Kiran Bedi

Dr. Kiran Bedi is India's first and highest ranking (retired in 2007) woman officer who joined the Indian Police Service in 1972. Her experience and expertise include more than 35 years of tough, innovative and welfare policing.

She has been voted as India's most admired woman and fifth amongst all Indians.

Education & Career
Kiran Bedi did her schooling from the Sacred Heart Convent School, Amritsar, and it is here that she joined National Cadet Corps (NCC). Later, she obtained her B.A in English from the Government College for Women, Amritsar. She then earned a Master's degree in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh, topping the University.

Even while in active service in the Indian Police, she continued her educational pursuits, and obtained a Law degree (LLB) in 1988 from Delhi University, Delhi. In 1993, she did her Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Department of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, where the topic of her thesis was 'Drug Abuse and Domestic Violence'.

She began her career as a Lecturer in Political Science at Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar, India. In July 1972, she joined the Indian Police Service. She served in a number of tough assignments ranging from Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in insurgency prone Mizoram, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau and also on a United Nations deputation, where she became the Civilian Police Advisor in the United Nations peacekeeping department, and for which she was awarded with the UN medal. She is popularly referred to as Crane Bedi for towing the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi car for parking violation.

Kiran Bedi influenced several decisions of the Indian Police Service, particularly in the areas of control over narcotics, traffic management, and VIP security. During her stint as the Inspector General of Prisons, Tihar Jail, Delhi(1993-1995), she instituted a number of reforms in the management the prison, and initiated a number of measures such as detoxification programs, yoga, vipassana meditation, redressing of complaints by prisoners and literacy programs.

She was last appointed as Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research and Development.

On 27th November 2007, she had expressed her wish to take Voluntary Retirement from job to take up new challenges in life. On 25th December 2007, Government of India decided to relieve Bedi, who was holding the post of the director general of Bureau of Police Research and Development, from her duties immediately.

Other Interests
Taking up tennis at an early age, Kiran Bedi won the Junior National Lawn Tennis Championship in 1966, the Asian Lawn Tennis Championship in 1972, and the All-India Interstate Women's Lawn Tennis Championship in 1976. Besides this, she also won the all-Asian tennis champion, and had won the Asian Ladies Title at the age of 22.

A dedicated social activist, Kiran Bedi founded two NGOs in India: Navjyoti for welfare and preventive policing in 1987 and India Vision Foundation for prison reforms, drug abuse prevention, and child welfare in 1994.

Awards
Kiran Bedi has received a number of Awards, including the following:
  President's Gallantry Award (1979)
  Women of the Year Award (1980)
  Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control (1991)
  Magsaysay Award (1994) for Government Service
  Mahila Shiromani Award (1995)
  Father Machismo Humanitarian Award (1995)
  Lion of the Year (1995)
  Joseph Beuys Award (1997)
  Pride of India (1999)
  Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice (2005)