Lady Roshan Jehangir Ghandy. Telegraph file picture

Jamshedpur, Oct. 31: Lady Roshan Jehangir Ghandy, better known as Lady Ghandy, passed away at Tata Motors Hospital this morning after a prolonged illness. She was 92.

Married to Sir Jehangir Ghandy, former managing director of Tata Steel, Lady Ghandy was associated with a host of social activities in the city.

The founder president of All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) in 1949, she served in all capacities in the association during her five-decade-long tenure. Whether she was the secretary or the president, Lady Ghandy remained one of the most popular faces in the city. Some of AIWC’s major projects, especially those dealing with childcare and women’s health, were the brainchild of this charming woman. The association’s Shishu Niketan and the welfare clinic are also Ghandy’s babies.

Even her illness could not stop her from serving as the patron-in-chief and special advisor to the association. She finally stepped down from her post in 2001, but whenever she was required her friends and association members always found her ready to help.

“Her contribution to the AIWC and to the steel city is tremendous. The association will never forget all that she has done,” said Kanchan Singh, a senior member of the AIWC. The Parsees of Jamshedpur, a chronology of Parsees residing in Jamshedpur released some years ago states — “There has not been a single activity with which she (Lady Ghandy) has not been associated with.” She has also served as the president of the Jamshedpur Eye Hospital and the Jamshedpur blood bank.

Her only son, Sarosh Ghandy, was the former executive director of Tata Motors and the managing director of Telcon.

Her last rites were performed at Parsee Aaramgah in Circuit House Area and was attended by several members of Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Telcon, AIWC and union officials.