Shyam Kumari Khan

Shyam Kumari Khan
Born Shyam Kumari Nehru
(1904-10-20)20 October 1904
Died 9 June 1980(1980-06-09) (aged 75)
Nationality Indian
Occupation Lawyer
Indian independence activist
Rajya Sabha member
Social worker
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse(s) Abdul Jamil Khan
Children 2
Relatives Jawaharlal Nehru (first cousin once removed)
Uma Nehru (mother)
Arun Nehru (nephew)

Shyam Kumari Khan (née Nehru, 20 October 1904 - 9 June 1980) was an Indian lawyer, freedom fighter, politician and social worker. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1963 to 1968.

Career

She studied at Allahabad University and was the first woman to become secretary, vice-president and president of the Allahabad University Union in the years 1924-28.[1] A lawyer by profession, she defended Yashpal during his trial in 1932.[2] She joined the Khilafat Movement and was one of the prominent women leaders during the Salt March.[3]

After the independence, she remained active as a social worker. In 1952, she was a founding member, and later the general secretary, of the Indian Council for Child Welfare.[4] She was also a founding member of the Indian Humanist Union, of which she became elected chairman after the death of Narsingh Narain in 1972.[5]

She was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 11 December 1963 to 2 April 1968.[6]

Private life

Born on 20 October 1904, she was the eldest child of Shamlal Nehru, a first cousin of Jawaharlal Nehru, and of his wife Uma Nehru. She married Abdul Jamil Khan and had two children. She died on 9 June 1980, aged 75.[6]

References

  1. Nehru-Gandhi family tree on the Nehru Portal.
  2. Yashpal (2010). This is Not that Dawn. Penguin. p. xii. ISBN 9780143103134.
  3. R. S. Tripathi, R. P. Tiwari (1999). Perspectives on Indian Women. APH Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 81-7648-025-8.
  4. They dared to dream on the ICCW website.
  5. A Brief History on the IHU website.
  6. 1 2 Khan, Shrimati Shya Kumari on the Rajya Sabha website.
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