List of female governors in India

In India, a governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-eight states. The governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is de jure head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, who thus hold de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon their own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the President's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the union government–appointed governor.[1]

Map showing the number of the female Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators served in Indian States and Union Territories

Sarojini Naidu was the first woman to become the governor of an Indian state.[2] She governed Uttar Pradesh from 15 August 1947 to 2 March 1949. Her daughter, Padmaja Naidu, is the longest-serving female governor with almost 11 years tenure in West Bengal.[3] Tamilisai Soundararajan is the recentmost appointment as the first female governor of Telangana.[4]

Governors

Key

*  Incumbent governor

S. No. Name Image From To Term length State Ref.
1 Sarojini Naidu 15 August 1947 2 March 1949 1 year, 199 days United Provinces [5]
2 Padmaja Naidu 3 November 1956 31 May 1967 10 years, 209 days West Bengal [6]
3 Vijayalakshmi Pandit 28 November 1962 18 October 1964 1 year, 325 days Maharashtra [7]
4 Sharda Mukherjee 5 May 1977 14 August 1978 1 year, 101 days Andhra Pradesh [8]
14 August 1978 5 August 1983 4 years, 356 days Gujarat [9]
5 Jothi Venkatachalam 14 October 1977 27 October 1982 5 years, 13 days Kerala [10]
6 Kumudben Joshi 26 November 1985 2 February 1990 4 years, 68 days Andhra Pradesh [11]
7 Ram Dulari Sinha 23 February 1988 12 February 1990 1 year, 354 days Kerala [10]
8 Sarla Grewal 31 March 1989 5 February 1990 311 days Madhya Pradesh [12]
9 Sheila Kaul 17 November 1995 23 April 1996 158 days Himachal Pradesh [13]
10 Fathima Beevi 25 January 1997 1 July 2001 4 years, 157 days Tamil Nadu [14]
11 V. S. Ramadevi 26 July 1997 1 December 1999 2 years, 128 days Himachal Pradesh [13]
2 December 1999 20 August 2002 2 years, 261 days Karnataka [15]
12 Pratibha Patil 8 November 2004 23 June 2007 2 years, 227 days Rajasthan [16]
13 Prabha Rau 19 July 2008 24 January 2010 1 year, 189 days Himachal Pradesh [13]
25 January 2010 26 April 2010 91 days Rajasthan [17]
14 Margaret Alva 6 August 2009 14 May 2012 2 years, 262 days Uttarakhand [18]
12 May 2012 7 August 2014 2 years, 85 days Rajasthan [19]
12 July 2014 7 August 2014 54 days Goa
15 Kamla Beniwal 27 November 2009 6 July 2014 4 years, 221 days Gujarat [20]
6 July 2014 6 August 2014 31 days Mizoram [21]
16 Urmila Singh 25 January 2010 27 January 2015 5 years, 2 days Himachal Pradesh [22]
17 Sheila Dikshit 11 March 2014 25 August 2014 167 days Kerala [23]
18 Mridula Sinha 31 August 2014 2 November 2019 5 years, 63 days Goa [24]
19 Droupadi Murmu 18 May 2015 13 July 2021 6 years, 56 days Jharkhand [25]
20 Najma Heptulla 21 August 2016 10 August 2021 4 years, 354 days Manipur [26]
21 Anandiben Patel* 23 January 2018 28 July 2019 1 year, 186 days Madhya Pradesh [27]
15 August 2018 28 July 2019 347 days Chhattisgarh [28]
29 July 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 143 days Uttar Pradesh [29]
22 Baby Rani Maurya 26 August 2018 15 September 2021 3 years, 20 days Uttarakhand [30]
23 Anusuiya Uikey 29 July 2019 22 February 2023 3 years, 208 days Chhattisgarh [31]
23 February 2023 26 July 2024 1 year, 154 days Manipur
24 Tamilisai Soundararajan 8 September 2019 18 March 2024 4 years, 192 days Telangana [32]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Female governors of India.

References

  1. ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th edition, 2011 reprint. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. p. 237, 241–44.
  2. ^ "Sarojini Naidu: The first woman to become the governor of an Indian state". CNN-IBN. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ Shubhojit (10 July 2014). "Women Governors in India". Elections.in. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. ^ "President appoints five new governors including Tamilisai Soundararajan in Telangana". The Hindu. September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Shrimati Sarojini Naidu, Governor of UP". National Informatics Centre, UP State Union. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Former Governors of West Bengal". West Bengal Government. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Previous Governors List of Maharashtra". Maharashtra Government. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Former Governors of Andhra Pradesh". Andhra Pradesh Government. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  9. ^ "Sharda Mukherjee, Former Governor of Gujarat". Gujarat Government. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Kerala Legislature - Governors". Kerala Government. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Former Governors of AP". National Informatics Centre, AP State Union. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Sarla Grewal, Governor of Madhya Pradesh". NIC. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Former Governors of Himachal Pradesh". Himachal Pradesh Government. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Former Governors of Tamilnadu". Tamil Nadu Government. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Ramadevi, Governor of Karnataka". Karnataka Government. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Ex Governor of Rajasthan". Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Secretariat. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  17. ^ "President appoints Governors". Press Information Bureau, New Delhi Press release dated 16 January 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand". Uttarakhand Government. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan". Rajasthan Government. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Kamla Beniwal, Governor of Gujarat". Gujarat Government. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  21. ^ "The story behind Kamla Beniwal's dismissal". The Hindu. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Urmila Singh, Governor of Himachal Pradesh". Himachal Pradesh Government. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  23. ^ Jain, Bharti (4 March 2014). "Sheila Dikshit, Governor of Kerala". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  24. ^ Kamat, Prakash (31 August 2014). "Mridula Sinha sworn-in as Goa Governor". The Hindu.
  25. ^ "Draupadi Murmu Sworn In as First Woman Governor of Jharkhand". NDTV. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  26. ^ "Manipur: Najma Heptulla to be sworn-in as Governor on Sunday". Indian Express. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Anandiben Patel sworn in as Madhya Pradesh Governor". The Hindu. 23 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Anandiben Patel, Governor of Chhattisgarh". Chhattisgarh Government. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Anandiben Patel Takes Oath As Uttar Pradesh Governor". NDTV. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  30. ^ " Baby Rani Maurya sworn in as new Uttarakhand governor". The Economic Times. 26 August 2018.
  31. ^ "Anusuiya Uikey takes oath as governor of Chhattisgarh". India Today. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan sworn in as second Telangana Governor". Hindustan Times. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.