Bio
Born in 1942 in Mangalore, Margaret Alva was educated at Mangalore, Coimbatore and Bangalore, securing her BA degree from Mount Carmel College and her Law Degree from the Government Law College. She was later conferred an Hon. Degree of D.Lit by the University of Mysore. In her life spanning 73 years, she has traversed a wide canvas with many achievements to her credit. As one of India’s youngest Rajya Sabha MPs at the age of thirty-two and a Minister of State in Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet at forty-two, Margaret Alva is among India’s longest serving Parliamentarians. She has held several important positions in the Government of India and the Congress party and served as Governor of four states. Over the years, she has been witness to several events that have played an important part in the political narrative of our times—among them the ‘Emergency’, Indira Gandhi’s Chikmagalur election, Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and Sonia Gandhi’s entry into politics. She is recipient of several awards in India and abroad, including the First Nelson Mandela Award for Minority Empowerment in New York and the Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices, Washington. Margaret Alva now lives in Bangalore with her husband.
Courage & Commitment – Margaret Alva’s autobiography—details her forty-year career under four Prime Ministers—Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, and her eventual transition from politician to Governor.