Violet Alva

Alva was born Violet Hari on 24 April 1908 in Ahmedabad. She was the eighth of nine children. Violet's father, Reverend Laxman Hari, was one of the first Indian pastors of the Church of England. Having lost both her parents when she was sixteen, her older siblings provided for her education until her matriculation at Bombay's Clare Road Convent. She graduated from St. Xavier's College, Bombay and Government Law College. For a while thereafter, she was a professor of English at the Indian Women's University, Bombay.

In 1944, she was the first woman advocate in India, to have argued a case before a full High Court bench. In 1944, Alva also started a women’s magazine, The Begum, later renamed as Indian Women. From 1946 to 1947, she served as the deputy chairman of Bombay Municipal Corporation. In 1947, Alva served as an Honorary Magistrate in Mumbai; and from 1948 to 1954, she served as the President of the Juvenile Court. She was actively involved with numerous social organisations such as Young Women’s Christian Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Association and the International Federation of Women Lawyers. She was also the first woman to be elected to the Standing Committee of the All India Newspaper Editors Conference in 1952.[4]

In 1952, Alva was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, where she made significant contributions to family planning, rights of animals subjected to research and defence strategy, especially the naval sector. She cautioned the government to be careful when dealing with foreign capital and supported linguistic states.[5] After the second Indian General Election in 1957, she became Deputy Minister of State for Home Affairs.

In 1962, Alva became the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, thereby becoming the first female to preside over the Rajya Sabha in its history. She served two consecutive terms in Rajya Sabha. Her first term commenced on 19 April 1962 and continued until 2 April 1966. Her second term began with her election to the office of Deputy Chairman on 7 April 1966 and she held the position until 16 November 1969.[5][6]

In 1969, Alva resigned after Indira Gandhi declined to back her as Vice-President of India.

In 1937, Violet Hari married politician, lawyer, journalist and later freedom fighter and parliamentarian Joachim Alva.[3] The couple set up legal practice together. The Alvas had two sons, Niranjan and Chittaranjan, and a daughter, Maya. Niranjan Alva married Margaret Alva, parliamentarian and former Governor of Rajasthan and Gujarat.[7] In 1943, Violet Alva was arrested by British Indian authorities. She carried her five-month old baby son, Chittaranjan, into Arthur Road Jail where she was imprisoned.

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