Girija Vyas

Girija Vyas (8 July 1946 – 1 May 2025) was an Indian politician, poet, and author. She was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha, from the Chittorgarh constituency and previously served four terms as Udaipur's Lok Sabha representative. She was president of the fifth National Commission for Women of India and had published 8 books.

Early life and education Girija Vyas was born on July 8, 1946, in Udaipur, Rajasthan, to Krishna Sharma and Jamuna Devi Vyas. Raised in Nathdwara, she was influenced by her father, a freedom fighter, and her mother, a teacher and women's empowerment advocate. Vyas completed her graduation and MA-Philosophy at the University of Udaipur (now Mohanlal Sukhadia University) and earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from Delhi University for her thesis: Dissertation on a Comparative Study of Ethical Teachings in Gita and Bible (1973). She had taught at Mohanlal Sukhadia University and later at University of Delaware under a postdoctoral fellowship at the university during 1979–80.

Vyas published eight books, three of which were poetry collections in Urdu, Hindi, and English. Her notable works include Ehsaas Ke Par (Urdu poems), Seep, Samundar Aur Moti (Hindi and Urdu poems), and Nostalgia (English verses).

in 1991, Vyas won the Udaipur Lok Sabha seat in the 10th Lok Sabha. She served as Union Deputy Minister for Information and Broadcasting under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao until 1993. She was re-elected from Udaipur in 1996, 1998, and 1999, securing four terms from the constituency. In 2009, she won from Chittorgarh in the 15th Lok Sabha, serving as chief whip of the Congress party.

In 2013, she was appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in the Manmohan Singh government. From 2005 to 2011, she chaired the fifth National Commission for Women (NCW), focusing on women's rights and empowerment. She contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Chittorgarh but lost to the BJP's Chandra Prakash Joshi.

Controversy In the early 2000s, Vyas was implicated in a petrol pump allotment scam, where allotments were allegedly made to prominent politicians or their relatives. In 2004, a two-judge panel recommended to the Supreme Court that her petrol pump allotment be canceled.

Death On 31 March 2025, Vyas sustained burn injuries while performing an arti in her Udaipur home when her dupatta caught fire. She received treatment at an Ahmedabad hospital but died on 1 May, at the age of 78. Her funeral was held in Udaipur on 2 May.