Lakshmi N. Menon

Menon (front row, far left) attending a state dinner at the White House, 3 June 1963.

Lakshmi N. Menon (1899–1994) was born in Thiruvananthapuram, and is the child of Rama Varma Thampan and Madhavikutty Amma. In 1930 she married Professor V.K. Nandan Menon, who had been the vice chancellor of the University of Travancore and Patna University, as well as the director for the Indian Institute of Public Administration.

She served in the Ministry of External Affairs as Parliamentary Secretary from 1952 to 1957, Deputy Minister from 1957 to 1962 and Minister of State to 1967. Retiring from political service in 1967, she turned to social work and also to writing, authoring among other things a book on Indian women for the Oxford Pamphlets on Indian Affairs series, published by Oxford University Press. She helped to found the Federation of University Women in India. In recognition of her services, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1957.

Mrs. Menon dedicated her active life after politics for the cause of the nation. She served the All India Women's Conference as President and Patron for long years. She was the Vice President of All India Prohibition Council along with Morarji Desai. In 1988 she along with A. P. Udayabhanu and Johnson J. Edayaranmula established Alcohol & Drug Information Centre (ADIC)-India and served as its President till her death. She also served as President of the All India Committee for the Eradication of Illiteracy Among Women and also the Kasturba Gandhi Trust, New Delhi.