First Woman President of India - Pratibha Patil

Just like men, women are every bit as capable of being good leaders, and they have never failed to prove so. There have been many women personalities who were the first in their fields and became an inspiration for many others to hold such leadership qualities as Mithali Raj, Mother Teresa, Kalpana Chawla & Pratibha Patil, etc. This article discussed the journey of the first woman President of India when a milestone was reached in India’s history. 

India has had 15 presidents, and the only woman to hold the post was Pratibha Patil in 2007. Currently, Droupadi Murmu is the 15th President of India. Pratibha Patil is an Indian politician and lawyer who became the only female President of India. Likewise, a few other influential examples of the first women to lead their countries are Edith Cresson (The first female premier of France), Khaleda Zia (The first female PM of Bangladesh), Mary Robinson (The first female President of Ireland), Tansu Cillar (The first female PM of Turkey), Kamala Harris (Vice President of US) and many more. 

Who is Pratibha Patil?

Pratibha Patil was the 12th President of India and the first woman to hold office. On 8 November 2004, Patil became the first woman to occupy the post of the Governor of Rajasthan. Her longtime association with the Gandhi family made her a favourite of Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, and her name was brought forward as a candidate for the largely ceremonial role of President in 2007. She served the office from 25 July 2007 to July 2012, but her presidency was relatively quiet & not without controversy; she was criticized for using government funds for the large number of trips she took overseas, often accompanied by her relatives.

Lists of Indian Presidents

Now, let’s have a look at the list of all the Presidents of India to date.

As you can see in the above table, apart from the full-time Presidents, there have been three interim Presidents: Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah and Basappa Danappa Jatti. Now, let’s have a quick go-through of some interesting facts about the Presidents in India. 

• Dr Rajendra Prasad was the longest-serving Indian President. He completed two tenures consequently.

• The shortest-serving President was the third Indian President, Zakir Hussain, who passed away during his tenure.

• Then, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and was the youngest President of the country. Now, Droupadi Murmu is the youngest of all elected as the first tribal President of India.

• Pratibha Patil was the first woman President of India, and Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal President.

• If the President of India intends to resign from his post, he/she needs to do it according to the procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. The President must give a hand-written letter to the Vice President in case of resignation.

• The President is elected by the members of both the House of Parliament and the elected members of the legislative assembly of States and Union Territories.

Conclusion

From this article, we can conclude that female leaders are surely closing the gender gap. The female presidential journey by Pratibha Patil is a starting point for many more opportunities to come for women leaders. As we know, it is speculated that Droupadi Murmu can become the first tribal woman President of India.