Top 5 most influential Indian women of the decade

India is believed to be male dominant society, but still our Indian women are nowhere second to anyone, we have many Indian women who are counted as the most influential women in the world, here in this article, I have tried listing 5 most influential women who are believed to be the most influential women of the decade 2000 to 2010 and still continuing to be in next decade 2011 to 2020.

Sonia Gandhi

1. Sonia Gandhi born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino on December 9, 1946, is the President of Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is Italian-born daughter-in-law of the late Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi. After her husband Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991, she was invited by the Indian Congress Party to take over the Congress but she refused and publicly stayed away from politics amidst constant prodding by the Congress. She finally agreed to join politics in 1997 and in 1998, she was elected as the leader of the Congress. Since then, she has been the President of the Indian National Congress Party becoming the longest-serving President on September 2010. She has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha since2004. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest-serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress party.

Indra Nooyi

2. Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi(born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-born American executive and is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Incorporated. On August 14, 2006, Nooyi was named the successor to Steven Reinemund as chief executive officer of the company effective October 1, 2006. On February 5, 2007, she was named Chairperson, effective May 2, 2007.

Lata Mangeshkar

^{3. Lata Mangeshkar} born (September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, but primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of Asha Bhosle and brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar and sisters Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist ever to have received the Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian honour.

Kiran Bedi

4. Kiran Bedi: (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist and a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. She became the first woman to join the IPS in 1972 and most recently held the post of Director General, BPR&D (Bureau of Police Research and Development), Ministry of Home Affairs. She retired from the IPS in December 2007, after taking voluntary retirement. She was the host and TV judge of the popular TV series "Aap Ki Kachehri" (English, "Your Court"), broadcast on the Indian TV channel, Star Plus. This program features Indian families approaching her TV court and explaining their problems to her. She then offers legal advice and monetary help to solve the problem. This program is classified as an EDUtainment program, as it attempts to simplify and explain legal procedures and Indian law to the viewers.

Aishwarya Rai Bacchan

5. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 1994. During her career, Rai has acted in over 40 movies in Hindi, English, Tamil and Bengali, which include a number of international productions.