First Ladies and Gentlemen of India

First Lady or First Gentleman of India is the unofficial title and position traditionally held by the wife or husband of the president of India during that person's term of office. There are no official roles or duties assigned to the spouse but he or she generally attends the official ceremonies and functions held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the president.[1]

First Lady of India
State Emblem of India
Incumbent
Savita Kovind
since 25 July 2017
Residence
Inaugural holderRajvanshi Devi Prasad
Formation26 January 1950 (1950-01-26)
DeputySpouse of the Vice President of India
India
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The position of First Lady of India is currently held by Savita Kovind, wife of President Ram Nath Kovind. She assumed the position after her husband took the oath of office to the post of president on 25 July 2017.[1]

The role should not be confused with the spouse of the prime minister of India.

History

Rajvanshi Devi, wife of India's first president, was the country's first first lady from 1950 until 1962.[1] Devi kept a very low profile during this era and did not attend public events with President Rajendra Prasad.[1]

Saraswati Bai, wife of the country's fourth president, V. V. Giri, was the first first lady to take a more public role.[1] Bai's role marked a change from the lower profile of her predecessors.[1] She attended and hosted public events and became a recognizable figure to the Indian public.[1]

Begum Abida Ahmed, India's first lady from 1974 to 1977, further expanded the public role of the first lady's position by organizing ceremonies and official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.[1] She was also the first among the first spouses to hold a public office, when she was Member of Parliament between 1980 and 1989.

Usha Narayanan was the first first spouse of foreign origin.

Before Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of India, the role of the wives of the president were to act as the chief hostess of the Bhavan. In 2007, the office room meant for the first lady went for some minor changes to accommodate the husband of Pratibha Patil, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, the country's inaugural "first gentleman".[2]

Former first lady Suvra Mukherjee, the wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, died in office on 18 August 2015. The position of First Lady remained vacant for the remainder of President Mukherjee's term.[3]

The current first lady Savita Kovind has assumed the position since 2017.

Role

The role of a first spouse is largely ceremonial. The first spouse has no official duties, but he or she generally attends the official ceremonies and functions held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the president. Most of the first spouses have maintained a low profile.[4]

Non-spouses in the role

In case of the absence of a spouse, another relative of the President may take up the role of host or hostess during official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, this is not mandatory, and the role of hostess has been vacant during the tenure of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[2]

Zail Singh's daughter had served as hostess for some events.[5][2] Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee served as hostess for some events, during her mother's illness.[6]

List of first ladies and gentlemen of India
# Name Image President Tenure began Tenure ended Reason of tenure end/vacancy Notes
01.01 Rajvanshi Devi Prasad[7] Rajendra Prasad 26 January 1950 12 May 1962 President's end of tenure
02.0– vacant Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 13 May 1962 13 May 1967 President was a widower Sivakamu Radhakrishnan, wife of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died at her home in Madras in 1956, before her husband became President. She was the Second Lady of India at the time of her death.[8]
03.02 Shahjehan Begum[9] Zakir Husain 13 May 1967 3 May 1969 President Husain died in office
03.5– Saraswati Bai V. V. Giri 3 May 1969 20 July 1969 Acting President Acting First Lady
03.6– Pushpa Shah Mohammad Hidayatullah 20 July 1969 24 August 1969 Acting President Acting First Lady. Second Lady of India from 1979–1984
04.03 Saraswati Bai V. V. Giri 24 August 1969 24 August 1974 President's end of tenure
05.04 Begum Abida Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 24 August 1974 11 February 1977 President's death
05.5– Sangamma Jatti B. D. Jatti 11 February 1977 25 July 1977 Acting President
06.05 Nagaratnamma Reddy[10] Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 25 July 1977 25 July 1982 President's end of tenure Nagaratnamma Reddy died on 11 January 2010[10]
07.06 Pardhan Kaur[11]
[12]		 Zail Singh 25 July 1982 25 July 1987 President's end of tenure
08.07 Janaki Venkataraman Ramaswamy Venkataraman 25 July 1987 25 July 1992 President's end of tenure India's first foreign born (Burma) First Lady
09.08 Vimala Sharma[13] Shankar Dayal Sharma 25 July 1992 25 July 1997 President's end of tenure
10.09 Usha Narayanan K. R. Narayanan 25 July 1997 25 July 2002 President's end of tenure India's second foreign born (Burma) First Lady and the first one of foreign origin[14]
11.0– unmarried A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 25 July 2002 25 July 2007 President never married President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was India's first bachelor president[15]
12.010 Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat[16] Pratibha Patil 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 President's end of tenure Shekhawat was India's first and only First Gentleman
13.011 Suvra Mukherjee Pranab Mukherjee 25 July 2012 18 August 2015 Died in office on 18 August 2015[3] Suvra Mukherjee was the first First Lady to die during her husband's presidency.
13.5– vacant Pranab Mukherjee 18 August 2015 25 July 2017 While the position of First Lady was vacant following the death of First Lady Suvra Mukherjee, Mukherjee's daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, served as hostess for some events, during her mother's illness and following her death.
13.512 Savita Kovind Ram Nath Kovind 25 July 2017 Incumbent
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See also

References
  1. Rathi, Nandini (26 July 2017). "Savita Kovind enters Rashtrapati Bhavan, but India's First Ladies are yet to make a mark". Indian Express. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  2. "The first ladies of Rashtrapati Bhavan". Live Mint. HT Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. Nandan Jha, Durgesh (23 August 2015). "Suvra Mukherjee, President Pranab Mukherjee's wife, passes away". Times of India. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  4. "The first ladies of Rashtrapati Bhavan". Live Mint. HT Media Ltd. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. Ramachandran, Smriti Kak (27 July 2014). "President's daughter turns politician". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  6. Sandhu, Veenu (5 April 2013). "Sharmistha Mukherjee chose not to live in India's biggest house". Business Standard India. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  7. "Dr. Rajendra Prasad –> 1st President of India". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  8. Gandhi, Gopalkrishna (26 January 2013). "Only half our story". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  9. "ZAKIR HUSAIN, DR". Vice President of India. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  10. "Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy's wife passes away". The Hindu. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  11. "Giani Zail Singh's widow dead". The Tribune. India. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. Hazarika, Sanjoy (26 December 1994). "Zail Singh, 78, First Sikh To Hold India's Presidency". New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  13. "President Pranab Mukherjee pays tributes to Shanker Dayal Sharma". Zee News. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  14. "Ex-First Lady Usha Narayanan dies at 86". The Indian Express. The Indian Express Ltd.
  15. "APJ Abdul Kalam, from India's missile man to people's President". The Indian Express. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  16. "The constant gardener". Hindustan Times. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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