Simon & Schuster published book former Odisha CM Nandini Satpathy, Titled as “Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa”
New Delhi: Globally aclaimed publishing house Simon & Schuster published book former Odisha Chief Minister Nandini Satpathy writtern by writer Pallavi Rebbapragada. The book titled “Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa”
Obliterated from the pages of history, as women often are, Odisha’s first woman Chief Minister, Nandini Satpathy, known also as the Iron Lady of Orissa, was born to a family of revolutionaries and intellectuals. During her teenage years in the ‘40s, this petite girl in a starchy cotton saree was jailed for pulling down the Union Jack from atop the edifice of Ravenshaw College.
Thus began the makings of a force to be reckoned with.
Coming up through the ranks to ultimately reach the hallowed halls of the Rajya Sabha at the mere age of 31, this grassroots student politician went on to become the I&B minister in Indira Gandhi’s first government, where she facilitated the working of the Free Bangla Radio that played a key role in the information war that was ’71. She hobnobbed with the likes of Raj Kapoor, Nargis, and Meena Kumari as India produced films around socialist films and warmed up to Russia. And still, in Delhi circles, she is best remembered as ‘Indira Gandhi’s friend’.
Nandini’s political career was as tumultuous as her friendship with Indira Gandhi. They were a close-knit duo, brought together by circumstances and kept together by a strong sense of affection and loyalty. That was until the Emergency. Where once she had enjoyed the proximity to the PMO and all the privileges that it came with, Nandini’s opposition to the Emergency led to a fall from grace. This loss was not just the loss of a friend; it also meant the loss of her political career.
During her chief-ministerial tenure, she implemented radical land reforms and tore down the tobacco trade mafia. These were actions that made her a lot of enemies. Once protected by her friendship with the prime minister, she was now subjected to brutal vendetta. In the twilight years of her life, Nandini succumbed to the deep grief of losing her husband and the ignominy of political obscurity.
About The Author
Pallavi Rebbapragada
Pallavi Rebbapragada is a journalist and public policy consultant based in Delhi. She started her career at India Today as a features writer and journeyed through Europe, the Middle East and the Far East capturing life and culture in her stories. She then worked with Forbes and Firstpost, at times dipping into the dark depths of the economy of death workers, prison reforms and India’s drug crisis. On other days, she interviewed the strongest voices across politics, business and cinema. Her first book, Upon a Bright Red Bench, was assessed at the Yale Writers’ Conference in 2014. During her recent stint at the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, she realised that her true passions lay at the cusp of poetry and policy. With empathy and strategy, seeping into ink and onto paper, she wishes to pen the story of her nation’s tomorrow.