022). BABU JAGJIVAN RAM A story of struggle. Ashok Yakkaldevi. p. 157\. ISBN 978-1-716-14756-2.
12. ^ Translations on South and East Asia. U. S. Joint Publications Research Service. 1977. p. 13.
13. ^ Pal, Kushal (2008). "Dynamics of Party System and Formation of Coalition Government in India". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 69 (2): 333. ISSN 0019-5510. JSTOR 41856420.
14. ^ Lieten, Georges Kristoffel (1980). "Janata as a Continuity of the System". Social Scientist. 9 (5/6): 14–35\. doi:10.2307/3520400. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 3520400.14-35&rft.date=1980&rft.issn=0970-0293&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520400#id-name=JSTOR&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307/3520400&rft.aulast=Lieten&rft.aufirst=Georges+Kristoffel&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520400&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Sumitra+Kulkarni" class="Z3988">
15. ^ "Mahatma's kin have little use for politics today". Hindustan Times. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
16. ^ Ravikumar, Aruna (24 August 2023). There I Was! : Media Musings. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 978-93-5488-674-4.
17. ^ Sreenivasa Raghavan, T. S. (8 October 2010). "Gandhi kin to tie the knot with Microsoft boss". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 17 January 2024.