Mridula Sinha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 17thGovernor of Goa | |
| In office 26 August 2014 – 23 October 2019 | |
| Chief Minister | Manohar Parrikar Laxmikant Parsekar Pramod Sawant |
| Preceded by | Om Prakash Kohli |
| Succeeded by | Satya Pal Malik |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1942-11-27)27 November 1942 |
| Died | 18 November 2020(2020-11-18) (aged 77) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Ram Kripal Sinha |
Mridula Sinha (27 November 1942 – 18 November 2020) was an Indian writer and politician who served asGovernor of Goa from August 2014 to October 2019. She was the first woman Governor of Goa.[1][2][3]
Mridula Sinha was also a former president ofBJP Mahila Morcha.[4] She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award thePadma Shri posthumously in 2021.[5][6]
Mridula Sinha was born on 27 November 1942 in the village of Chhapra Dharampur Yadu inMuzaffarpur district inMithila region ofBihar state in India.[citation needed] Her father was Babu Chhabile Singh and her mother was Anupa Devi. She attended the local school in Chhapra and later studied atBalika Vidyapeeth, a residential school for girls inLakhisarai district.[7]
Shortly before she completed her bachelor's degree, Mridula's parents arranged for her to marryRam Kripal Sinha, who at that time was a college lecturer based inMuzaffarpur town,Bihar.[8] After marriage, Mridula continued her studies and took a post-graduate degree inPsychology. She then took a job as a lecturer in the Dr. S.K. Sinha Women's College in Motihari. Shortly afterwards, her husband received his doctorate degree. She left the job and started a school in Muzaffarpur where her husband was working in a college.[8]
Meanwhile, with encouragement from her husband, Mridula experimented with the short story format.[9] She was interested in cultural matters and village traditions. She wrote short stories on these topics and on folk tales that she gathered from the villages where she and her husband worked. Many of these stories were published inHindi language magazines and were later compiled into a two-volume anthology namedBihar ki lok-kathayen ("folk-tales of Bihar"). She also wrote several novels and a biography ofRajmataVijayaraje Scindia titledEk Thi Rani Aisi Bhi. A film of the same name was later made based on this book.[2]
Mridula initially helped her husband in reaching out to the women of the constituency during his campaigns for election to the district committee. She found that with her knowledge of local tradition and cultural nuances, she had a strong connect with the people, especially women. She developed a very strong interest and commitment for social welfare, although she had no interest in electoral politics and never contested any election. She was namedChairperson of Central Social Welfare Board.[10]
At this time, her husband was a cabinet minister in the Bihar state government.[11] She was, until August 2014, a member of the national executive ofBharatiya Janata Party.[12] During the BJP's campaign for2014 general elections, she was in charge of the BJP Mahila Morcha (women's wing).[13] On 25 August 2014, she was appointed theGovernor of Goa.[14]
Sinha was also appointed an ambassador for theSwachh Bharat Abhiyan, by thePrime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi.[15][16] During her tenure as Governor of Goa, she also adopted a cow and a calf at the Raj Bhavan for the purpose of daily worship.[17][18]
Films & TV adaptation : Mridula Sinha's works such as the novelJyon Mehendi Ko Rang has been adapted for a TV serial, with the short story "Dattak Pita" and the autobiography on Vijayaraje ScindiaRajpath se lok path par are made into feature films asDattak andEk thi Rani Aisi Bhi respectively. All her major literary works adapted for films and TV have been by the national award-winning film makerGul Bahar Singh.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Om Prakash Kohli Additional Charge | Governor of Goa 26 August 2014 - 2 November 2019 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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