Politics is the science of running governmental affairs based on a ruling principle that shapes the identity of a nation. Politics in essence involves the art of forming, directing and administrating political units by a chosen set of ardent leaders who represent the interests of the majority of the people of the nation.

The origin of politics dates back to early 2100 B.C with the monarchical rule practiced in the lands of Sumeria shaping the concept of legislation. But since the conception of the ideology of governance, the fairer sex has not had an equitable representation at the helm of decision making. In spite of being the largest democracy in the world, women’s representation is only 9.1 percent in the Indian parliament.

In this male-dominated power game of politics, there are women leaders who have revolutionized the space of policymaking with their adroit and finesse. Listed below are the stories of five powerful female Indian politicians of all time who showed the world that women can be brilliant administrators.

• Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, an Indian diplomat and politician, heralded as one of the world’s leading women in public life in the 20th century, was the daughter of noted aristocratic nationalist leader Motilal Nehru. She was an active worker in the Indian nationalist movement and was imprisoned by the British three times on accounts of her struggle to free India. In 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and was designated as the minister of local self-government and public health making her the first woman in India to hold a cabinet post. During the course of her work as a diplomat for independent India, she became the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. After holding office as the governor of Maharashtra from 1964-1968, she retired from active politics after relations