Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06NEWDELHI5962
2006-08-28 11:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:
BIODATA: DIXIT, SHEILA (DELHI CHIEF MINISTER)
how-toVZCZCXRO2749 OO RUEHBI RUEHCI DE RUEHNE #5962 2401157 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 281157Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8059 INFO RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA 6085 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 6156 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5352 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 005962
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2016
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KWMN IN
SUBJECT: BIODATA: DIXIT, SHEILA (DELHI CHIEF MINISTER)
Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 005962
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2016
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KWMN IN
SUBJECT: BIODATA: DIXIT, SHEILA (DELHI CHIEF MINISTER)
Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D)
1. (C) Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit has been the Chief
Minister of Delhi since 1998. Her second term began in
December 2003. Dixit is a Punjabi Hindu, a dominant
political bloc in the capital, has remained close to the
Gandhi dynasty, and remains a key political advisor to
Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi.
2. (C) The second woman to be the CM of Delhi, Dixit is a
champion of women's rights. She represented India at the UN
Commission on the Status of Women for five years (1984-1989).
She was jailed by the Uttar Pradesh State government in
August 1990 for launching a people's movement against the
atrocities being committed against women. She has chaired
the Young Women's Association, which set up hostels for
working women in Delhi in the 1970s. Dixit is also the
Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, which
SIPDIS
organizes conferences on the issue of global concern and
presents the Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and
Development. She has also been interested in the promotion
of handicrafts and folk theater in Delhi.
3. (C) This biodata was obtained during Dixit's August 25th
meeting with Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James
Connaughton. Dixit expressed interest in green buildings,
green spaces, and other conservation efforts that can be
implemented in Delhi. She spoke very positively of a visit
she took to the U.S. She particularly liked the city of
Chicago due to its layout and green spaces. Conservation and
the environment appear to be an area where Dixit would like
to build a legacy while in political office.
4. (C) Born in 1938 to Punjabi Hindu parents in Kapurthala
(Punjab),Dixit was educated at the Convent of Jesus and
Mary. She obtained her Masters at the Miranda House College
of Delhi University. Her father-in-law, the late Uma
Shankkar Dixit, was a noted freedom fighter and served as a
member of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's cabinet.
5. (C) Dixit is the widow of Vinod Kumar Dixit, a senior
bureaucrat in the central government who died in the late
1980s. She has a son and a daughter. Her son Sandeep Dixit
is a Congress party MP in the Lok Sabha from Delhi. Dixit
speaks Hindi, Punjabi, and English. She is articulate and
well spoken in English.
PYATT
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2016
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KWMN IN
SUBJECT: BIODATA: DIXIT, SHEILA (DELHI CHIEF MINISTER)
Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D)
1. (C) Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit has been the Chief
Minister of Delhi since 1998. Her second term began in
December 2003. Dixit is a Punjabi Hindu, a dominant
political bloc in the capital, has remained close to the
Gandhi dynasty, and remains a key political advisor to
Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi.
2. (C) The second woman to be the CM of Delhi, Dixit is a
champion of women's rights. She represented India at the UN
Commission on the Status of Women for five years (1984-1989).
She was jailed by the Uttar Pradesh State government in
August 1990 for launching a people's movement against the
atrocities being committed against women. She has chaired
the Young Women's Association, which set up hostels for
working women in Delhi in the 1970s. Dixit is also the
Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, which
SIPDIS
organizes conferences on the issue of global concern and
presents the Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and
Development. She has also been interested in the promotion
of handicrafts and folk theater in Delhi.
3. (C) This biodata was obtained during Dixit's August 25th
meeting with Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James
Connaughton. Dixit expressed interest in green buildings,
green spaces, and other conservation efforts that can be
implemented in Delhi. She spoke very positively of a visit
she took to the U.S. She particularly liked the city of
Chicago due to its layout and green spaces. Conservation and
the environment appear to be an area where Dixit would like
to build a legacy while in political office.
4. (C) Born in 1938 to Punjabi Hindu parents in Kapurthala
(Punjab),Dixit was educated at the Convent of Jesus and
Mary. She obtained her Masters at the Miranda House College
of Delhi University. Her father-in-law, the late Uma
Shankkar Dixit, was a noted freedom fighter and served as a
member of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's cabinet.
5. (C) Dixit is the widow of Vinod Kumar Dixit, a senior
bureaucrat in the central government who died in the late
1980s. She has a son and a daughter. Her son Sandeep Dixit
is a Congress party MP in the Lok Sabha from Delhi. Dixit
speaks Hindi, Punjabi, and English. She is articulate and
well spoken in English.
PYATT