On July 19, 2007, a woman Pratibha Devisingh Patil was elected President of India for the first time in its history. Her candidacy was put forward by the ruling coalition United Progressive Alliance (UGA), led by the Indian National Congress (INC). Patil won a landslide victory over Indian Vice President B. S. Shekhawat, who was proposed by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party, BJP). Patil's victory in the country's presidential election (she received 66% of the votes of members of parliament and legislative assemblies in ¹ states) was another important proof of the growing role of Indian women in the country's political life.

THE WOMAN AT THE HELM OF POWER

Patil's election to the post of President of India was a natural continuation of India's development along the path of democracy. It has been accompanied by a consistent increase in women's participation in public and political life. From the first parliamentary elections (1952) to the present, the number of women entering the ballot box has increased from 37% to 55% (on average, 60% of men and women with the right to vote participate in elections).². Political parties and women's organizations are actively working to involve them in public activities. As a result, the number of women participating in public activities has doubled over the last quarter of a century, although they still account for about 1/5 of the number of political and public organizations.

Unlike many other countries, India's democracy is characterized by the election of women to the highest government positions. Of course, Indira Gandhi, who was Prime Minister of India for 16 years, stands out among them.

A significant role in her rise to power was played by the fact that her father was the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. But this would not be enough to manage a huge country in an exceptionally difficult time. Gandhi embodied many of the virtues of the best Indian statesmen - the ability to persevere, work hard, determination and sacrifice, strategic and tactical thinking, the ability to choose the main priorities of development,

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true patriotism. In addition to these qualities of a politician and public figure, she was a charismatic personality, enjoyed great influence. In India, there is an idea of a special energy - shakti, peculiar only to women. Those who have such energy act as heroines, people's leaders, warriors. Many saw Gandhi as a symbol of hope and saw her as the embodiment of the powerful goddess Durga.

During India's 60 years of independence, many women have held high-level government positions - Prime Minister, central Government and state ministers, governors, ambassadors, etc. Now some of them are leading major political parties: Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the INC and chairman of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, Mayawati is the President of the Bahujan Samaj Party (Majority People's Party) and the Chief Minister of the largest state of Uttar Pradesh, Jayalalitha is the leader of the All India Dravidian Progressive Federation.

The process of involving women in politics was gradually gaining momentum. As early as 1957, the ruling Indian National Congress tried to establish a mandatory 15% quota for women candidates in parliamentary elections. However, it was not easy. Over the years, the INC managed to nominate only 4 to 10% of the total number of women candidates. Women were elected to Parliament, state legislatures, and central and local executive offices. Currently, the People's (lower) House of Parliament of the 14th convocation (2004-2009) has 48 women out of its 545 members (about 9%), which is comparable to the representation of women in the US Congress, the parliaments of Great Britain, France and Russia. Women's participation in the Indian executive branch is more pronounced. So, in the current government of the United Progressive Alliance, there are 9 women ministers out of approximately 55 (the number of members of the government is subject to changes).³.

An important incentive for women's participation in public life was the adoption in the early 1990s of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, which provided for the introduction of a quota for women in the amount of 1/3 of seats in urban and rural self-government bodies. Elections to these bodies in a number of Indian states in the 1990s resulted for the first time in the election of almost one million women. In the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where 30% of the country's rural population lives, almost half of the women who won the election came from lower castes and tribes, and more than 40% came from poor families.

In 1996, a bill was prepared that provided women with a quota of 33% of seats in Parliament and State legislatures. During the discussion of the bill, all political parties came out in support of it. To openly oppose women's empowerment and participation in government would be to undermine their political standing and lose the support of women voters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Government tried twice, in 2000 and 2001, to bring the 33% quota for women to Parliament, but failed each time.

Later, the winner of the parliamentary elections in 2004 took up the defense of women's interests. United Progressive Alliance, led by Inc. It has included in its minimum program a provision on the mandatory adoption of a law that ensures equality of women in all areas of life and reserves for them one-third of the seats in the lower house of parliament and state legislatures. However, the resolution of this issue has not progressed beyond general discussions. And yet, the struggle for women's equality, including in the highest echelons of power, continues.

The decision to nominate a woman candidate for the country's presidency reflected a general consensus on the need for greater involvement of women in political life. It is noteworthy that the management of the INC has prepared a list of 10 female candidates for the post of president. First on the list was Pratibha Patil. This decision was supported by:-

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most women's organizations. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, President of the Mahila Congress Inc Women's Organization, welcomed Patil's nomination as a presidential candidate, emphasizing that this decision is a major step in the process of empowering women. Similar statements were made by major left-wing women's organizations such as the All India Democratic Women's Association, the National Federation of Indian Women, and others. ⁴

According to a representative survey conducted among women on the eve of the elections, 68% supported Patil, 72% said that it is necessary to pass a law on quotas for women in parliament and state legislatures at the next parliamentary session. 62% believed that women politicians are superior to men in such qualities as honesty, responsibility, and a sense of duty. Another 66% were of the opinion that women are able to ensure the implementation of a "clean" policy, without corruption. On the other hand, the majority of women (54%) believed that they did not enjoy equal rights with men5.

Indeed, gender inequality manifests itself in many areas of life and is overcome with great difficulty. According to the most important indicators of human development (health and life expectancy, level and quality of education, material security), women in India are noticeably inferior to men.

A FOLLOWER OF NEHRU AND INDIRA GANDHI'S COURSE

Pratibha Patil, 72, is an experienced politician. A lawyer by training, she has been actively involved in the political and public life of the country for more than 45 years. She was elected four times to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, as well as to the upper and lower houses of Parliament, and was a minister in the Government of Maharashtra for 15 years. It is characteristic that she has never lost an election to parliament or the state legislature. Her last position before being elected President of India was Governor of Rajasthan.

Throughout her years of involvement in politics, Patil has firmly adhered to the course of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. It has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to democratic and secular values. For example, in April 2006, as Governor of Rajasthan, she rejected a bill that effectively prohibited conversion from one religion to another in the state. Patil considered this an infringement on "fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom to profess, practice, and promote religion." ⁶

Patil actively advocated for the rights of women and the most socially vulnerable segments of the population. She was also involved in the co-operative movement, which plays a significant role in rural India. At the same time, Patil has repeatedly proved the viability of her ideas in practice, having founded several polytechnic schools for girls from poor families, centers for training specialists in the field of health and child care.

Patil was among those who actively fought against the practice of giving dowry to the bride, which has become a serious threat to social harmony. This practice often led to the actual enslavement of the bride's parents, who were forced to go to exorbitant expenses for providing her with a dowry and holding a wedding (often on credit). In the country, there was even such a concept as "death due to dowry", when wives were forced to commit suicide because their relatives could not meet the growing demands of the husband's family. This led to the adoption of a law banning dowries in 1961. However, it did not bring any real results. Despite the best efforts of the public, this practice still continues in all sectors of society-from the poor to millionaires. For some, it leads to ruin, for others it opens up an opportunity to demonstrate their wealth.

If a bicycle or a transistor as a dowry for a daughter becomes an obstacle to marriage for a rural poor man, then in the higher social groups there seem to be no limits on the size of the dowry at all. The Indian press is full of descriptions of such cases. Thus, in July 2007, the police in Uttar Pradesh registered a criminal case against one of the leaders of a major political party, who demanded payment of a dowry from relatives of his grandson's wife. These claims included a Mercedes car and an apartment with a total value of about 6 million rupees ($150,000).⁷.

Such cases are not isolated at all, as are the huge costs of a wedding. For example, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal spent $ 60 million on his daughter's wedding. ⁸

Obviously, having taken the highest state post, Patil will continue to fight against the custom that aggravates the fate of the poor.

In recent years, Patil, like many leaders of political parties and women's organizations, has also been involved in the fight against abortion of female embryos (which has become possible with the use of modern medical technologies before the birth of a child). This problem became a national issue, as it aggravated the gender imbalance in society. In 2001, there were 933 women per 1,000 men. And in the under-six age group, there were 927 girls per 1,000 boys. And in the richest states, this ratio was even more striking: in Punjab, 793 girls, in Haryana - 820, in Gujarat - 878, in Himachal Pradesh-897, in Maharashtra-917. This, in particular, indicated that it was in these states that the latest technologies for determining gender were most intensively used at an early stage of pregnancy.

"All crimes, including the destruction of the female embryo and female infanticide, are related to the dowry practice that has developed over the past two decades

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it has taken on threatening proportions and has actually reached all segments of society, "notes the magazine "Frantline", referring to the sociological survey ⁹.

FIRST APPEAL TO THE COUNTRY

In her first address to the nation on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of India's independence on August 15, 2007, President Pratibha Patil expressed her determination to ensure fair economic growth for all citizens. She stressed the need to rely on the participation of all residents in the process of grassroots governance, as well as strive to develop collective solutions for building a State of equal opportunities. Noting the great economic progress in the country in recent years, she also stressed that the fruits of economic liberalization have not yet reached all social strata. Patil pointed out the need for new initiatives in the agricultural sector, where the majority of the country's population is employed.¹⁰

The overriding importance of transformation in agriculture is critical for the entire country, Patil said. At the same time, the development strategy in the agricultural sector should meet the interests of poor peasants and women. The latter make up 60% of all agricultural workers. And achievements in milk production (India ranks 1st in the world in terms of milk production) are directly related to the manual labor of 75 million women employed in animal husbandry11.

Patil also named the elimination of illiteracy and improvement of education as the main task. She noted India's achievements in this area: 3 million students graduate from institutes and colleges every year. With more than 700,000 bachelor's and master's degrees, the country has one of the largest human resources in the field of information technology. Since India's independence, literacy in the country has increased from 18.3% to 65%. However, India still ranks 1st in the world in terms of the number of illiterates, with 20% of children not going to school at all. All this hinders the further development of India, including the fight against poverty. Patil referred to a saying of Mahatma Gandhi, who said: "Illiteracy is our sin and shame, and it must be eliminated." There is a proverb in Marathi, Patil said, which means: "Only those who can read survive."

Of great concern, according to the President, is the gap in the literacy rate between men and women, especially in rural areas. Achieving universal literacy among women should be a priority. A competent woman is a self-sufficient person. Its beneficial impact on society is growing immeasurably. Women's literacy is directly related to reducing infant mortality. A literate woman sends her daughters to school and thus destroys the tradition of gender discrimination. A literate woman means healthier children, a healthier generation. The education system, in her opinion, should contribute to strengthening such values as secularism, democracy, and the involvement of all members of society in the development process12.

In one of her speeches as President, Patil emphasized the importance of combating such social evils as child marriage, gender inequality, and the problem of child labor13.

Patil paid special attention to the problem of youth. According to her, it is necessary to use the opportunities of 770 million young Indians in order to "catapult" India into the first ranks of world civilization. This demographic advantage can be a huge problem if young people do not actively participate in the full development of society. We are talking about educating young people, providing them with professional skills, and creating jobs for them.¹⁴

Under the Constitution, the President of India has extensive powers, although some mistakenly consider this post to be purely ceremonial. He formally has executive power in the country, which he exercises through the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. He also appoints Supreme Court justices, state governors, members of State High Courts, and is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. However, in accordance with established practice, the real power belongs to the Council of Ministers.¹⁵

Nevertheless, the importance of the president in political life should not be underestimated. This is evidenced by the sharp struggle that unfolded in the last presidential elections, and the fact that at critical moments in the country's life, presidents often acted as a stabilizing factor. Patil herself stated during the election campaign that she would not" stamp out " the decisions of the Council of Ministers, but act based on the broader interests of the country.

In India, great importance is attached to symbols of power and social status. Surrounded by an aura of honor and respect, the post of president of the country looks almost sacred in the eyes of ordinary people. And even the fact that the chiefs of staff of the three branches of the armed forces - land, naval and air forces-solemnly salute the female president as the supreme commander-in-chief is of considerable importance for changing the mass consciousness in favor of women's equality.

¹ http://www.outlookindia.com. 22.07.2007.

² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

³ Outlook. July, 2007, p. 68.

⁴ The Hindu. 16.06.2007.

⁵ Outlook. July 02,2007, p. 59.

⁶ Frontline. June 30-July 13, 2007.

⁷ http://www.washingtonpost.com/2007/ 07/30

⁸ www.hindustantimes.com. 23.08.2006.

⁹ Frontline. 09 - 22.11.2002.

¹⁰ http://www.hindoonnet.com/2007/08/15

¹¹ http://www.hindoonnet.com/2007/08/07

¹² http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp080 907.html

¹³ The Hindu. 06.09.2007.

¹⁴ http://www.hinduonnet.com/20070902

¹⁵ The Constitution of India. 2000. Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

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