Who Is Kiran Bedi?

An inspiration for millions of women today Kiran Bedi, India`s First Female IPS office is one iconic woman we all truly admire. Her willpower for fighting injustice or standing strong for the poor people she has always made her presence felt with her firm decisions. 

Biography Of Kiran Bedi

Born on 9th June 1949 in Amritsar Punjab in a well do to Punjabi business family, she was second of the four daughters of Prakash Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria. Her upbringing was not very religious but she was brought up in both Hindu and Sikh traditions as her grandmother was a Sikh. She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent School Amritsar and later joined the National Cadet Corps. She took up tennis as her favourite sport, interest which she inherited from her father who is a talented tennis player himself. After her schooling, she completed her graduation in B.A English Honors and also earned her Master’s degree in Political Science from the Punjab University, Chandigarh. Even after joining the Police force, she continued her education and gained her Law Degree, from Delhi University. With all these degrees to her name, she went on to complete her PhD with her thesis topic – Drug abuse and Domestic Violence from the Department of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. 

Career

In 1970 Kiran Bedi started her career as a lecturer at the Khalsa College for women in Amritsar, in the year 1970. As a young woman, she frequently visits the Service Club in Amritsar, where her regular interaction with senior civil servants inspires her to take up public service career. In July 1972 she started Police training at the National Academy of Administration Mussoorie. In the batch of 80 men, she was the only woman and became the first woman IPS officer of India. Kiran Bedi had to face a lot of tough assignments during her initial career including traffic postings in New Delhi, where she once towed away the car of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi office for violating car parking rules. After this incident, she was nicknamed as Crane Bedi. 

Kiran Bedi Served As: 

Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in Mizoram (insurgency prone area), Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Chandigarh, Director-General of Narcotics Control Bureau sInspector General in Tihar Jail 

Awards Won By Kiran Bedi

President’s Gallantry Award Women of the Year in 1980 Magsaysay Award Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control Father Machismo Humanitarian Award in 1995 Joseph Beuys Award Pride of India Award 1999 Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice 2005 

Achievements

She started a number of reforms during her service period which brought positive results as well as lots of appreciation from around the world. She initiated yoga, meditation classes, sports and arts groups in jails which brought in mutual understanding in the jail inmates and police personals. 

Social Work

Kiran Bedi and her colleagues founded The Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation which was renamed to Navjyoti India Foundation in 2007. Since its establishment, the Foundation has provided residential treatment to nearly 20,000 drug and alcohol addicts. It also started crime prevention programmes such as education of slum kids and street children. It also established 200 single-teacher schools, vocational training centres, health care facilities and counselling centres for the vulnerable sections of society. 

Personal Life

Kiran Bedi met her future husband Brij Bedi on tennis courts in Amritsar and on 9 March 1972, they got married at a simple ceremony at the local temple. The couple had a daughter name Saina. On 22 May 2016, Kiran Bedi was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. This is Kiran Bedi for you, clear and firm, her courage and achievements have a great influence on the women’s of all generation in India. Her work & speeches have inspired women to raise their voice against injustice and work hard for a good life. 

📜Lessons to take:-

"Nothing is Impossible..!"