Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the daughter of Motilal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru was her brother. In 1919, her family came under the magical spell of Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1932, as part of the civil disobedience movement, Vijayalakshmi Pandit organized hartals and processions and delivered speeches. She was arrested along with her sister Krishna, and spent one year in the Lucknow jail. During the Quit India movement, she braved British fire to help the wounded and carry them to hospitals. She was jailed.
After Independence, she had a distinguished innings in the field of foreign affairs. She became India’s first ambassador to the Soviet Union. She headed the Indian delegation to the United Nations from 1947 to 1949. She was elected to the Lok Sabha. In 1953, she was elected as the first woman president of the UN General Assembly. Vijayalakshmi Pandit died on December1, 1990.