First in India Female Personalities

Indian women have always been more than capable of establishing their strongholds in the pages of history. If you go through the records and history, the Indian women have gone an extra mile and establish a milestone that others will follow. Despite the limitations of the contemporary eras, the famous women personalities of India have broken the stereotype to show how their potentials are unlimited and out of the world.

It is their zeal and relentless effort to seek something marvelous that made them the first in India female personalities to become immortalized for their feat. In this article, we will discuss their brilliant achievements that make them idols for the rest of the womanhood in India and the rest of the world.

List of Top Indian Women Personalities 

1. Sarla Thakral

Sarla Thakral, the first Indian woman to man an aircraft and break the stereotype. It is an astonishing fact that she made her debut in flying an aircraft in 1936 after being licensed by the then authority. She had a 4-years old daughter when she flew an aircraft at the age of 21. She Flew a Gypsy Moth alone and had already completed 1000 hours in the air. She was encouraged by her husband named P D Sharma. Her in-law family had 9 pilots as members. In fact, her husband was also the first person bearing a license for airmail piloting. She flew the airplane wearing a traditional saree and made history that the world follows to this date.

2. Mother Teresa

She was called the mother of the damned and repressed because of her benevolent acts. She dedicated her life taking care of the ill, especially the children. She was honored as the Saint Teresa of Calcutta in the Roman Catholic Church. Her motherhood has saved so many lives and given a new hope and purpose to live. She was awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India in 1980. She was also awarded Padma Shri in 1962. She was also awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding and Peace in 1962. She was also invited to the USA to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.

3. Kadambini Ganguly

She was the first Indian woman to complete her MBBS degree to become a doctor. It was in the year 1884 when she pursued and completed her MBBS degree despite the common notions that women need to stay indoors to take care of their families. She was then criticized for her choices but she overlooked all the obstacles and proceeded to become the first female doctor from the prestigious Calcutta Medical College. She broke all the stereotypical barriers to become one of the famous women in India for her marvelous achievements.

4. Savitri Bai Phule

One of the most formidable and worshipped female educationists, Savitri Bai Phule crossed all kinds of superstitious and maligning notions of the society to promote women education. She is also considered as the first female teacher of India. Her husband, Joyotirao Phule contributed to her journey and supported her dreams. She became the first idol of Indian feminism as she encouraged women to study with men. She and her husband together founded a school in Pune specifically for girls in 1848. Savitri dedicated her life to stop unfair treatment and discrimination based on caste and gender. 

She was an avid educationist and philanthropist, as well as, a Marathi poet and writer. Her intelligence and wisdom were praised by the women community of India. It was her husband who educated her and gave her hope to become an avid writer and an educationist. Her open thoughts and societal reforms made her an icon.

5. Ashapoorna Devi

She is one of the most prominent Bengali poets and novelists India has witnessed. The Government of India recognized her and awarded her Jnanpith Award for her remarkable works in Bengali literature. She also became one of the Padma Shri awardee due to her brilliance in this field. Many prominent universities presented her the title of Doctorate in Literature. In fact, Viswa Bharati honored and awarded her with the Desikottam Award in the year 1989. In the year 1994, she also received Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.  

She has written 32 novels for adults and kids at the same time. She is one of the first female novelists in India who gained so much popularity from readers of all ages. This is why she is considered to be one of the top famous women personalities in India.

6. Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza, the first woman to put India on the map of World Tennis, is an admirable sports personality of all times. She established her milestone after winning 6 Grand Slam titles in the doubles segment. Her single’s career was a glorious one that ranged from 2003 to 2013. During her career, she was ranked no. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association in India. 

During her career, she won against formidable tennis players of the world such as Dinara Safin, Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Martina Hingis. She also achieved World Rank 27 in the year 2007. 

Due to her wrist injury, she had to leave the single’s circuit and concentrate on the double’s segment. Her impressive story of becoming one of the best women players make her an idol to follow. This is why she is considered as one of the legendary women of India.

7. Arati Saha

She is one of the prime Indian woman swimmers who crossed the English Channel and made history. She is known for her long distance feats in water. On 20th September 1959, she made history by crossing the English Channel. Her achievement did not end here. The Government of India awarded her Padma Shri, the first time an Indian sports woman received the highest achievement award in the year 1960.

She was born in Kolkata and was spotted by eminent swimmer Sachin Nag. She was then admired by ace swimmer Mihir Sen to make her debut in international waters. Despite her middle-class background and the conservative society, she broke all such barriers and left her mark on the pages of history.

8. Saina Nehwal

This internationally-acclaimed ace shuttler put India on the map of international badminton. She was ranked 2nd in the world in 2009 and achieved rank 1 in 2015. She is the only female player who has achieved this position. In fact, she is the second player in India after Prakash Padukone to hold the highest rank in world badminton.

She won a bronze in Olympics in the single’s event and represented India thrice. Her achievement is that she has won at least one medal in all the big BWF major events in the individual category. She was also the youngest Asian to ace a 4-star badminton tournament and has 24 career titles in her bag. This is why she is one of the best Indian women personalities for her successful sports career.

9. Bachendri Pal

The first Indian woman mountaineer to climb and scale Mt. Everest is Bachendri pal. She crossed all the hurdles and reached the top summit to unfurl the Indian flag in 1984. She was awarded with Padma Bhusan, the 3rd highest civilian award by the Government of India in 2019. Being an avid student of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, she first scaled Mt, Rudragaria and Mt. Gangotri. She also became an instructor in the prestigious National Adventure Foundation in 1982 before scaling Mt. Everest. Even though she chose to become a mountaineer, she was stopped by her own family to do so.

These are the famous Indian female personalities who did something for the first time and created history. Their success earmarked many achievements in different aspects, whether it is flying with an airplane or reaching the top of Mt. Everest. They set a brilliant example to the world and showed how Indian women hold the epitome of such feats.