A – D E – H I – L M – P Q – T U – Z
Usha, PT: (born June 27, 1964) is an athlete from Kerala. Regarded as queen of Indian track and field, Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979 and is regarded as one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced. She became the first Indian woman (and the fifth Indian) to reach the final of an Olympic event by winning her 400 m hurdles semi-final. In the 10th Asian Games held at Seoul in 1986, Usha won 4 gold and 1 silver medals in the track and field events. Here she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. She won five golds at the 6th Asian Track and Field Championship at Jakarta in 1985. Her six medals at the same meet is a record for a single athlete in a single international meet. Usha has won 101 international medals so far. She is employed as an officer in the Southern Railways. In 1985, she was conferred the Padma Shri and the Arjuna award.
Vakil, Dina: is the consulting editor of the Times of India, Mumbai, and was the first woman in India to be appointed Resident Editor of a major English language daily. Dina headed The Times' Mumbai edition - one of the country's largest - for more than a decade (until May 2005). Dina was earlier the editor of The Independent, Mumbai, and prior to that, executive editor of The Indian Post, a national daily.
Valsamma, MD: (born 29 October 1960), is an Indian athlete. She was the third Indian woman to win an individual Gold medal at the Asian Games and the first to win it on Indian soil. in 1982 she became the national champion over 400-metre hurdles with a new record, which was also better than the Asian record.
Varma, Mahadevi: (March 26, 1907– September 11, 1987) best known as outstanding Hindi poet, was also a freedom fighter, woman's activist and educationist. She was a major poet of the Chhayavaad generation, a period of romanticism in modern Hindi poetry ranging from 1914-1938. With passage of time, her limited but outstanding prose has also being recognised as unique in Hindi Literature. She was the Principal, and then the Vice Chancellor of Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth, a woman's residential college in Allahabad. She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1979, followed by the Jnanpith award in 1982. She also won the Padma Bhushan (1956) and the Padma Vibhushan (1988).
Virani, Pinki: (born 1959) is an Indian writer and journalist who has won critical acclaim for her works "Once was Bombay", and "Aruna's Story". She has written widely on issues relating to child molestation. She got her Masters in Journalism from Columbia University on the Aga Khan Foundation scholarship and later did an internship at The Sunday Times, where she reported extensively on the race riots in Britain. She returned to Bombay and joined Mid-Day as editor.
Vyarawalla, Homai: India’s first woman photojournalist, Homai Vyarawalla took the first picture of her career at the age of 26 in 1938. She has worked for the Illustrated Weekly of India and by clicking some historical pictures herself became a historical figure.
Vyas, Girija: is an Indian politician, poet and author. She is presently a Member of the 15th Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, from the Chittorgarh constituency and chairperson of National Commission for Women.
Williams, Sunita: (born September 19, 1965) is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut. She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15. She holds the record of the longest spaceflight (195 days) for female space travelers. She was selected to appear on the Colbert Report to announce the name for Node 3 of the ISS. She is a person of Indian origin (PIO), but a citizen of the US.
Yadav, Santosh: is an Indian mountaineer. She is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice and the first woman to successfully climb Mt Everest from Kangshung Face. She first climbed the peak in May 1992 and then did it again in May 1993. Currently she is an officer in Indo-Tibetan Border Police. She was conferred Padma Shri award in 2000.
Zutshi, Geeta: (born December 2, 1956) is an Indian athlete. She established several national and Asian running records in 800 m and 1500 m track events. Zutshi won the women's 800 m gold metal in the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok and won silver medals for the 800 m in 1982 and for the 1500 m in both 1978 and 1982. She has been awarded the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri.
