SSC
Who was the first woman Governor in independent India?
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Answer: Option B — Sarojini Naidu
Detailed Solution
Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) became the first woman Governor of an Indian state when she was appointed Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) on 15 August 1947. She served until her death in office on 2 March 1949 in Lucknow.
About Sarojini Naidu:
She was born on 13 February 1879 in Hyderabad. Her birthday is celebrated as National Women's Day in India.
She was a gifted poet who wrote in English. Her poetry collections include "The Golden Threshold" (1905), "The Bird of Time" (1912) and "The Broken Wing" (1917). Because of the beauty of her poems, Mahatma Gandhi called her the "Nightingale of India" (Bharat Kokila).
She joined the freedom struggle and became a close associate of Gandhi.
In 1925, at the Kanpur session, she became the first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress. (The first woman President of the Congress was Annie Besant, an Irish-born theosophist, in 1917.)
She took part in the Salt Satyagraha (1930) and led the raid on the Dharasana Salt Works after Gandhi's arrest.
She attended the Second Round Table Conference in London (1931) with Gandhi.
She was a member of the Constituent Assembly.
Her daughter, Padmaja Naidu, also became a Governor (of West Bengal, 1956-1967).
Other women "firsts":
- Sucheta Kripalani: first woman Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh, 1963).
- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit: first woman President of the UN General Assembly (1953).
- Pratibha Patil: first woman President (2007).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman President of the UN General Assembly and later Governor of Maharashtra (1962).
- ✗Padmaja Naidu, Sarojini's daughter, was Governor of West Bengal.
- ✗Sucheta Kripalani was the first woman Chief Minister.
Quick tip
Remember: First woman Governor = Sarojini Naidu (United Provinces/UP, 1947); "Nightingale of India"; first Indian woman Congress President (1925, Kanpur); 13 February = National Women's Day.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.