Parveen Talha

Parveen Talha is an Indian civil servant, reported to be the first Muslim woman to serve in any Class I civil service in India, the first Indian Revenue Service officer to become a member of the Union Public Service Commission and the first woman to serve in Narcotics Department of India. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to Indian Civil Service.

Biography

Parveen Talha was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India, as one of the two children (her brother, Osama Talha, who later became a leading journalist, died young in 1995 Her father, Mohammed Talha, was a freedom fighter and a known lawyer, who chose to remain in India when his brother moved to Pakistan during the partition. After passing MA in Economics from Lucknow University, Parveen joined the University as a Lecturer in 1965.

Parveen Talha started her career as a lecturer of economics at the Lucknow University in 1965 where she worked till 1969,

After her retirement from public service, Parveen Talha took up writing. In 2013, she brought out her first book, Fida-e-Lucknow – Tales of the city and its people, a collection of 22 short stories, placed in the landscape of Lucknow, telling the stories of its women. The book was formally released by the Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari.

Awards and recognitions Parveen Talha is a recipient of President's Award for distinguished service, which she received in 2000. Fourteen years later, in 2014, the Government of India honoured her services to the Indian Civil Service by awarding her Padma Shri, the fourth among the highest Indian civilian awards.