The name of Sarojini Mahishi, former Union Minister who passed away in Delhi on Sunday, is referred to every time the question of representation to locals in jobs comes up.
The much-quoted report submitted by a committee headed by her in 1986, which recommended job reservation to locals, however, has remained on paper.
Though she is remembered mostly in the context of her unimplemented report, Ms. Mahishi was a force to reckon with in politics in her heyday. She was elected to the third Lok Sabha in 1962, making her the first woman from Karnataka to achieve this distinction. Ms. Mahishi had bagged 71.68 per cent of polled votes from Dharwad North on Congress ticket. She was one of three women from across the country to have bagged more than 70 per cent votes that year.
When this correspondent had contacted the octogenarian ahead of the 2014 elections, she had said with pride, “I did not lobby for a ticket. I spent less than Rs. 10,000 for the election then.”
A lawyer and writer, it was her interest in social service that had drawn her into politics. Ms. Mahishi won the next three elections and served as Minister in the Cabinet of the late Indira Gandhi.
She translated Indira Gandhi’s speeches from Hindi to Kannada during her campaigns in Karnataka. Ms. Mahishi was a votary for more representation for women in politics. “Not just 33 per cent, women should have 50 per cent presence in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies,” she had told The Hindu .
Women’s role
She believed that women can play a role in “cleansing politics” and had said she “wouldn’t mind” contesting elections again for the cause, if given a ticket.
