Dr. Kiran Bedi needs no introduction. Mention her name and any person will nod their head as if to mean, “Yeah, of course, I know her”.
And if you have been following the recent Lokpal campaign by Anna Hazare, you will definitely know that she is one of the 4 pillars who stand by Anna Hazare in this campaign. She is India’s first and highest ranking woman officer in Indian Police Service.
image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeveeaar/4006056551/
Early Days
Born on 9th June 1949 in Amritsar, Punjab, she is second daughter of Prakash and Prem Peshawaria and has 3 sister siblings. Her schooling was at the Sacred Heart Convent School and she graduated in Bachelor of Arts in English from Government College for Women, Amritsar, in 1968.
After attaining her Master’s Degree in Political Science in 1970, she joined as a lecturer in Political Science at Khalsa College from Women, Amritsar. In 1988, she obtained Bachelor of Law degree from Delhi University. She has obtained a Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Indian Police Service and Other Assignments
The year 1972 is a milestone year in her life as she joined the Indian Police Service and thus, created history by becoming the first women to do so. In her stint as Police officer, she has served rather very difficult assignments.
She has served at New Delhi traffic postings, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau, Deputy Inspector General of Police in insurgency prone Mizoram and Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh.
She has earned a UN medal for her service as Civilian Police Advisor to the Secretary General of Department of Peace Keeping operations at the United Nations. In her last assignment, she served as the Director General to the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
Achievements
Kiran Bedi has achieved a lot at a very young age. Besides academics, she has also been an active Lawn tennis player winning various championships starting with Junior Lawn Tennis Championship, Asian Lawn Tennis championship, All-India Interstate Women’s Lawn Tennis Championship, All-Asian Tennis Championship. She won the Asian Ladies title at the age of 22.
Always keen on taking up challenging work, she has excelled on various assignments. Besides, receiving accolades on various fronts, she has received a lot of awards. Following are the list of awards that have been bestowed upon Dr Kiran Bedi-
| Year | Name of Award or Honor | Awarding Organization |
| 2011 | Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar | Indian Institute of Planning and Management |
| 2010 | STAR Parivar Award | STAR Plus |
| 2005 | Mother Teresa Memorial National Award | Indian Development Foundation (IDF) |
| 2004 | United Nations Medal | United Nations |
| 2002 | Woman of the Year Award | Blue Drop Group Management, Cultural and Artistic Association, Italy. |
| 1999 | Pride of India Award | American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) |
| 1997 | Fourth Joseph Beuys Award | Germany |
| 1995 | Lion of the Year | |
| 1995 | Father Machismo Humanitarian Award | Don Bosco Shrine Office, Bombay-India |
| 1995 | Mahila Shiromani Award | |
| 1994 | Magsaysay Award | Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation |
| 1991 | Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control | International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT), Norway |
| 1981 | Women of the Year Award | National Solidarity Weekly, India |
| 1979 | President’s Gallantry Award | President of India |
Source: Wikipedia
Social Endeavours
Dr. Kiran Bedi has two NGOs- Navjyoti India Foundation (NIF) and India Vision Foundation. She set these up along with 17 other Police Officers. NIF deals with a de-addiction and rehabilitation initiative for the drug addicts.
As of today, they also deal with social issues like illiteracy and women empowerment. India Vision Foundation works in field of police reforms, prison reforms, women empowerment , and rural & community development.
She is one of key person of Anna Hazare’s team and has been at the forefront of the movement. Learn more on who is Anna Hazare in this post
Key Learnings from Dr Kiran Bedi
Kiran Bedi’s life offers much to learn
1) Determination- Be determined and stand by what you think. Work towards achieving your goals even though the rest of the world does not believe in them.
2) Great Thinker- Be a radical thinker. See change positively and don’t be afraid to try new processes and new ideas. Share your ideas and accept other people’s ideas with equal ease.
3) Valiant- Give every task your best. Set higher personal goals than the goals given or assigned to you. That way you will ensure you excel in everything you do. Be open to taking up new challenges in life.
4) Leadership – Be a visionary and compassionate towards people. Stand up for your beliefs and be a great team player. Always hold integrity very high in every task you do. Be a good listener. That is how you will be able understand and reach out to other people.
Conclusion
All women can take a page from Dr Kiran Bedi’s life. Somewhere, deep within we all aspire to be the gutsy person she is. She inspires not only women but every individual to stand up for what is right and what one believes in.
Article by Dimple Shirodkar
Dimple has written 10 articles.
Dimple has 8 years of working experience in Research, Capital markets and Mutual Funds industry. Having worked as an Internal auditor, she has knowledge of Quality Management Standards and ISO 9000. Music and Dance is close to heart..
