Background
Janaki was born in Pegu, Burma, to Kamala and Krishna Iyer. Her mother died with she was five, and as her father did not remarry, she assisted with the household duties along with her siblings.
Janaki was born in Pegu, Burma, to Kamala and Krishna Iyer. Her mother died with she was five, and as her father did not remarry, she assisted with the household duties along with her siblings.
She was the wife of Indian President R. Venkataraman who served as India"s head of state from 25 July 1987 until 25 July 1992. Janaki was married to R. Venkataraman in 1938 and had three daughters. To assist him, she became a partner in the Labor Law Journal which he had established.
Venkataraman was a human rights activist and led “hundreds of supporters” in protests about the war violence perpetrated upon women during the Bangladeshi War.
She was an ardent feminist and supported women"s self-reliance, as well as a humanitarian, working on projects for the poor. In addition, she was an animal rights activist refusing to wear silk which required worms to be killed and instead popularized the wearing of Ahimsa Silk, which does not require harming the cocoon.
Her promotion of wearing saris created without harming the silkworms led to popularity of Ahimsa Silk (also called "mulberry silk") and inspired entrepreneurs to develop the technology further. In addition to obtaining a patent, the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Company-operative Society began marketing its "vegan wild silk" products to high end fashion labels.
When a documentary about her husband"s life was made and Venkataraman was included in only one frame, she requested removal of the image.
As an active first lady, she was responsible for implementing social welfare programs that came from the president"s office. Janaki Venkataraman died on 13 August 2010.