Remembering a legend: When Lata Mangeshkar refused allowances as an MP
On the Golden Jubilee of India’s independence, she sang poet Mohammed Iqbal’s iconic “Saare Jahan Se Acha” in Parliament’s Central Hall
NEW DELHI: Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away on Sunday at 92, was known as the “Nightingale of India” for her accomplishments as a singer over a seven-decade career. She was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1999 to 2005 and part of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology. Mangeshkar was a member of the Union information and broadcasting ministry’s Consultative Committee as well.
On the Golden Jubilee of India’s independence on August 15, 1997, she sang poet Mohammed Iqbal’s iconic “Saare Jahan Se Acha” in Parliament’s Central Hall along with musician Pandit Bhim Sen Joshi.
Mangeshkar, who called her tenure in the Rajya Sabha anything but happy and was reluctant to be inducted into Parliament, never accepted the allowances she was entitled to as a member of the House. All payments made to her were returned.
Among politicians, she shared cordial relations with Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and his nephew, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray. She did two concerts in the late 1990s and early 2000s to raise funds at Raj Thackeray’s request when he was with the Shiv Sena.