Constitution Of India: Before India’s independence, work on the plan to make a constitution for the country had started and the Constituent Assembly was formed. Let us tell you that on December 6, 1946, the Constituent Assembly was formed, which became completely independent after India’s independence and it framed the Constitution of India. The Constituent Assembly met for a total of 114 days in two years, 11 months and 18 days. After these meetings, the Constitution of India was prepared and on 26 January 1950, it came into force in the entire country. The number of members of the Constituent Assembly was initially 389, which included 15 women, who were very powerful and who played an important role in drafting the Constitution of the country. Out of these 15 women, only a few women are known to the public, the rest are lost in the darkness of anonymity. On the occasion of Republic Day, let us know those great women who advocated women’s rights in the Constituent Assembly.
Ammu Swaminathan
Ammu was a social worker. He played an important role in the freedom movement. She was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. Ammu was born in Palghat district of Kerala. His parents belonged to the Nair community. Ammu was married to Subbarama Swaminathan, 20 years older than her. Swaminathan had laid great emphasis on Ammu’s education and her talent was given full opportunity to flourish. In 1952, she was elected a member of the Rajya Sabha and was also associated with various organizations. She was chosen ‘Mother of the Year’ in 1975.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman who had the honor of becoming a cabinet minister in India. He took active part in the freedom movement. She was the sister of Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. He also had to go to jail several times. She was the first woman in the world to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly. She had also held the posts of ambassador and governor.
Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu was the most powerful among the leaders of India and she also made her presence felt. Sarojini was born in Hyderabad on 13 February 1879. Sarojini is the only woman who has the distinction of being the President of the Indian National Congress. He studied at King’s College (London) and Cambridge University. She actively participated in the freedom movement and also went to jail several times. Sarojini Naidu was also a powerful poet.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur from Uttar Pradesh was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. He belonged to Ragharana of Kapurthala. She took her schooling from Sherborne School for Girls, England. He did a lot of work regarding women’s education and their health. He had established a research institute to prevent TV and leprosy. She was also associated with the Red Cross Society. She was given the title of ‘Princess’ for her service to the country.
Leela Roy
Leela Roy represented Assam in the Constituent Assembly. He was born in October 1900 in Goalpara, Assam. Leela graduated from Bethune College in 1921. His father was a Deputy Magistrate and a supporter of the nationalist movement. Leela Roy had struggled a lot for women’s rights in the society and was also associated with many organizations. In 1937, Leela joined the Congress and founded the Bengal Provincial Congress Women’s Organization. She was also working with Subhash Chandra Bose. Before leaving the country, Netaji had given complete charge of the party to Leela Roy and her husband.
Durgabai Deshmukh
Durgabai Deshmukh had been active in movements since childhood. At the age of just 12, he participated in the Non-Participation Movement. He was born on 15 July 1909 in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. He participated in the Salt Satyagraha movement in Madras in May 1930. In 1936, she founded Andhra Mahila Sabha, which later became a very big organization. She did a lot of work on women’s education and rights. She also reached Parliament and was a member of the Planning Commission.
Malti Chaudhary
The women of Bengal have been strong since the beginning. Malti Chaudhary was also one of them. He was born in the year 1904 in a distinguished family of East Bengal. He received education from Shanti Niketan. She was married to Nabakrishna Chaudhary, who also became the Chief Minister of Odisha. During the Salt Satyagraha, Malti Choudhary and her husband came in contact with the Indian National Congress and participated in the freedom movement.
Renuka Ray
Renuka Ray did BA from London School of Economics. She served as legal secretary of the AIWC in 1934 and wrote a document on Indian women’s ignorance of the law. His father Satish Chandra Mukherjee was an ICS officer. She also struggled a lot to improve the social status of women in India. From 1943 to 1946, she was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly and after that she became a member of the Constituent Assembly. From 1952 to 1957 he served as the Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation in the West Bengal Assembly. He also represented Malda Lok Sabha constituency.
annie mascaren
Annie Mascarene was representing Kerala in the Constituent Assembly. She was from a Catholic family. She was a member of the Congress Cabinet. He participated in the freedom movement. She was very active politically due to which she had to go to jail several times.
Sucheta Kripalani
Sucheta Kripalani played an important role in the Quit India Movement. She established the women’s wing of the Congress Party in 1940. After independence, she became an MP and also served as minister of many departments in Uttar Pradesh. Sucheta Kripalani also became the first woman Chief Minister of India.
Purnima Banerjee
Purnima Banerjee was a resident of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. She was the secretary of the Indian National Congress Committee. He took active part in the freedom movement. He was also arrested during Satyagraha and Quit India Movement. He also worked with the trade union.
Kamla Chaudhary
Kamla Chaudhary was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, she was born in a rich family of Lucknow. In the year 1930, she came in contact with Gandhiji and actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. She was also the Vice President of All India Congress Committee. She was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha in the 70s. Kamala was a famous writer.
Hansa Jivraj Mehta
Hansa was representing the western state of Gujarat in the Constituent Assembly. Hansa was born on 3 July 1897 in Baroda. Hansa studied journalism and sociology from England. Apart from being a social reformer, Hansa was also a teacher and writer. He wrote many books for children and also translated many stories from English to Gujarati. In the year 1945-46, Hansa was made the President of All India Women’s Conference. She proposed a charter of women’s rights in the All India Women’s Conference held in Hyderabad.
Begum Ajaz Rasool
Begum Ajaz Rasool was the only woman from the Muslim community, who was a part of the Constituent Assembly. Ejaz Rasool was born in the royal family of Malarkotla. When the Muslim League was dissolved in India in 1950, she joined the Congress. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1952 and was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1969 to 1990. Between 1969 and 1971, she was also the Minister of Social Welfare and Minorities. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the year 2000.
Southern Ocean War
It is very important to mention Dakshina Velayudh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, because she was the only Dalit woman in this assembly. Dakshina Velayudha belonged to the Pulaya community and was among the first generation of people to be educated. It is said about her that she was the first woman of her community to wear full clothes. She was the first Scheduled Caste woman in India to graduate. She was a science graduate and was nominated as a member of the Cochin Legislative Council. Dakshinani was born in 1912 in Mullavukad village of Kannanur taluka of Ernakulam district. He had given strong arguments in the Constituent Assembly to eliminate caste based discrimination.