INDIA’s Firsts
Earliest school of medicine known to humans: Ayurveda
Fastest Asian to swim across the English Channel: Anita Sood
First Air Force in Asia to fly jets: Indian Air Force (1948)
First all-women crew to fly an air Force Chetak Helicopter: Flight Cadets Cheryl Dutta and Simran Sodhi of IAF (December, 1995).
First American President to visit India: Dwight David Eisenhower
First Asian to be elected president of Britain’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP): Lord Navnit Dholakia
First Asian to head a British university: Lord Swaraj Paul (when he was elected Chancellor of the Wolverhampton University on May 9, 2000)
First Asian woman magistrate appointed in United Kingdom: Kantha Talwar
First Asian woman mayor in United Kingdom: Lata Patel
First Book in any Indian Language: It was printed in 1578 in Tamil.
First British Prime Minister to visit India: Harold Macmillan
First Census in India: 1901
First Chairman of the University Grants Commission: S.S.Bhatnagar
First Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sukumar Sen (21.3.1950 to 19.12.1958)
First Chief Justice of India: Harilal J.Kania (26.1.1950-6.11.1951)
First Chief Minister of the tri-lingual Bombay Presidency: B.G.Kher
First Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshall Sir Thomas Elmherst (1947-1950)
First Chief of Army Staff: Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji (1.4.1955 to 14.5.1955)
First Cinema House in India: It was built by J.F.Madan in 1907 in Calcutta.
First Commander-in-Chief: Gen.Sir Roy Bucher (1.1.1948 – 14.1.1949)
First complete Technicolor film: Jhansi Ki Rani (1953)
First Constitutional Amendment: 1950
First country-wide agricultural census: 1970-71
First Dalit Lok Sabha Speaker: G M C Balayogi
First Defence Minister of Independent India: Sardar Baldev Singh
First Deputy Prime Minister of India: Sardar Vallabhai Patel
First Director General of ICAR: B.P.Pal
First English Newspaper in India: Bengal Gazette printed in 1790 by James Augustus in Calcutta.
First Eunuch to be elected as a Mayor of an Indian city: Kamla Jaan, who elected Mayor of Katni city in Madhya Pradesh in January 2000.
First Eunuch to get elected to a state legislature: Shabnam Mausi, won the Sohagpur Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh in the February 2000 elections.
First European to invade India: Alexander
First Field Marshal: Gen. S.H.F.J. Manekshaw
First fighter pilot to win the Param Vir Chakra: Flying Officer Nirmaljeet Singh Sekhon (posthumous) for IAF in 1971 Indo-Pak conflict.
First Film Centre: Nandan. Located in Calcutta, it was inaugurated in September 1985.
First Film with an all-female cast: Marathi Film Bindhast, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.
First Five-Year Plan: Started in 1951
First Foreign Secretary of Free India: K.P.S.Menon
First General Elections: They were held in 1952.
First Governor-General of Independent India: Lord Mountbatten
First hydroelectric project in India: Shivasamudram, across the River Kaveri in 1902
First Indian bowler to get a hat-trick in Test cricket: Harbhajan Singh
First Indian Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee (April 1, 1954).
First Indian Chief of Naval Staff: Vice Admiral R.D.Katari (1958-1962).
First Indian Governor-General of India: C.Rajagopalachari
First Indian state to set up a women’s court: Andhra Pradesh
First Indian to be awarded with the ‘Victoria Cross’: Khuda Dad Khan (for Gallantry in Belgium during the first World War)
First Indian to be elected a member of British Parliament: Dadabhoi Naoroji
First Indian to be elected to the US House of Representatives: Dilip Singh Saund
First Indian to go in space: Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma. He went in the Soyuz 7-II Spacecraft on April 3, 1984 and returned on April 11, 1984.
First Indian to hoist the National Flag over the North Pole: Squadron Leader Sanjay Thapar.
First Indian to record a song on a gramophone disc: Sashi Mukhi of Classic Theatres, Calcutta (1902)
First Indian to swim across the English Channel: Mihir Sen
First Indian to win an Olympic Bronze: Khashaba Jadhav (wresting; 1952, Helsinki Olympics)
First Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Tournament: Pullela Gopi Chand (March 11,2001)
First Indian to win the World Billiards Championship: Wison Jones
First Indian woman boxer to win an international event : M.C.Merykom
First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress: Sarojini Naidu (1925)
First Indian woman producer and director: Fatima Begum, who produced and directed Bulbul-e-Parastan in 1926.
First Indian woman to become Miss Universe: Sushmita Sen (1994)
First Indian woman to become Miss World: Reita Faria (1966)
First Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest: Bachendri Pal
First Indian Woman to go in space: Kalpana Chawla
First Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event: P.T.Usha
First Indian woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha
First Indian woman to win a medal in an Olympic event: Karnam Malleshwari (bronze medal, Sydney Olympics)
First international co-production: Nala Damayanti (1921) made in collaboration with Italy.
First Jnanpith Award Winner: G.Sankara Kurup (1965), for his work ‘Ottakkuzhal’ in Malyalam.
First Marine National Park: Jamnagar
First Minister without Portfolio: N.Gopalswami Ayengar in Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet. He, however, went on to become the Minister of Defence.
First Miss Universe of the new millennium: Lara Dutta
First Moonlit Animal House in Asia: Located in the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.
First Navodaya School: Navegaon-Khairi in Nagpur
First Photographer in India: Raja Deendayal
First Postage Stamp: It was issued in India in 1852 at Karachi.
First President of India: Dr Rajendra Prasad (1950-1962)
First President of the Indian Union of Civil Liberties: Rabindranath Tagore (1930s).
First Prime Minister of India: Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-1964)
First Prime Minister to win a popular entertainment award: Atal Behari Vajpayee (when he won the Screen-Videocon “Best Lyricist” prize in the non-film music category for his collection of poems titled “Nayi Disha” in February 2000).
First Printing Press: It was set up in Goa in 1556 by the Portuguese.
First Railway Line: It was opened on April 16, 1853 between Bombay and Thane.
First Rupee in India: It was minted during the reign of Sher Shah Suri in 1542.
First Secretary-General of South-South Commission: Dr Manmohan Singh
First ship built in India: Jala Usha built by Vishakapatnam Shipyard was commissioned in 1948.
First silent feature film in India: Pundalik made in 1912 by N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney. It was half British in its make.
First solar crematorium: It is proposed to be set up in Valsad, Gujarat.
First Solar Energy Centre: Gwalpahar, Gurgaon, Haryana
First song-less film: JBH Wadia’s Naujawan (1937).
First south Indian film to be released in Korea: Tamil Film Muthu Maharaja (June, 2000)
First Surveyor General of India: Sir George Everest
First Talkie Film: Alam Ara (1931)
First Telefilm: Satyajit Ray’s Sadgati (telecast on Doordarshan in April 1981)
First Telegraph Line: It was laid between Calcutta and Agra in 1854. This line was 1280 km long. It was extended up to Lahore in 1857.
First Telephone system: It was started in 1881 from Calcutta.
First Television Reception Centre: Arvi, located in Maharashtra
First veterinary college: Opened in Parel in Bombay in 1885. It is still in existence and is the oldest veterinary college in Asia.
First Vice-President of India: Dr S.Radhakrishnan (1952-1962)
First Wind farm: Mandvi, Kutch in Gujarat
First Winner of Param Vir Chakra: Maj.Somnath Sharma (posthumously) in November, 1947
Grandma Madonna from India: Asha Bhonsle
Highest Airfield in the world: Thoise, Ladakh
Highest road in India: Khardung La Pass
India’s first Antartica expedition: January 11, 1982
India’s first Satellite: Aryabhatta, April 19, 1975
Indian Johann Sebastian Bach: Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
India’s first colour film: Prabhat’s Sairandhri, which was processed and printed in Germany in 1933.
India’s first commercial pilot: Durba Banerjee (1966, Indian Airlines)
India’s first fully indigenous silent feature film: Raja Harishchandra produced by Dada Saheb Phalke on May 3, 1913.
India’s first indigenously built missile destroyer: INS ‘Delhi’ (commissioned on November 15, 1997 at Mumbai).
India’s first indigenously built submarine: INS ‘Shakti’ (commissioned on February 7, 1992)
India’s first indigenously made colour film: Ardashir Irani’s Kisan Kanya made in 1937.
India’s first manufacturer of light bulbs and electrical equipment: Bengal Lamps, Calcutta (1933)
India’s First Oil well: Digboi (1890)
India’s first radio programme: This was broadcast privately with a 40w transmitter by the Madras Presidency Club Radio in 1924.
India’s first Test-tube baby: Harsha (born on August 6, 1986).
India’s first Test-Tube Baby: Kruti Parekh
India’s first woman railway driver: Surekha Yadao
India’s first woman tabla maestro : Dr Aban Mistry
India’s largest inland lake: Lake Chilika, Orissa
India’s longest serving Chief Minister : Jyoti Basu
India’s officially recognized billionth citizen: Astha (She was born on May 11,2000 at New Delhi).
Largest circulated multi-edition daily in India: Roudramukhi Swar in Hindi (12,92,277 copies in 1997).
Largest circulated periodical in India: Malayala Manorama (11,27,414 copies)
Largest circulated single edition newspaper in India: Hindustan Times from Delhi (5,40,919 copies in 1997).
Largest Nandi in India: Nandi of the Leepakshi Temple at Andhra Pradesh
Largest Stupa in India: Mahachaitya Stupa, Amravati, Andhra Pradesh
Oldest era in the world: Hindu Era
Oldest Para-military force in India: Assam Rifles (1835) in Shillong
Only Army Chief to be awarded with Maha Vir Chakra twice: Late Gen. A.S.Vaidya
Only Place in the world where a Brahmat Temple is found: Pushkar in Rajasthan
Shortest era in the world: Christian Era
State with the highest % of Scheduled Castes to total population: Punjab (28.31% – 1991 Census)
State with the highest% of Scheduled tribes to total population: Mizoram (94.75%)
State with the largest number of Scheduled Castes: Uttar Pradesh (29.276 million – 1991 Census)
State with the largest number of Scheduled Tribes: Madhya Pradesh (15.399 million – 1991 Census)
State with the largest number of towns: Uttar Pradesh (704)
State with the largest number of villages: Uttar Pradesh (1,12,803 – 1991 Census)
State with the least number of towns: Nagaland (7)
State with the lowest % of Scheduled tribes to total population: Uttar Pradesh (0.21%)
State with the lowest number of Scheduled Castes: Mizoram (1000 – 1991 Census)
State with the lowest number of Scheduled Tribes: Sikkim (91,000)
State with the lowest number of villages: Goa (360 – 1991 Census)
World’s First University: Taxila (700 B.C.)
World’s first woman Airbus pilot: Durba Banerjee
World’s highest STD/PCO facilities: Siachen glacier (established in November 1997)
World’s largest school: Guinness Book of Records recognizes City Montessori School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, as the world’s largest school with 23,000 students on its rolls.
Youngest Indian to swim across the English Channel: Arati Pradhan
Youngest Para-military force in India: Coast Guard (1978)
First woman Ambassador from India: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from 1947-49)
First woman Central Minister: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
First woman chief justice of a High Court: Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh, 1991)
First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state: Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh from 1963-1967)
First woman film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha: Nargis Dutt
First woman Governor of an Indian state: Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh from 1947-1948)
First woman Governor of Tamil Nadu: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1997)
First woman IPS Officer of India: Kiran Bedi
First woman Judge of the Supreme Court: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1989)
First woman judicial officer: Anna Chandy, who was appointed munsif in the Travancore state in 1937.
First woman Minister of an Indian state: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (Uttar Pradesh)
First woman officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be promoted to the rank of air commodore: 55-year old Padma Bandhopadhyay, commissioned to the IAF in 1968.
First Woman President of India : Pratibha Patil
First woman President of Indian National Congress: Annie Besant (1917)
First woman President of UN General Assembly: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (1953-54)
First woman Prime Minister of India: Late Indira Gandhi (1966-1977 and 1980-1984).
First woman Speaker of an Indian state: Shano Devi
First woman Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly :Kavali Prathibha Bharati
First woman to head any Wakf board in India : Bader Sayeed (TN Wakf Board)
Delhi’s First Mayor: Aruna Asaf Ali (1958)
Delhi’s First woman chief secretary: Shailja Chandra
First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna: Indira Gandhi (1971)
Earliest school of medicine known to humans: Ayurveda
Fastest Asian to swim across the English Channel: Anita Sood
First Air Force in Asia to fly jets: Indian Air Force (1948)
First all-women crew to fly an air Force Chetak Helicopter: Flight Cadets Cheryl Dutta and Simran Sodhi of IAF (December, 1995).
First American President to visit India: Dwight David Eisenhower
First Asian to be elected president of Britain’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP): Lord Navnit Dholakia
First Asian to head a British university: Lord Swaraj Paul (when he was elected Chancellor of the Wolverhampton University on May 9, 2000)
First Asian woman magistrate appointed in United Kingdom: Kantha Talwar
First Asian woman mayor in United Kingdom: Lata Patel
First Book in any Indian Language: It was printed in 1578 in Tamil.
First British Prime Minister to visit India: Harold Macmillan
First Census in India: 1901
First Chairman of the University Grants Commission: S.S.Bhatnagar
First Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sukumar Sen (21.3.1950 to 19.12.1958)
First Chief Justice of India: Harilal J.Kania (26.1.1950-6.11.1951)
First Chief Minister of the tri-lingual Bombay Presidency: B.G.Kher
First Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshall Sir Thomas Elmherst (1947-1950)
First Chief of Army Staff: Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji (1.4.1955 to 14.5.1955)
First Cinema House in India: It was built by J.F.Madan in 1907 in Calcutta.
First Commander-in-Chief: Gen.Sir Roy Bucher (1.1.1948 – 14.1.1949)
First complete Technicolor film: Jhansi Ki Rani (1953)
First Constitutional Amendment: 1950
First country-wide agricultural census: 1970-71
First Dalit Lok Sabha Speaker: G M C Balayogi
First Defence Minister of Independent India: Sardar Baldev Singh
First Deputy Prime Minister of India: Sardar Vallabhai Patel
First Director General of ICAR: B.P.Pal
First English Newspaper in India: Bengal Gazette printed in 1790 by James Augustus in Calcutta.
First Eunuch to be elected as a Mayor of an Indian city: Kamla Jaan, who elected Mayor of Katni city in Madhya Pradesh in January 2000.
First Eunuch to get elected to a state legislature: Shabnam Mausi, won the Sohagpur Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh in the February 2000 elections.
First European to invade India: Alexander
First Field Marshal: Gen. S.H.F.J. Manekshaw
First fighter pilot to win the Param Vir Chakra: Flying Officer Nirmaljeet Singh Sekhon (posthumous) for IAF in 1971 Indo-Pak conflict.
First Film Centre: Nandan. Located in Calcutta, it was inaugurated in September 1985.
First Film with an all-female cast: Marathi Film Bindhast, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.
First Five-Year Plan: Started in 1951
First Foreign Secretary of Free India: K.P.S.Menon
First General Elections: They were held in 1952.
First Governor-General of Independent India: Lord Mountbatten
First hydroelectric project in India: Shivasamudram, across the River Kaveri in 1902
First Indian bowler to get a hat-trick in Test cricket: Harbhajan Singh
First Indian Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee (April 1, 1954).
First Indian Chief of Naval Staff: Vice Admiral R.D.Katari (1958-1962).
First Indian Governor-General of India: C.Rajagopalachari
First Indian state to set up a women’s court: Andhra Pradesh
First Indian to be awarded with the ‘Victoria Cross’: Khuda Dad Khan (for Gallantry in Belgium during the first World War)
First Indian to be elected a member of British Parliament: Dadabhoi Naoroji
First Indian to be elected to the US House of Representatives: Dilip Singh Saund
First Indian to go in space: Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma. He went in the Soyuz 7-II Spacecraft on April 3, 1984 and returned on April 11, 1984.
First Indian to hoist the National Flag over the North Pole: Squadron Leader Sanjay Thapar.
First Indian to record a song on a gramophone disc: Sashi Mukhi of Classic Theatres, Calcutta (1902)
First Indian to swim across the English Channel: Mihir Sen
First Indian to win an Olympic Bronze: Khashaba Jadhav (wresting; 1952, Helsinki Olympics)
First Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Tournament: Pullela Gopi Chand (March 11,2001)
First Indian to win the World Billiards Championship: Wison Jones
First Indian woman boxer to win an international event : M.C.Merykom
First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress: Sarojini Naidu (1925)
First Indian woman producer and director: Fatima Begum, who produced and directed Bulbul-e-Parastan in 1926.
First Indian woman to become Miss Universe: Sushmita Sen (1994)
First Indian woman to become Miss World: Reita Faria (1966)
First Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest: Bachendri Pal
First Indian Woman to go in space: Kalpana Chawla
First Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event: P.T.Usha
First Indian woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha
First Indian woman to win a medal in an Olympic event: Karnam Malleshwari (bronze medal, Sydney Olympics)
First international co-production: Nala Damayanti (1921) made in collaboration with Italy.
First Jnanpith Award Winner: G.Sankara Kurup (1965), for his work ‘Ottakkuzhal’ in Malyalam.
First Marine National Park: Jamnagar
First Minister without Portfolio: N.Gopalswami Ayengar in Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet. He, however, went on to become the Minister of Defence.
First Miss Universe of the new millennium: Lara Dutta
First Moonlit Animal House in Asia: Located in the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.
First Navodaya School: Navegaon-Khairi in Nagpur
First Photographer in India: Raja Deendayal
First Postage Stamp: It was issued in India in 1852 at Karachi.
First President of India: Dr Rajendra Prasad (1950-1962)
First President of the Indian Union of Civil Liberties: Rabindranath Tagore (1930s).
First Prime Minister of India: Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-1964)
First Prime Minister to win a popular entertainment award: Atal Behari Vajpayee (when he won the Screen-Videocon “Best Lyricist” prize in the non-film music category for his collection of poems titled “Nayi Disha” in February 2000).
First Printing Press: It was set up in Goa in 1556 by the Portuguese.
First Railway Line: It was opened on April 16, 1853 between Bombay and Thane.
First Rupee in India: It was minted during the reign of Sher Shah Suri in 1542.
First Secretary-General of South-South Commission: Dr Manmohan Singh
First ship built in India: Jala Usha built by Vishakapatnam Shipyard was commissioned in 1948.
First silent feature film in India: Pundalik made in 1912 by N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney. It was half British in its make.
First solar crematorium: It is proposed to be set up in Valsad, Gujarat.
First Solar Energy Centre: Gwalpahar, Gurgaon, Haryana
First song-less film: JBH Wadia’s Naujawan (1937).
First south Indian film to be released in Korea: Tamil Film Muthu Maharaja (June, 2000)
First Surveyor General of India: Sir George Everest
First Talkie Film: Alam Ara (1931)
First Telefilm: Satyajit Ray’s Sadgati (telecast on Doordarshan in April 1981)
First Telegraph Line: It was laid between Calcutta and Agra in 1854. This line was 1280 km long. It was extended up to Lahore in 1857.
First Telephone system: It was started in 1881 from Calcutta.
First Television Reception Centre: Arvi, located in Maharashtra
First veterinary college: Opened in Parel in Bombay in 1885. It is still in existence and is the oldest veterinary college in Asia.
First Vice-President of India: Dr S.Radhakrishnan (1952-1962)
First Wind farm: Mandvi, Kutch in Gujarat
First Winner of Param Vir Chakra: Maj.Somnath Sharma (posthumously) in November, 1947
Grandma Madonna from India: Asha Bhonsle
Highest Airfield in the world: Thoise, Ladakh
Highest road in India: Khardung La Pass
India’s first Antartica expedition: January 11, 1982
India’s first Satellite: Aryabhatta, April 19, 1975
Indian Johann Sebastian Bach: Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
India’s first colour film: Prabhat’s Sairandhri, which was processed and printed in Germany in 1933.
India’s first commercial pilot: Durba Banerjee (1966, Indian Airlines)
India’s first fully indigenous silent feature film: Raja Harishchandra produced by Dada Saheb Phalke on May 3, 1913.
India’s first indigenously built missile destroyer: INS ‘Delhi’ (commissioned on November 15, 1997 at Mumbai).
India’s first indigenously built submarine: INS ‘Shakti’ (commissioned on February 7, 1992)
India’s first indigenously made colour film: Ardashir Irani’s Kisan Kanya made in 1937.
India’s first manufacturer of light bulbs and electrical equipment: Bengal Lamps, Calcutta (1933)
India’s First Oil well: Digboi (1890)
India’s first radio programme: This was broadcast privately with a 40w transmitter by the Madras Presidency Club Radio in 1924.
India’s first Test-tube baby: Harsha (born on August 6, 1986).
India’s first Test-Tube Baby: Kruti Parekh
India’s first woman railway driver: Surekha Yadao
India’s first woman tabla maestro : Dr Aban Mistry
India’s largest inland lake: Lake Chilika, Orissa
India’s longest serving Chief Minister : Jyoti Basu
India’s officially recognized billionth citizen: Astha (She was born on May 11,2000 at New Delhi).
Largest circulated multi-edition daily in India: Roudramukhi Swar in Hindi (12,92,277 copies in 1997).
Largest circulated periodical in India: Malayala Manorama (11,27,414 copies)
Largest circulated single edition newspaper in India: Hindustan Times from Delhi (5,40,919 copies in 1997).
Largest Nandi in India: Nandi of the Leepakshi Temple at Andhra Pradesh
Largest Stupa in India: Mahachaitya Stupa, Amravati, Andhra Pradesh
Oldest era in the world: Hindu Era
Oldest Para-military force in India: Assam Rifles (1835) in Shillong
Only Army Chief to be awarded with Maha Vir Chakra twice: Late Gen. A.S.Vaidya
Only Place in the world where a Brahmat Temple is found: Pushkar in Rajasthan
Shortest era in the world: Christian Era
State with the highest % of Scheduled Castes to total population: Punjab (28.31% – 1991 Census)
State with the highest% of Scheduled tribes to total population: Mizoram (94.75%)
State with the largest number of Scheduled Castes: Uttar Pradesh (29.276 million – 1991 Census)
State with the largest number of Scheduled Tribes: Madhya Pradesh (15.399 million – 1991 Census)
State with the largest number of towns: Uttar Pradesh (704)
State with the largest number of villages: Uttar Pradesh (1,12,803 – 1991 Census)
State with the least number of towns: Nagaland (7)
State with the lowest % of Scheduled tribes to total population: Uttar Pradesh (0.21%)
State with the lowest number of Scheduled Castes: Mizoram (1000 – 1991 Census)
State with the lowest number of Scheduled Tribes: Sikkim (91,000)
State with the lowest number of villages: Goa (360 – 1991 Census)
World’s First University: Taxila (700 B.C.)
World’s first woman Airbus pilot: Durba Banerjee
World’s highest STD/PCO facilities: Siachen glacier (established in November 1997)
World’s largest school: Guinness Book of Records recognizes City Montessori School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, as the world’s largest school with 23,000 students on its rolls.
Youngest Indian to swim across the English Channel: Arati Pradhan
Youngest Para-military force in India: Coast Guard (1978)
First woman Ambassador from India: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from 1947-49)
First woman Central Minister: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
First woman chief justice of a High Court: Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh, 1991)
First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state: Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh from 1963-1967)
First woman film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha: Nargis Dutt
First woman Governor of an Indian state: Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh from 1947-1948)
First woman Governor of Tamil Nadu: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1997)
First woman IPS Officer of India: Kiran Bedi
First woman Judge of the Supreme Court: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1989)
First woman judicial officer: Anna Chandy, who was appointed munsif in the Travancore state in 1937.
First woman Minister of an Indian state: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (Uttar Pradesh)
First woman officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be promoted to the rank of air commodore: 55-year old Padma Bandhopadhyay, commissioned to the IAF in 1968.
First Woman President of India : Pratibha Patil
First woman President of Indian National Congress: Annie Besant (1917)
First woman President of UN General Assembly: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (1953-54)
First woman Prime Minister of India: Late Indira Gandhi (1966-1977 and 1980-1984).
First woman Speaker of an Indian state: Shano Devi
First woman Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly :Kavali Prathibha Bharati
First woman to head any Wakf board in India : Bader Sayeed (TN Wakf Board)
Delhi’s First Mayor: Aruna Asaf Ali (1958)
Delhi’s First woman chief secretary: Shailja Chandra
First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna: Indira Gandhi (1971)
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