First Lady of India or First Gentleman of India is the title given to the host of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually the spouse of the president of India. There are no official roles or duties assigned to the spouse. The spouse generally attends official ceremonies and functions.
The position of a first spouse of India is currently vacant, as President Droupadi Murmu is widowed.
History Rajvanshi Devi, the wife of India's first president, was the country's first lady from 1950 until 1962. Devi kept a very low profile during this era and did not attend public events with President Rajendra Prasad.
The post was vacant during the tenure of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and was followed by Shah Jahan Begum, who was the wife of India's third president, Zakir Husain.
Saraswati Bai, wife of the country's fourth president, V. V. Giri, was the first first lady to take a more public role. Bai's role marked a change from the lower profile of her predecessors. She attended and hosted public events and became a recognizable figure to the Indian public.
Abida Ahmed, India's first lady from 1974 to 1977, further expanded the public role of the first lady's position by organizing ceremonies and official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She was also the first among the first spouses to hold a public office when she was Member of Parliament between 1980 and 1989.
Usha Narayanan was the first spouse of foreign origin.
Before Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of India, the role of the wives of the president was to act as the chief hostess of the Bhavan. In 2007, the office room meant for the first lady went for some minor changes to accommodate the husband of Pratibha Patil, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, the country's inaugural "first gentleman".
Former first lady Suvra Mukherjee, the wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, died in office on 18 August 2015. The position of First Lady remained vacant for the remainder of President Mukherjee's term.
The position is currently vacant since 2022, as President Droupadi Murmu is a widow.
Role The role of a first spouse is largely ceremonial. The first spouse has no official duties, but will generally attend the official ceremonies and functions held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the president. Most first spouses have maintained a low profile.
Non-spouses in the role In case of the absence of a spouse, another relative of the president may take up the role of host or hostess during official functions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, this is not mandatory, as, for instance, the role of hostess was vacant during the tenure of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Zail Singh's daughter had served as hostess for some events. Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee served as hostess for some events, during her mother's illness.
List of first ladies and gentlemen of India No.PortraitName TenurePresident1Rajvanshi Devi26 January 1950–12 May 1962Rajendra Prasad–vacant12 May 1962 – 13 May 1967Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan2Shah Jahan Begum13 May 1967–3 May 1969Zakir HusainActingSaraswati Bai3 May 1969–20 July 1969V. V. Giri (acting)ActingPushpa Shah20 July 1969–24 August 1969Mohammad Hidayatullah (acting)3Saraswati Bai24 August 1969–24 August 1974V. V. Giri4Abida Ahmed24 August 1974–11 February 1977Fakhruddin Ali AhmedActingSangamma Jatti11 February 1977–25 July 1977B. D. Jatti (acting)5Nagaratnamma Reddy25 July 1977–25 July 1982Neelam Sanjiva Reddy6Pardhan Kaur25 July 1982–25 July 1987Zail Singh7 Janaki Venkataraman25 July 1987–25 July 1992Ramaswamy Venkataraman8Vimala Sharma25 July 1992–25 July 1997Shankar Dayal Sharma9Usha Narayanan25 July 1997–25 July 2002K. R. Narayanan–unmarried 25 July 2002 – 25 July 2007A. P. J. Abdul Kalam10Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat25 July 2007–25 July 2012Pratibha Patil11Suvra Mukherjee25 July 2012–18 August 2015Pranab Mukherjeevacant18 August 2015–25 July 201712Savita Kovind25 July 2017–25 July 2022Ram Nath Kovind– vacant25 July 2022 – PresentDroupadi Murmu
See also List of presidents of India Spouse of the prime minister of India
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