India Takes Flight

Before Leila Seth, men dominated India's legal system. Then, on 5 August 1991 – nearly 130 years since the first high court was established in India – Leila Seth became the first female Chief Justice, serving at Himachal Pradesh High Court.

Leila Seth was a pioneer who made it possible for many other Indian women to pursue careers in law. Always committed to justice for the victims of human rights abuses, she was a campaigner until the end of her life.

An Early Struggle

Leila Seth was born on 20 October 1930 in Lucknow, United Provinces, British India. Her parents held progressive ideals, ensuring that their only daughter was treated the same as their two sons – something that influenced Leila’s perspective early on in life.

Her father, who worked in the Imperial Railway Service, died when Leila was 11 – a devastating event for the child. After that, her family struggled financially, though Leila’s mother managed to have her daughter educated at Loreto Convent in Darjeeling.

In any case, her career progressed successfully. In 1972, she moved to Delhi High Court, where she dealt with original civil petitions, criminal matters, company petitions, revisions and appeals.

Then, after serving on a panel of lawyers for the West Bengal government in the Supreme Court, she was designated as a senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 1977. In 1978, Seth became a Judge of the Delhi High Court, becoming the first woman to do so.

Chief Justice Leila Seth

The crowning moment of her career was yet to come. In 1991, Justice Leila Seth became the first female judge to be appointed as a Chief Justice of a state high court, when she was assigned the role at Himachal Pradesh.

Even at such lofty heights, gender discrimination was rife. “They were not used to a woman sitting on their head,” she said. “But as I was a mother of two boys, I knew how to handle men sensitively. I would gently ask their opinions first before ‘imposing’ mine on them.”

Women in India: Unheard Stories

Celebrating women's impact on culture in India.

View

🔍First Indian to go into space👀🔍Chandrayaan 2🚀🔍India's first scientific base at the South Pole🌏🔍India's first satellite🌏🔍Made in India vaccine😷

To Infinity and beyond

India's achievments in research and space exploration

The Salyut crew had held a joint television news conference with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and officials in Moscow. When Gandhi asked Rakesh how India looked from outer space, he said the iconic words, “Saare Jahan Se Achha” (tr. , the best in the world.)

These are words from a popular patriotic poem that was written by poet and politician Muhammad Iqbal while India was still under British colonial rule.

Rakesh and the crew spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard Salyut 7. The crew conducted several experiments and technical studies, including 43 experimental sessions. Rakesh’s work majorly involved bio-medicine and remote sensing.

One of the experiments he performed was testing the effect of yoga on the body in microgravity. He also photographed India from space, saving India two years of aerial photography to map the same area.

While in space, one of the most remarkable things Rakesh saw from space was India’s coastline. He said in an interview decades later that the country’s coastline was visible for about four minutes over 24 hours.

After the completion of the mission, Rakesh and his crewmates landed in Kazakhstan on April 11. He was conferred with the honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union upon returning from space. India conferred its highest peacetime gallantry award, Ashok Chakra in 1985.

On completion of which he then went to Star City, a high-security cosmonaut-training facility, about 50 miles outside Moscow for the final phase of his training. Rakesh had to adapt not just to the freezing temperatures but also had to pick up Russian so he could communicate with this team. He was also put on a special 3,200-calorie diet and tested by Olympic trainers for strength, speed, and endurance.