Prime Minister in his MannKiBaat recalled the contribution of Smt. Hansa Mehta,Smt. Lakshmi Menon and Smt. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit in the United Nations

Prime Minister in his MannKiBaat recalled the contribution of Smt. Hansa Mehta,Smt. Lakshmi Menon and Smt. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit in the United Nations.

“My dear countrymen, today on 24th October, UN Day i.e. ‘United Nations Day’ is celebrated. This is the day when the United Nations was established; India has been a member since the formation of the United Nations. Do you know that India had signed the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 prior to independence. A unique feature related to the United Nations is that the woman power of India has played a large role in increasing the influence and strength of the United Nations.

In 1947-48, when the Universal Declaration of UN Human Rights was being drafted, it was being inscribed in that Declaration “All Men are Created Equal”. But a Delegate from India objected to this and then it was written in the Universal Declaration – “All Human Beings are Created Equal”. This was in consonance with India’s age-old tradition of Gender Equality. Did you know that Smt. Hansa Mehta was the delegate because of whom this became possible? At the same time, another delegate Smt. Lakshmi Menon had strongly put forth her views on the issue of gender equality. And not only this, in 1953, Smt. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the first woman President of the UN General Assembly.”