Sadhvi Pragya or Pragya Singh Thakur is a Hindu Nationalist and an Indian politician. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She remains in the spotlight for her controversial statements. BJP fielded her in the 2019 General Election against Congress leader, Digvijaya Singh, from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency.
Wiki/Biography
Pragya Singh Thakur was born in 1971 (Age: 48 years, as in 2019) in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, India. She received her primary education from her village, Lahar. Her father, C.P. Thakur was a government employee as a ‘demonstrator’ in the agriculture department. Her father was also an Ayurvedic doctor and owned a clinic in his village, Lahar. Her father was also an active member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). When she was in college, she was considered a good orator. She joined the student wing of RSS, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). She has received an M.A. degree in History from a college in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh.
Physical Appearance
- Height: 165 cm or 5’5″
Family
She was born in a Kshatriya (Thakur) family to C.P. Thakur and Sarla Devi. She has one brother and three sisters.
Father of Sadhvi Pragya
She is unmarried.
Career
Under the influence of her father, she joined RSS and became an active member of ABVP, the student wing of RSS. Sadhvi has also worked in Durga Vahini, women’s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). However, she is known for her provocative speeches and being the star campaigner of BJP. At the 2019 General Election, she was fielded by BJP against Congress leader, Digvijaya Singh, from the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency.
Controversies
- She was the main accused at the 2006 Malegaon bombings near a Mosque in which two bombs exploded in Maharashtra and one in Gujarat. About 6 people died and more than 100 were left injured. She was arrested and imprisoned for 9 years. However, she was acquitted of the charges in 2017.
Sadhvi Pragya under Police custody
- Sadhvi Pragya was also an accused of murdering BJP MLA, Sunil Joshi in December 2007 who proposed her for marriage but she refused. She along with seven others was held responsible for the mishappening and arrested but she was set free in 2017.
- She remains in media for her provocative statements. In 2018, during a speech, she referred to Sonia Gandhi as ‘Italy Wali Bai’ (Maid from Italy).
Facts
- As per her father, she never watched a single movie. She is also not very interested in listening to film music.
- After deciding to remain unmarried, she became close to Saints. She made her hermitage in Surat, Gujarat and travelled the whole country from there.
- When she was arrested for the Malegaon Bomb Attack incident, she hit out at the then Union Minister, P. Chidambaram and said,
“I’m victim of Chidambaram’s ‘saffron terrorism’ bogey.”
- Her hobbies are reading, motorbiking, travelling, etc.
- Here is an interview of Sadhvi Pragya with a famous TV anchor, Rajat Sharma in his famous TV Show, Aap Ki Adalat.