Mayawati
Mayawati can easily be termed as ‘the dalit queen' of Indian politics. She has not married till date.
Mayawati is a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is known for working towards the upliftment of the Dalit community in India. Mayawati currently heads the Bahujan Samaj Party which represents the Dalits.
Mayawati, also known as “Behenji”, meaning elder sister, completed four terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh but lost out to rivals Samajwadi Party in 2012. She is also infamous for amassing personal wealth during her tenure as CM.
Mayawati was born on 15 January 1956 at Shrimati Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi in a Dalit family. Her father, Prabhu Das, was a post office employee at Badalpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar. The sons in the family were sent to private schools, while the daughters went to “low-performing government schools”
Mayawati studied at Kalindi Women's College and also obtained her LLB from the Campus Law Centre (DU). While she prepared for Civil Services, Dalit politician Kanshi Ram visited her family home in 1977. Ram told her: “I can make you such a big leader one day that not one but a whole row of IAS officers will line up for your orders.”
Mayawati's rise from humble beginnings has been called a “miracle of democracy” by former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.
