Sumitra Pednekar, the woman who is taking the fight to tobacco companies

With support prominent citizens, Sumitra is spearheading a policy-level campaign against tobacco

Young people in her neighbourhood know to put away any cigarettes when Sumitra Hooda Pednekar is around. To them, the 60-year-old is “that lady” who always stops to condemn the use of addictive substances and warn of ill-effects. Pednekar, whose tobacco-fighting mission is driven by a deep personal setback, is now taking this battle to tobacco companies and their public investors.
 
Neatly arranged on a shelf in her Versova home are photographs of husband Satish Pednekar, former home and labour minister for Maharashtra, who died of oral cancer in 2011. It was caused by an addiction to mawa, a