RANI LAXMIBAI: WORRIER
Rani Laxmibai's courage, deeds of valour and heroic battle against the
British have become the theme of many a folklore and ballad in the
country. She is the immortal warrior the country has ever seen. Even as a
child Laxmibai learnt horse riding and sword fighting. When both her
husband Raja Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi and her only son died in 1853 she
adopted a son and made him the heir to the throne. The British Governor
General Dalhousie refused to recognize her adopted son as heir to the
throne and ordered annexation of Jhansi into British Raj. Rani Laxmibai
refused to part with Jhansi. A fierce fight ensued. The Rani fought the
British undauntedly leading her forces from the front and showed great
courage and skill. She was fatally wounded in the battle and she
breathed her last on 18-06-1858
KIRAN BEDI: IPS
Kiran Bedi is an Indian Police Officer and is the first woman to join
the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972. She was born on 9th June 1949
in Amritsar, Punjab state, India, and is one of the most celebrated and
widely known Police officers who ever served the Indian Police Force.
Kiran Bedi is the second of the four daughters of her parents, Prakash
Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria. She completed her schooling
from the Sacred Heart Convent School, Amritsar, and obtained her B.A.
degree (1964-68) in English from the Government College for Women,
Amritsar. She then earned a Master's degree (1968-70) in Political
Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Even while in active service
in the Indian Police, She continued her educational pursuits, and
obtained a Law degree (LLB) in 1988 from Delhi University, Delhi. She
was also awarded a Ph.D. in 1993 in Social Sciences by the Department of
Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.
The topic of her thesis was 'Drug Abuse and Domestic
Violence'. Kiran Bedi is also a former all-India and all-Asian tennis
champion, and had won the Asian Ladies Title at the age of 22. She began
her career as a Lecturer in Political Science (1970-72) at Khalsa
College for Women, Amritsar, India. In the year 1972, she was selected
for the Indian Police Service. She said that she has joined police
because of her urge to be outstanding. Kiran Bedi has received a number
of Awards, including the following; President's Gallantry Award (1979),
Women of the Year Award (1980), Asia Region Award for, Drug Prevention
and Control (1991), Magsaysay Award (1994) for Government Service,
Mahila Shiromani Award (1995), Father Machismo Humanitarian Award
(1995), Lion of the Year (1995), Joseph Beuys Award (1997), Pride of
India (1999), Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice
(2005) .
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Shahnaz Husain is both the pioneer and the undisputed queen of herbal
care in India. Thirty-four years ago Shahnaz dreamt of pioneering the
Indian herbal heritage and Ayurveda, taking them far beyond the
boundaries of her country and achieving the kind of international
acclaim that has surpassed her wildest dreams. Today, she heads an
organization that is the largest of its kind in the world, with an
integrated system of an international salon chain, supported by product
ranges. Shahnaz belongs to a royal family, who originally came from
Samarkhand and later held prominent positions in the royal governments
of Bhopal and Hyderabad, during the pre-independence days. It is also a
family of eminent legal luminaries. Shahnaz had to comply with existing
traditions and entered into an arranged marriage at the tender age of
15, becoming a mother by the time she was 16. She was fortunate to have a
broadminded, Oxford-educated father, Chief Justice N.U. Beg, who put
her through schooling in an Irish convent and instilled in her a love of
poetry and English literature. He also imbued in her the right
combination of traditional values and progressive ideas and Shahnaz
learnt to love and respect the rich heritage of India. It was her
extraordinary personal qualities that made her determined to emerge from
a sheltered and secure life and venture into a totally different world
of entrepreneurship, where she had to wage a lone battle to fulfil her
dreams. When Shahnaz returned to India, after training for 10 years in
cosmetology and cosmetic chemistry, in some of the leading institutions
in London, New York, Paris and Copenhagen, she started her own herbal
salon for skin and hair care. Instead of following the existing salon
treatment methods, she decided to adopt the principle of 'Natural Care
and Cure' and to apply the Ayurvedic system and formulate custom-made
products for skin and hair problems. Today, the Shahnaz Husain Group is
engaged in the formulation and marketing of over four hundred Ayurvedic
formulations for skin, hair and body care, which have not only become
widely known, but have received unprecedented international acclaim.
During the last three decades, the Shahnaz Husain Group has acquired a
tremendous global presence, having sold at prestigious stores, like
Galeries Lafayette (Paris), Harrods and Selfridges (London), the Seibu
chain in Japan, Bloomingdales (New York), La Rinascente in Milan
(Italy), as well as exclusive outlets and clinics worldwide. In fact,
Shahnaz was the first Asian to enter Galeries Lafayette in Paris in
herbal care and the first Asian to be featured in the 18-foot shop
window of the store. The Group has salons and outlets in prominent
locations all over the world, which have extended on a unique franchise
system. With the professional infrastructure to support the demands of
products and publicity, and tremendous goodwill, the Shahnaz Husain
Group has also gone global with its other ventures, like the Shahnaz
Husain Forever Beautiful lifestyle shops, Beauty Training Institutes,
Ayurvedic Centres and Shahnaz Husain Medispas. Shahnaz became the first and only woman in 107 years to receive the
World's Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award from Success magazine of the
USA. The Shahnaz Husain Group has also received several international
awards for Quality, including the Global Quality Management Award for
Quality Excellence and Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur 2002, in London.
In September 2003, Shahnaz was selected for the prestigious Global
Indian "Woman of the Millenium" Award, presented by Global Indian
Congress, based in California, USA.
KALPANA CHAVLA: ASTRONAUT
Kalpana Chawla (July 1, 1961 - February 1, 2003), was an Indian-born
American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist. She was lost
aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107 when it disintegrated
during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Chawla was born in Karnal,
Punjab, now in Haryana, India. Her interest in flight was inspired by J.
R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot. Chawla studied aeronautical
engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, India, in 1982
where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. Thereafter she moved to
the United States to obtain a Master of Science degree in aerospace
engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (1984). Chawla
earned a second Master of Science degree in 1986 and Ph.D. in aerospace
engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado. Later that same
year she began working for NASA Ames Research Center. Kalpana Chawla
alias Ruchi married Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1982 and became a
naturalized United States citizen in 1990. Chawla held a Certificated
Flight Instructor rating for airplanes and gliders and Commercial Pilot
licenses for single and multiengine airplanes, seaplanes and gliders.
She is posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the
NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Dr.
Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian born Astronaut in 1997.
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