Education
Ambika studied at Welham Girls School,Dehradun and did her Master of Arts
Ambika studied at Welham Girls School,Dehradun and did her Master of Arts
She had served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Born in Lahore in undivided Punjab to Nakul Senator Whadwa, an I.C.S officer and Lieutenant Governor of Goa and Indu Nakul Senator Wadhwa in 1942.
(Honours) from Indraprastha College, Delhi University, followed by Diploma Superiore en Langue Francaise from Alliance Francaise, Bangkok and Post-Graduate Diploma in Spanish Art and Literature from University of Havana, Cuba.
In 1975 she was elected president of the Indian Youth Congress and worked closely with Sanjay Gandhi. In March 1976 she was elected to Rajya Sabha.
In 1998 she became the president of All India Mahila Congress. From 1999- 2006 she was General Secretary of All India Congress Committee.
In January 2000 she was again elected to Rajya Sabha and resigned w.e.f.
10 June 2004. In July 2004 she was again elected to Rajya Sabha. From 29 January 2006-2022 May 2009 she was Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture in Universal Postal Union I government.
From 22 May 2009 - 27 October 2012 she was Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Universal Postal Union II government.
In July 2010 she was re-elected to Rajya Sabha. At the International Colloquium on Freedom of Expression and Human Rights organized by the Press Council of India on April 28, 2011, she claimed that "Our media is probably the freest in the world." But the two "Press freedom rankings" speak the contrary. The World Press Freedom Index 2012 by the Reporters Without Borders group ranked India at 131 out of 179 which puts it in the category of "Noticeable problems".
The Global press freedom rankings 2012 by Freedom House ranked India at 80 out of 197 which puts it in the category of "Partly Free".
There are also serious concerns about regulators putting a tight leash on Internet Free Speech.
Ambika Soni began her political career in 1969 when she was co-opted into the Congress Party by Indira Gandhi at the time of the Party split in 1969.
She is a Member of Parliament representing the state of Punjab in the Rajya Sabha.