Margaret Alva

Some Lesser Known Facts About Margaret Alva

• Margaret Alva is an Indian politician, advocate, social worker, and trade unionist, who was nominated as the opposition’s candidate for the 14th vice-presidential election. She served Member of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1998. She won her first Lok Sabha election from Karnataka and served as a member of the 13th Lok Sabha. She served as the 17th Governor of Goa, 23rd Governor of Gujarat, 20th Governor of Rajasthan, and 4th Governor of Uttarakhand. She is known for playing a significant role in making the Women Reservation Bill.

• Born into a patriarchal Indian society, Margaret Alva’s birth after her two sisters led to the disappointment of her mother. Margaret talked about the same in an interview and said,
  

  My mother was upset when I was born. I was the third girl child. But it was my grandfather who told my mother not to be disappointed. As I was born on his birthday he strongly felt I will also become an advocate like him.”

• After pursuing her primary education in Mangalore, she moved to Bangalore for higher studies.

• While studying at Mount Carmel College, she earned the title of Best All Round Student in 1961.

• She was a skilled debater during her college days, and she actively took part in various students’ movements.

• She first met Niranjan Alva while studying at University Law College, Bengaluru, where he was her fellow student.

• She relocated to Dehli after her marriage in 1964.

  

• Her parents-in-law, Joachim Alva and Violet Alva, who actively fought for India’s freedom, were members of INC. Influenced by them, Margaret ventured into politics in 1969.

• After beginning her career as a lawyer, she joined politics under the guidance of the then Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs, a close confidant of Indira Gandhi at the time.

  

• In 1984, Alva was made Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

• During her tenure as MP and later as a Minister, she piloted major legislative amendments on women’s rights by spearheading reservation for women in local bodies and equal remuneration and amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1956.

  

• In 1989, the University of Mysore awarded her an honorary doctorate in Literature. ^[8]Thirteenth Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile- Margaret Alva

• In August 2009, Alva became the first female Governor of Uttarakhand.

• While she was serving as the Governor of Uttarakhand, she authored ‘Courage & Commitment: An Autobiography.’
  

• On 17 July 2022, Alva was nominated for the post of Vice President of India by the opposition. On 6 August 2022, she lost the vice-presidential election to the NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar by 346 votes.

• She is a member of various clubs like India International Centre, Delhi Gymkhana Club, and Bangalore Club.

• Alva has lectured at Harvard University and Columbia University.

• She is a founding member of the NGO Karuna, which specialises in empowering women at the grassroots politically and economically

• Apart from that, she is also a patron of the NGO Tamanna, an organization for the rehabilitation of mentally challenged children.