Master10
India: Miscellaneous GK Module

First in India: Women & Pioneering Female Achievers

Indian women have achieved historic breakthroughs across administration, politics, science, law, and international sports, breaking traditional glass ceilings. Sarojini Naidu became the first woman Governor of an Indian state (United Provinces in 1947), while Sucheta Kripalani was the first female Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh in 1963). Indira Gandhi served as India's first woman Prime Minister, and Pratibha Patil was elected as the first woman President of India in 2007. Kiran Bedi became India's first female Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in 1972. In the judiciary, Justice M. Fathima Beevi was appointed as the first female Judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1989, establishing significant legal precedents for gender representation.

Key Concepts & Examination Highlights

  • Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of an Indian state, serving as the Governor of the United Provinces from 1947 to 1949.
  • Mother Teresa was the first naturalized Indian woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for humanitarian work.
  • Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first female Judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1989.
  • Pratibha Devisingh Patil served as the 12th President of India from 2007 to 2012, becoming the first woman to hold the office.
  • Sucheta Kripalani was the first female Chief Minister of an Indian state, leading the government of Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967.
  • Indira Gandhi was the first and only female Prime Minister of India, serving from 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 1984, and the first woman awarded the Bharat Ratna (1971).
  • Kiran Bedi became the first female officer to join the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972.
  • Justice Leila Seth was the first female judge on the Delhi High Court and the first woman to become Chief Justice of a state High Court (Himachal Pradesh in 1991).
  • Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 23, 1984.
  • Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin to fly in space, piloting the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-87 in 1997.
  • Arati Saha was the first Indian and Asian woman to swim across the English Channel in September 1959.
  • Droupadi Murmu was elected as the 15th President of India in 2022, becoming the first tribal woman and second woman to hold the constitutional office.
  • Reita Faria was the first Indian and first Asian woman to win the Miss World beauty pageant title in 1966.
  • Sushmita Sen became the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Miss Universe crown in 1994.
  • Kamaljit Sandhu became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, winning the 400m race at Bangkok in 1970.
  • P.T. Usha, nicknamed the 'Payyoli Express', was the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic track and field final (400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics).
  • Avani Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman combat pilot to fly a solo supersonic fighter aircraft (MiG-21 Bison) in 2018.
  • Sania Mirza became the first Indian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, clinching the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2009.
  • Mary Kom is the only woman boxer to become World Amateur Boxing Champion a record six times and the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal (London 2012).
  • Arundhati Roy was the first Indian citizen to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 for her debut novel The God of Small Things.
  • Cornelia Sorabji was India's first female advocate and the first woman to practice law in India and Britain in the late 19th century.
  • Muthulakshmi Reddi was the first Indian woman to graduate in medicine from Madras Medical College and the first woman legislator in British India (1926).
  • Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first Indian woman cabinet minister (pre-independence) and became the first woman President of the UN General Assembly in 1953.
  • Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, clinching bronze in weightlifting (69 kg category) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
  • Dr. Anandi Gopal Joshi was the first Indian female physician to earn a medical degree in the United States in 1886.
  • Pratibha Patil served as the first woman President of India, holding office as the 12th President from July 2007 to July 2012.
  • Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal woman and the second woman President of India, assuming office in July 2022.
  • Indira Gandhi was the first and only woman Prime Minister of India, serving from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until 1984.
  • Indira Gandhi was also the first woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1971.
  • Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of an Indian state, serving as the Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) from 1947 to 1949.
  • Sarojini Naidu was also the first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress, presiding over the 1925 Kanpur session (Annie Besant was the first woman president in 1917).
  • Sucheta Kripalani was the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state, serving as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from October 1963 to March 1967.
  • Meira Kumar was the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha, presiding over the lower house of Parliament from 2009 to 2014.
  • Sumitra Mahajan was the second woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha, presiding from 2014 to 2019.
  • Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was the first woman Cabinet Minister in independent India, serving as the Union Minister for Health from 1947 to 1957.
  • Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), presiding over its 8th session in 1953.
  • Justice M. Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge appointed to the Supreme Court of India in October 1989.
  • Justice Leila Seth was the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first woman Chief Justice of a State High Court (Himachal Pradesh High Court in 1991).
  • Justice Anna Chandy was the first female judge in India (appointed munsif in 1937) and the first woman High Court judge in India (Kerala High Court in 1959).
  • Cornelia Sorabji was the first female graduate from Bombay University, the first woman to study law at Oxford University, and India's first female advocate in 1923.
  • Anna Rajam Malhotra became the first woman Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in independent India, joining the 1951 batch.
  • Kiran Bedi became the first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in India, joining the service in 1972.
  • Mother Teresa was the first naturalized Indian woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian service with the Missionaries of Charity.
  • Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin in space, flying aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-87 in 1997.
  • Sunita Williams was the second Indian-origin female astronaut to fly in space, establishing long-duration spaceflight and spacewalk records aboard the ISS.
  • Santosh Yadav was the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice (in May 1992 and May 1993) and the first woman to summit Everest from the Kangshung Face.
  • Arunima Sinha became the world's first female amputee to climb Mount Everest in May 2013 after losing her leg in a train accident in 2011.
  • Arati Saha became the first Indian and Asian woman to successfully swim across the English Channel on September 29, 1959.
  • Kamaljit Sandhu was the first Indian woman athlete to win an individual Gold medal at the Asian Games, winning the 400m race at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games.
  • Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, winning bronze in weightlifting (69 kg category) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Curriculum & Reference Sources: India A Reference Annual (Publications Division), Election Commission of India records, Supreme Court of India Archives.

Sample Solved Questions & Concept Explanations

8 Verified Concept Questions
Q1.EASY

Which state in India has the highest population density (1,106 persons per sq km)?

Q2.EASY

Which Indian state is known as the "Granary of India" and the "Land of Five Rivers"?

Q3.EASY

Which is the largest artificial (man-made) freshwater lake in India, located in Sonbhadra district, UP?

Q4.MEDIUM

Which is the longest dam in India, spanning 25.8 km across the Mahanadi River in Odisha?

Q5.MEDIUM

Which is the oldest surviving dam in India, built across the Kaveri River by Chola King Karikala around 150 CE?

Q6.EASY

Who is the first tribal woman to be elected as the President of the Republic of India, assuming office in July 2022?

Q7.HARD

Who were the first two Indian women to graduate from a university in the British Empire, earning their degrees from University of Calcutta in 1883?

Q8.MEDIUM

Who was the first Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister of Independent India?