BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
VERMA, SHRIMATI VEENA :
M.A.; I.N.C.(Madhya Pradesh);d. of Shri P.N. Raizada and late Shrimati Vimla Raizada; b. at Jaipur, September 1, 1941; ed. at (i) Maharani's Girls College, Jaipur and (ii) Rajasthan University; m. late Shri Shrikant Verma, January 16, 1967; 1 s.
Teacher; received , (i) Priyadarshini Award, 1989, (ii) Mahila Shiromani Award, 1989, (iii) Rashtriya Gaurav Award, 1989, (iv) Bhartiya Pratishtha Award, (v) Special Honour by Chitragupta Mahasabha, M.P., (vi) Feroze Gandhi Award for International Integration, 1994 and (vii) EWIDIC Shri Samman Sp. contribution in the field of politics, 1995; organised (i) Conference on Rashtriya Mahila Sansthan, Delhi, 1991, (ii) International Women's Day, All India Mahila Congress, 1991 and (iii) Blood Donation Camp at All India Mahila Congress, Delhi, 1991; delivered lectures on (i) "Perspective on Indian Women" in New York, August, 1989 and (ii) "Hindi in International Context", and "Writer's Responsibilities and Contribution to the Present Stage of World Literature", organised by Ska Dinanisk, Norway, October, 1993 : attended, (i) Seminar on "Population and Development", organised by Asian Forum of Parliamentarians, February,1989, Manila, (ii) International Writing Programme, 1978, University of Iowa, U.S.A., (iii) Conference to Protest against Star Wars Programme of the U.S.A., Denmark, June 1985, (iv) SAARC Countries Writers' Seminar, June 1988, Calcutta, (v) Seminar organised on the 125th Birth Anniversary of Rabindra Nath Tagore, Calcutta, March, 1987, and (vi) Fourth World Women Conference at Beijing, September, 1995; delegate to (i) Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, December 1986, (ii) The 40th Anniversary of Queen's Accession to the Throne, London, November 1992, (iii) Fourth World Hindi Conference, Mauritius, 1993, (iv) Conference on "Global Human Security", Kuala-Lumpur, 1994, (v) 37th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, Sri Lanka, 1995 and (vi) SAARC Countries Seminar on Children, Sri Lanka, 1992; introduced several important Private Members' Bills and raised other issues in Rajya Sabha; assigned duty by the Congress President late Shri Rajiv Gandhi at 10, Janpath to meet people, April,1991; Patron, Indian Writers' Association, Calcutta; undertaken election work in (i) Bihar, 1989 and (ii) Uttar Pradesh, 1991; Founder, (i) Shrikant Verma Smriti Puraskar for Hindi Literature and (ii) `Karmja' All India Women Association; President, Children's Literary Academy, Bal Bhawan, Delhi; was Vice-President, Anti-Dowry and Women Welfare Committee, Priyadarshini Academy, Bombay; Vice-President, (i) All India Mahila Congress (I) since 1989 and (ii) Indian Council of World Affairs and (iii) Nehru Bal Samiti; Chairperson, Family Counselling Centre, Nehru Bal Samiti, Delhi; Dy. Chairman, Committee of Parliament on Official Language; Secretary, Cultural Committee Indo-China Society; Executive Member, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti; Member, (i) Pradesh Congress Committee, Kota, Madhya Pradesh, (ii) Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad, (iii) India Internatinal Centre, (iv) Committee on Empowerment of Women, (v) Committee on Communications and (vi) Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; broadcast light classical songs from Akashvani, Jaipur; elected to the Rajya Sabha in January, 1986, re-elected in April, 1988 and again in April, 1994.
Travels abroad : U.S.A., U.S.S.R., West Germany, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, U.K., Hungary, Switzerland, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, France, Austria, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Norway, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore.
Publications : Chief Editor, Rajiv Gandhi Granth, Varanasi.
Special interest : (i) Media, (ii) women's rights, (iii) modern Hindi poetry and Hindi language and (iv) promotion of social and cultural values and childrens' welfare.
Favourite pastime and recreation : Listening to classical music and social work, upliftment of women and promotion of nature.
Permanent address : Tilak Nagar, Bilaspur-495001 (Madhya Pradesh).