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Kiran Bedi Biography

Some Quick Facts about Kiran Bedi

Name: Kiran Bedi

Real Name: Kiran Peshawaria

Profession: Retired IPS officer

Other Professions: Social activist, Lecturer in Political Science at Amritsar Khalsa College for Women (1970-72)

Date of Birth: 09 June 1949

Age: 65

Place of Birth: Amritsar, Punjab

Father's Name: Prakash Lal Peshawaria

Mother 's Name: Prem Lata Peshawaria

Husband's Name: Brij Bedi

Children: 1 Daughter, Saina

Important positions held: Director General of Police

Philanthropic Activities: Founder of Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation for welfare and preventative policing (1988), Navjyoti India Foundation (1987)

Political Party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Religion: Hinduism

Schooling: From Sacred Heart Convent School

Graduation: In English (H) from Government College for Women, Amritsar, Punjab

Master's degree: In Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh

LL.B: From Faculty of Law, Delhi University

Ph.D.: From Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi

Social Activism 1988: Founded the NGO, "Navjyoti India Foundation"

1994: Founded "India Vision Foundation"

Other Important Positions Held:

A key Participant of anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare
Served as Deputy Inspector General of Police in Mizoram
Adviser to the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh
New Delhi Traffic Commissioner
Civilian Police Adviser for United Nations
Director General at Bureau of Police Research and Development
Worked as Inspector General of Prisons, Tihar Jail, Delhi (1993-1995)
Joined Politics (BJP) on 15 January 2015

Introduction

Kiran Bedi is known as the audacious woman who became the first woman to become an IPS officer of India in 1972. During her tenure as IPS officer she is the one to hold the position of the Director General at the Bureau of Police Research and Development. Not that she stopped her Endeavour to work further but she has worked actively as a social activist and had also played a significant role in the Anna Hazare movement that called forth an anti-corruption movement and the Jan Lok Pal Bill. In the year 1994, she also became winner of the Magsaysay Award. After retiring from the Indian Police services in the year 2007, she became a part of the Politics. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015 ad was further became the chief ministerial candidate of the Delhi assembly elections of 2015. She is currently serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (Union Territory).

Education and Early Life

Kiran Bedi was boen on June 9, 1949 to Prem Lata Peshawaria and Prakash Lal Peshawaria in Amritsar Punjab. She then happened to obtain the bachelors degree in English in 1968 from the Amritsar's Government College for Women. Further in the year 1970, she completed her Masters in Political Science. She used to be a topper in her class and was a brilliant student. She got married to Brij Bedi in the year 1972 and they have a daughter together.

She earned a degree in law from Delhi University in 1998 from the faculty of Law which she completed while serving as an IPS officer. She also earned her doctorate from the department of Social Science from IIT Delhi.

Professional Career

She did not begin her career as a police officer but she started it off as a lecturer at Khalsa College for Women in Amritsar in 1970 where she taught Political Science. After teaching there for two years she successfully cleared the Civil Services examination and became an IPS officer. And, she became the first woman to become a part of the Indian Police Services.

She played a number of roles while serving in the Indian Police Services. She served as the chief of the New Delhi Traffic Police, Advisor to the Lt. Governor of Chandigarh, DIG of Police in Mizoram, Civilian Police Advisor for United Nations Peacekeeping operations and Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau. For her dedication towards her work she was also felicitated with the United Nations Medal.

While she was serving as the Inspector General of the Tihar jail during 1993-1995, she brought about a number of reforms in management of the prison. And, most of her initiatives came to be successful bringing about positive impact on the lives of the prisoners. During this period she played a very crucial role for which she was also awarded with the Jawahar Lal Nehru Fellowship and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 1994. She held the position of the Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research & Development as her last position during her tenure in the Indian Police Services.

She was also awarded with an honorary degree of Doctor of Law as a means of making acknowledgement of her humanitarian work in the prison reforms in the year 2005. Further in 2007, December 25, she went for a voluntarily retirement from the Indian Police Services and dedicated herself to the social cause.

Philanthropic Activities that she Undertook

She founded the Navjyoti India Foundation (NIF), an NGO, in the year 1987, whose aim is to provide rehabilitation to drug addicts, to empower women and to fight against various other social issues including illiteracy. In addition to that she is also founder of the India Vision Foundation which she founded in 1994. This NGO works on women empowerment, police reforms, development of rural communities and various other social issues. She had also worked as the host of the TV program that is Aap Ki Kechehari that aimed at resolving the family disputes. She had also participated in the anti-corruption movement that was undertaken by Anna Hazare in August 2011.

Political Journey of Kiran Bedi

She supported Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate and became a part of the BJP before the general election of 2014. On January 15, 2015, she joined BJP, a day after holding talks with Narendra Modi.

BJP thought of banking upon the huge popularity of Kiran Bedi and her 'super cop' image, put her in front as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Delhi assembly election. But she lost the election to AAP candidate Arvind Kejariwal.