Sheila Dikshit

Born On: 31st March, 1938
Born In: Kapurthala, Punjab
Career: Politician

Sheila Dikshit is a powerful administrator and a popular leader who was elected as the Chief Minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and led her party to success in many crucial situations. She is only the second woman Chief Minister of Delhi. She always catered to the needs of the poor and needy, stressing largely on her party ideologies such as tolerance, secularism and development. Under her rule, Delhi prospered. Sheila Dikshit is a well-read and erudite person and has managed to maintain a clean image. She introduced many flyovers, metro rails and runway-like roads. Though not a master in public speech, she proved that she possessed administrative skills by introducing massive development projects and implementing them successfully. It was during her term that Delhi successfully hosted the Common Wealth Games (2010), although the same was ridden with controversy.

Early Life
Sheila Dikshit was born on March 31, 1938 in Kapurthala, Punjab state. She finished her primary education at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi and also finished a Master's degree in Arts from Miranda House, Delhi University. She then proceeded to pursue a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Delhi. She married Shri Vinod Dikshit who was a respected Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. The famous freedom fighter and Union Cabinet Minister Shri Umashankar Dikshit was Sheila Dikshit's father-in-law. Her son Sandeep Dikshit is now a Member of Parliament (MP). She has a daughter as well.

Political Career
Sheila Dikshit's entry to politics was accidental. Her father-in-law Shri Uma Shankar Dikshit was a Union Cabinet Minister in Indira Gandhi's ministry and Sheila used to help him quite a lot. Her administrative skills were acknowledged by Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, and she nominated Sheila Dikshit as a representative for the Indian delegation of the United Nations Commission on the status of women. This was her first entry to politics and marked the beginning of the journey that took her to the respectable chair of the Chief Minister of Delhi.

After representing India in the United Nations, she became a Member of Parliament representing the Kannauj Constituency during 1984-1989. She chaired the "Implementation Committee" organized for the commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of India's Independence and also Jawaharlal Nehru's centenary. Sheila Dikshit possesses enormous experience in administrative and parliamentary matters and served as a Minister in the Union Government during 1986-89, both as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and as a Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. She served her party as its President and saw that it achieved victory in the 1988 assembly elections. However, she had to face many criticisms and allegations regarding the Common Wealth Games.

Contributions
Sheila Dikshit stood up for women at various occasions and in various capacities and also supported the movement demanding equal rights for women. For this, she was imprisoned along with eighty-two of her colleagues. As the chairperson of the Young Women's Association, her efforts resulted in the setting up of two of the most successful working women's hostels in Delhi. She is the Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust that organizes conferences on issues of global concern and presents the Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development.

Departments Held

Awards
Best Chief Minister (chosen by the Journalist Association of India), 2008
Politician of the Year Award by NDTV, 2009

Time Line
1938: Born at Kapurthala, Punjab.
1984: Represented Kannauj Parliamentary constituency and represented India in the United Nations Commission on status of women.
1998: Became the Chief Minister of Delhi.
2003: Re-elected as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the second consecutive term.
2008: Re-elected as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third consecutive term.