Meira Kumar
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Meira Kumar is an Indian politician and cabinet minister
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[edit] Family
Born in Patna in 1945, Meira Kumar is the daughter of Deputy Prime Minister and prominent dalit leader, Babu Jagjivan Ram and freedom fighter, Indrani Devi. Her husband, Manjul Kumar is a Supreme Court lawyer and she has three adult children. All are married.
[edit] Foreign Service
Well educated, she graduated with a degree in law and a Masters in English. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 and served at embassies in Spain, United Kingdom and Mauritius. She was also Member, Indo-Mauritius joint Commission to Mauritius.
[edit] Political Career
Meira Kumar entered electoral politics in 1985 and was elected from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. She was a member of the eleventh and twelfth Lok Sabha's from Karol Bagh in Delhi. She lost her seat in the BJP wave of 1999, but was able to get reelected with a record majority from her father's former constituency of Sasaram in Bihar.
She was inducted into the Manmohan Singh cabinet, as Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.
[edit] Reservations
As a dalit leader, she supports Arjun Singh's reservation policy for OBCs. She also wants the govt. to offer a reward of Rs. 50,000 for inter-caste marriages
[edit] Other interest
She is a keen sportswoman and holds medals for rifle shooting. She is also a poetess.
