Mayawati Biography

About Mayawati

Kumari Mayawati is an Indian politician heading the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). She has served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times. She has been an important member of Bahujan Samaj Party since its inception in 1984 and is now serves as the president of the party. The Bahujan Samaj Party was formed with focus on improvement, development and welfare of the Bahujans or Dalits, along with other religious minorities and backward classes.

Mayawati resigned as the party's leader on 7 March 2012 after facing defeat in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. She was eventually elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament.

Mayawati is the first ever female Dalit member to become the Chief Minister of an Indian state. She is considered an icon among the Dalits and is popularly hailed as “Behenji” or sister. As a leader of the party, she has been lauded for mobilising a lot of funds for the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Personal and Professional Background

Mayawati was born in Delhi’s Shrimati Sucheta Kriplani Hospital on 15 January 1956. Her mother's name is Ram Rati . Her father Prabhu Das was a postal employee at Badalpur in Gautam Buddha Nagar. In 1975, she completed her B.A. degree from Kalindi Women’s College which comes under the Delhi University. In 1976, she earned a B.Ed. from VMLG College, Ghaziabad. Thereafter, she did her LL.B. from Delhi University in 1983.

Entry in Politics

After completing her B.Ed. course, Mayawati started teaching students in her neighbourhood and was also preparing for the IAS exams at that time. Sometime in 1977, the well-known Dalit politician Kanshi Ram happened to pay a visit to her family in their house. He was impressed by Mayawati’s speaking prowess and ideas and motivated her to join politics. In 1984, Kanshi Ram founded the Bahujan Samaj Party and included her as its member. This marked her first formal step in Indian politics. She was elected for the first time as a Member of Parliament in 1989. In 2006, Mayawati performed the last rites of Kanshi Ram, which was considered as the party's expression and views against gender bias as the departed person's last rites are traditionally performed by male heirs of the family in Hindu Indian households.

Mayawati's Political Journey So Far

• In 1984, the Bahujan Samaj Party was formed by Dalit politician Kanshi Ram and Mayawati was inducted as a member of the party. Mayawati contested in the 9th Lok Sabha General Elections in 1989 successfully. In this election, she was elected as the Member of the Parliament for the first time. She won with a huge margin and represented Bijnor constituency of Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha. In April 1994, she became a member of the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of the Parliament for the first time.

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• In June 1995, she created history by becoming the first-ever Dalit woman in India to serve as thr Chief Minister in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She retained the post till 18 October 1995.
• From 1996 to 1998 she served as MLA in the Uttar Pradesh state Assembly. On 21 March, 1997 she became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time and retained the post till 20 September 1997.
• In 1998, she was elected for the second time as a member of the 12th Lok Sabha from Akbarpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh.


• In 1999, she became a member of the 13th Lok Sabha.
• On 15 December 2001, Dalit leader Kanshi Ram announced at a grand rally that Mayawati will be his political successor and the sole heir of him as well as of the Bahujan Movement.
• On February 2002, she was re-elected as member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly.
• On March 2002, she resigned from the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat.
• On 3 May 2002, she became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the third time and remained so till 26 August 2002.
• On 18 September 2003 she became the National President of Bahujan Samaj Party, following the ill-health of Kanshi Ram.
• In April-May 2004, she was re-elected as member of 14th Lok Sabha (the fourth time) from Akbarpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
• In July 2004, she resigned from the Lok Sabha and became member of the Rajya Sabha for the second time.
• On 27 August 2006, she was elected as National President of the party for the second time.
• On 13 May 2007, she became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time and retained the post till 14 March 2012.
• In the 2012 Assembly elections, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party lost its majority to the Samajwadi Party.
• She is currently serving as a Rajya Sabha member in the Parliament.

Books on Mayawati

• Iron Lady Kumari Mayawati was written by senior journalist Mohammad Jamil Akhter. The book was released on 14 April 1999 by Shri Kanshi Ram on the eve of birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar.
• Behenji: A Political Biography of Mayawati has been written by veteran journalist Ajoy Bose.

 

Books Written by Mayawati

• Bahujan Samaj Aur Uski Rajniti was released by Shri Kanshi Ram on 3 June, 2000 on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the party.
• Mere Sangarshmai Jeevan Evam Bahujan Movement Ka Safarnama was released by Shri Kanshi Ram on 15 January, 2006 on the 50th birthday of Mayawati.
• A Travelogue of My Struggle-Ridden Life and of Bahujan Samaj was released on 15 March, 2008 on the eve of birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram.

Controversies Surrounding Mayawati

• In 2002, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided her house, along with a few others, suspecting financial irregularities in the project related to the Taj Heritage Corridor.
• However, in June 2007 the then Governor T.V. Rajeswar declared that there was no substantial evidence against her. The Supreme Court also rejected CBI’s plea in this matter and did not agree to direct the Governor to prosecute Mayawati.
• The CBI filed a case against her for holding disproportionate assets not concomitant with her formal sources of income. Mayawati and the party claimed that her income included gifts and contributions made by supporters and party members. The Delhi High Court dismissed the appeal filed against Mayawati by the union government on 3 August, 2011. It stated that she had fully disclosed the identities of the donors and supporters. On 6 July 2012, the Supreme Court of India quashed the case. Finally on 8 October 2013, the CBI closed the case.
• During her tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati erected several statues of icons of Buddhism, Hinduism and Dalits and also herself. She was criticized for this and for wasting the tax-payer's money.