BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

SINHA, SHRIMATI KAMLA :

M.A.(Political Science), M.Ed.; J.D. (Bihar); d. of late Shri Kedareshwar Mukherjee and Shrimati Vidyut Lata Devi; b. at Village Raniganj, District Dinagpur (Bengal), September 30, 1932; ed. at (i) Calcutta University and (ii) Patna

University; m. Shri Basawon Sinha, June 24, 1952; 3 d.

Political/Social and Trade Union Activist; jailed more than hundred times; was a MISA prisoner during National Emergency; DIR prisoner in March,1974;

President, (i) Samajwadi Yuwak Sabha,(Youth Wing of PSP),1968-74, (ii) Hind Mazdoor Sabha, (India) 1987-90 and 1992-94, (iii) Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Bihar till date, (iv) Hind Khet Mazdoor Sabha,India since 1991, (v) Shramik Janata (Janata Dal Labour Cell), (vi) Indian Centre for International Cooperation, (vii) Nari Shakti,

Bihar,(viii) Green India, Bihar,(ix) Samajwadi Vichar Manch, (x) Anganwadi Karamchari Sabha India since 1995 and (xi) SAARC Women Parliamentarians' Forum; was Chairman, Library Committee, Bihar Legislature till 1984; Vice-Chairperson, International Confederation of Free Trade Union-Asia Pacific Regional Organisation (ICFTU-APRO) Women Committee, Headquarter Tokyo,

(Convenor till 199 4), International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) Asia Pacific, 1970-74; Life Member, (i) Acharya Narendra Dev Samajwadi Sansthan,

(ii) Constitution Club, New Delhi, (iii) Executive Committee, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)-India Chapter, (iv) Parliamentarians Forum for Global Action and (v)

Indo-Cuba Parliamentarians Association; Member, (i) National Executive Committee of PSP, SP, Janata Party and Janata Dal, (ii) International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) Bureau, Headquarter Vienna, Austria, (iii) ICFTU Women Committee,Headquarter Brussels, (iv) Executive Board-ICFTU-APRO, Headquarter Singapore, (v) Bihar Land Reforms Commission till 1984, (vi) Mines and Minerals

Development Committ ee, Bihar, (vii) Bal Siksha Parishad, Bihar, (viii) Bihar Legislative Council, 1972-84,(ix) Public Undertakings Committee, Bihar Legislature till 1984, (x) National Executive, H.M.S.; Parliamentary Committees : (i) Public Accounts Committee, May 1997-June 1997, (ii) Committee on Energy,1993-96, (iii)

Committee on Petitions, 1994-95, (iv) Committee on Catering,1993-95 and since 1998, (v) Ethics Committee,1997,(vi) Committee on Home Affairs, 1996-97, (vii) Committee on External Affairs, (viii) General Purposes Committee, (ix) Committee on Public Undertakings,1991-93 and 1995-97, (x) Joint Committee on

the Empowerment of Women, April-June,1997, (xi) Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Labour till 1992 and (xii) Consultative Committee for the Ministry of

Coal till date; International Conferences: led HMS delegations to (i) Fourth International Confederation of Free Trade Union (ICFTU) World Women's Conference, Madrid (Spain) 1985, (ii) Fifth ICFTU World Women Conference, Ottawa (Canada), 1991. (was a member of the Conference Presidium), (iii) Twelfth ICFTU World Congress, Oslo,1984, (iv) Thirteenth ICFTU World Congress, Melbourn Australia),1988, (v) Fourteenth ICFTU World Congress, Caracus (Venezuela), 1992, (vi) ICFTU-APRO Conference, Bangkok,1989, (vii) China, 1989, (viii) ICFTU-APRO Conference, Tokyo,1993,(ix) Hind Khet Mazdoor Sabha (Agricultural Workers' Federation)delegation to International Conference of Food, Plantation and Agricultural Workers' (IFPAW) Federation, Geneva,1993, (x) HKMS delegation to IUF (International Union of Food and Allied Workers Conference, Denmark,1994) and (xi) ILO Meet on Rural Workers, Geneva, September,1996; Member in Parliamentary delegations to, (i) UNGA-1990, (ii) Federal Republic of Yogoslavia,1994, (iii) 4th UN World Women's Conference, Beijing,1995, (iv) IPU World Women's

Conference,1995, (v) SAARC Women's Meet,1995, (vi) SAARC Women Parliamentary Meeting, Colombo,1996, (vii) UN Committee on Status of Women's Meeting, New York, March,1997; Socialist International Delegate to Human Rights Commission, Geneva, March, 1998 (after demitting office of MOS - MEA); attended International Dalit Convention in Malaysia, October, 1998; inducted in the

Union Cabinet on June 3,1997, demitted office as MOS-MEA on March 19, 1998; led delegations as MOS-MEA, (i) Hong Kong, June,1997 during handing over ceremony of Hong Kong to China, (ii) Indo-European Union Joint Economic Council-Presided as Co-Chairperson in Luxemburg; led delegations in Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Algeria, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Columbo and UNGA in November,1997; attended Commonwealth Heads of State Conference at Edinburgh (Scotland);elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, 1990 and re-elected in April, 1994.

Travels abroad : Australia, Austria, Algeria,Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, Canada, Cote d'Ivoire,Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Hong Kong, Italy, Israel, Iran, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Norway, Nepal, Poland, Philippines, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Senegal, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, U.K., U.S.A., Venezuela, Vatican City and Yugoslavia.

Publications : (i) Contribution of Ramkrishna Mission to Indian Education, (ii) Brochures, articles on women, youth, trade union issues and issues related to

Bihar's problems and (iii) Basawon Sinha - A Revolutionary Patriot - Commemorative Volume.

Special interest : Social work, development-related work, environment protection etc.

Favourite pastime and recreation : Reading, writing, listening to sical/folk music, dance, gardening - specially cactus gardening, photography, travelling, meeting people, visiting new places - love nature.

Permanent address : M/3/32, S.K. Puri, Patna-800 001 (Bihar). Tel. 233830.