The Royal Warrior at the Grassroot Yashodhara Raje Scindia has been invested in empowering the women of the state of Madhya Pradesh, with a focus on India's cottage industry
By Aashika Jain
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Being born to leaders who have fought a real war for the country's independence can bring an ethereal sense of confidence and pride. Such gifted leadership has the potential to bring about a real change. It is this change that is being attempted to be brought by the youngest daughter of Late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia of Gwalior.
Yashodhara Raje Scindia has not only seen her mother but also her sisters battle State Elections after India got its independence. Yashodhara's return to India from the United States where she moved after marriage in 1994 was marked by her contesting the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly Elections and winning the seat from Shivpuri in the state for the current ruling political party Bharatiya Janata Party.
"US made me so independent that I decided to return home to serve my people of Gwalior, just like my mother did," Scindia who separated from her husband and decided to dedicate her life to building women for her home state.
"As the first woman Commerce and Industries Minister, I had to make sure every time I did something women thought of me as a role model," said Scindia calling herself one among the Maratha warriors who know how to fight battles. She has been invested in empowering the women of the state, with a focus on India's cottage industry.
Scindia admits to a dramatic shift in the way Indian entrepreneurial women have transformed into leaders in the last decade but she doesn't see any of it in Indian politics.
"I know how hard it is for a woman to be in politics; to swing through all the sharks and the whales and everybody and to be able to swing, said Scindia.
She wants women in India to be confident, carve their path and have integrity within; no one deserves to think being a woman is a weakness.
"We have a long way to go."