Dr. Asha Pande was a professor and the first Indian woman to receive the Légion d'honneurShe was the founder-director of Rajasthan University's Master in European Studies programme and headed the Department of Dramatics at Rajasthan University, and Center for French and Francophone Studies. She has been honored for promoting French language in India.She died on 4 October 2018 due to liver ailment.