Ammu Swaminathan

Ammu Swaminathan was born in 1894 in Palakkad, Kerala. After marrying S. Swaminathan, she learned English and soon moved to Madras. Beginning in 1914, she became actively involved in the political and women’s rights movements. In 1917, she collaborated with notable figures such as Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Annie Besant, and Muthulakshmi Reddy to establish the Women’s India Association (WIA) in Adyar, Madras. The WIA grew to become one of the largest women’s rights organizations in India, addressing social issues like child marriage and the devadasi practice. It made representations to the Montague-Chelmsford Commission in 1917 and the Southborough Commission in 1918, advocating for equal voting rights for women.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Swaminathan joined the Indian National Congress in 1934. She participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942, which resulted in her imprisonment a year later. As a strong advocate for women’s rights, she called for reforms in laws and bills regarding succession, inheritance, and marriage.

Contribution to Constitution-Making:

In 1946, she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Madras Constituency, where she spoke on fundamental rights and directive principles.

Annie Mascarene

Annie Mascarene was born on June 6, 1902, in Trivandrum. She earned a double M.A. in history and economics from the Colleges for Arts and Law in Trivandrum and later became a lecturer in Sri Lanka. After returning to Trivandrum, she obtained a law degree. Mascarene was a member of the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly from 1948 to 1952, where she briefly served as the Minister in charge of Health and Power.

Contribution to Constitution-Making:

Mascarene represented the Princely State of Travancore and Cochin Union in the Constituent Assembly, where she spoke on the issue of federalism.

Begum Aizaz Rasul

Born into a princely family on April 4, 1908, in Punjab, Begum Aizaz Rasul was exposed to politics from an early age, attending political conferences with her father and serving as his secretary. She challenged many traditional norms, including the purdah system.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Rasul entered electoral politics in 1937 when she was elected to the U.P. Legislative Assembly, where she served until 1951. She was one of the few women elected from a non-reserved province in British India, a remarkable achievement. During her time in the U.P. Assembly, she held significant positions such as Leader of the Opposition (1950-1952) and Deputy President of the Council (1937-1940). Rasul opposed reservations for minorities in legislative assemblies, the partition of India, and feudal practices such as the Zamindari system.

Contribution to Constitution-Making:

Rasul was the only Muslim woman in the Constituent Assembly, representing the United Provinces as a member of the Muslim League. In the Assembly, she participated in debates on national language, India’s role in the Commonwealth, reservations, property rights, and minority rights.

Dakshayani Velayudhan:

Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on July 15, 1912, in Mulavukad, a small island in present-day Ernakulam district. She belonged to the Pulaya community, which was subjected to the oppressive caste system. Pulayas were primarily low-paid agricultural labourers and faced various humiliations, such as being barred from using public roads and having to maintain a certain distance from upper-caste individuals. Women were prohibited from covering their upper bodies with any garment. A significant event took place in Kochi in 1913, known as the Kayal Sammelanam. Hundreds of Pulayas, including Velayudhan’s family members, came together on small boats in Kerala’s backwaters because they were not allowed, to assemble on land. This event had a profound impact on Dakshayani’s life, leading her to request that her biography be titled “The Sea Has No Caste.”

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Velayudhan was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Madras constituency. At 34 years old, she was one of the youngest and the only Dalit woman member of the Assembly. There, she emerged as a strong, independent voice, unafraid to oppose popular opinion. During her inaugural address in response to Nehru’s Objective Resolution, she asserted that the Indian Constitution had a more substantial task than merely mediating the relationship between state and society; it needed to overhaul society itself. She also took on B.R. Ambedkar and M. Nagappa concerning an amendment that would have required candidates with reserved seats to secure a minimum proportion of votes from Scheduled Caste voters, arguing that this was akin to establishing separate electorates. Velayudhan held firm views on the type of federalism India should adopt. In critiquing the Draft Constitution of 1948, she focused on the lack of decentralization and the potential for a strong central government to dominate state governments. She specifically, highlighted the appointment process for Governors of states, arguing that it would further centralize power.

G.Durgabai

G. Durgabai was born on 15th July 1909, in Rajahmundri, Kakinada. She was involved in the Indian freedom movement from a very young age at 12, she quit school to protest the imposition of English as the medium of education. At the age of 14, she volunteered at a conference held by the Indian National Congress in Kakinada.

Role in India’s Independence Movement

In May 1930, she participated in the Salt Satyagraha in Madras and was imprisoned in 1930 and 1932. In prison, she studied English and completed her M.A. from Andhra University. She went on to study law at Madras University and practised at the Madras Bar for a few years. In 1936, she established Andhra Mahila Sabha to coach young Telugu girls in Madras for their Matriculation examination conducted by the Banaras Hindu University. Durgabai founded and edited a Telugu journal called Andhra Mahila.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Durgabai was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Madras Province. She made several key interventions on issues that include the national language, judicial independence, and human trafficking.

Hansa Jivraj Mehta

Hansa Jivraj Mehta was born on July 3, 1897, in Surat, Gujarat. She studied philosophy at Baroda College and later pursued journalism and sociology in England. In 1920, while in London, Mehta met Sarojini Naidu, who introduced her to Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian women’s freedom movement. Mehta’s political career gained momentum when she won a seat in the Bombay Legislative Council in 1937. Choosing not to contest from a reserved seat, she entered the election as a general category candidate and served on the council until 1949. During this time, she became actively involved with the All India Women’s Conference and was elected its president in 1946. As president, she drafted the Indian Women’s Charter of Rights and Duties, which called for gender equality and civil rights for women. In the same year, Mehta served as a member of the United Nations sub-committee on the status of women and was the vice-chair alongside Eleanor Roosevelt on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee. Additionally, she became the first female Vice-Chancellor in India with her appointment to SNDT University in Bombay.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Mehta participated in the non-cooperation and Swadeshi movements, and her involvement in India’s freedom struggle led to her arrest in 1932.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Mehta was one of the 15 women who contributed to the framing of the Indian Constitution. She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bombay under a Congress Party ticket. Within the Assembly, she advocated strongly for women’s rights and actively participated in discussions about the uniform civil code and reservations. Notably, she delivered a significant speech in the Assembly on August 15, 1947.

Kamla Chowdary

Kamla Chowdhary was born on February 22, 1908, in Lucknow. Despite facing objections from her family, she completed the Ratna and Prabhakar examinations in Hindi literature. Chowdhary produced a wide range of literary works, primarily focusing on the lived experiences of Indian women. She was an active member of the Indian National Congress and served as an elected member of both the Provincial Congress Committee and the Provincial Mahila Congress Committee. Chowdhary dedicated herself to educating girls in villages and backward areas, and she supported Khadi and village industries, believing they had the potential to provide employment for young women.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Chowdhary participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 and was arrested several times as a result of her activities.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

In 1946, she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).

Leela Roy

Leela Roy, a woman of indomitable spirit, was born on October 2, 1900, in Goalpara, Assam. She completed her schooling at Eden High School in Dhaka. Her academic excellence earned her a scholarship to pursue a B.A. in English at Bethune College, Calcutta, where she received a gold medal. She later graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Dhaka, becoming the first female graduate of the university. This achievement led the University to establish special evening classes for women.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

A staunch feminist, Roy promoted women’s participation in social and political movements, including the Indian freedom movement. She worked towards establishing educational institutions for women and founded “Deepali Sangha” in 1923, an organization that educated and trained women on social and political issues, leadership skills, and physical fitness. Roy criticized leaders like Mahatma Gandhi for advocating a limited role for women in public life, which she believed should extend beyond domestic responsibilities. She aimed for women’s involvement in the freedom movement to encompass more than just picketing liquor shops and weaving khadi. To facilitate discussions on nationalism and social issues, she established “Jayashree,” a magazine, in 1931. Roy engaged with both revolutionary and moderate perspectives within India’s political landscape. In 1926, she joined “Shree Sangha,” a revolutionary organization led by Hemchandra Ghosh and Anil Roy, which primarily operated in Dhaka and mobilized youth groups for community service. The Indian National Congress recognized Roy’s contributions, inviting her as a delegate to the Congress Session in Calcutta in 1928, where she presented a paper on the history of the women’s movement in Bengal. Inspired by Subhas Chandra Bose, Roy became a member of the central executive body of the Forward Bloc, an organization founded by Bose, and took on an editorial position in the “Forward Bloc Weekly.”

Contribution to Constitution-Making:

Roy was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal on December 9, 1946, but she resigned a few months later in protest against the partition of India.

Malati Choudhury

Malati Choudhury was born on July 26, 1904, in Calcutta to a family of politicians. At the age of 16, she opted not to pursue a college education. Instead, in 1921, she enrolled at Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan, where her views on patriotism and the freedom movement developed, greatly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. In 1927, Choudhury moved to Orissa and engaged in grassroots work for underprivileged communities. She was a Marxist and a woman freedom fighter who actively participated in various struggles of oppressed communities in Orissa, earning her the affectionate nickname “Numa” from those she inspired.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Choudhury played a vital role in India’s Independence Movement. She was arrested and imprisoned multiple times (1921, 1930, 1936, 1942) by the British for her involvement in various freedom movement activities. In 1933, she began actively participating in the Congress party. Together with her husband, she organized the Utkal Congress Samajwadi Karmi Sangh, the Orissa branch of the All India Congress Socialist Party. Choudhury founded the Post Basic School at Champatimunda in Orissa. In 1946, she established the Bajiraut Chhatravas to educate the children of freedom fighters and became the president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee. She had a significant impact on local freedom struggle movements. In 1934, Malati participated in M.K. Gandhi’s padayatra in Orissa. She led the Krisaka Andolan to protect farmers from exploitation by landowners and moneylenders. Additionally, she played a central role in the peasant uprising in Orissa during the 1930s and established the Utkal Provisional Kisan Sabha, which worked towards the abolition of the zamindari system.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Orissa on a Congress ticket. However, she resigned from the Assembly that same year to collaborate with Gandhi, as she felt ‘unfit’ for the work. Instead, she preferred to continue working directly with farmers, Dalits, tribals, and children.

Purnima Banerji

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Purnima Banerji was actively involved in the freedom struggle alongside Sucheta Kripalani, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, and Uma Nehru. She took part in the individual Satyagraha and the Quit India movements. As Secretary of the Allahabad City Congress Committee, Banerji worked towards fostering rural engagement and conducted meetings with farmers and trade unions.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Banerji was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces, where she participated in discussions concerning the Preamble, preventive detention, and the qualifications of Rajya Sabha members.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born on February 2, 1889, in Lucknow, into the Kapurthala royal family of Punjab. Her father, Raja Harnam Singh, converted to Christianity as a young boy and subsequently distanced himself from the line of successors to the throne. Kaur, the only daughter among seven children, grew up with her siblings influenced by Christian teachings. After an initial period of home-schooling, she attended Sherborne School in Dorsetshire, England, where she completed her education. Kaur graduated with an impressive academic and extracurricular record from the University of Oxford. Upon returning to India at the age of 20, Kaur began to embrace Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings by 1919. Initially, Gandhi denied her request to join his ashram, believing she was still attached to material life and that her parents disapproved of her joining. Consequently, in the years following her return, Kaur dedicated herself to social causes concerning women, such as abolishing the practice of purdah, child marriage, and the Devadasi tradition. By 1927, she co-founded the All-India Women’s Conference, serving as its secretary in 1930 and later as president in 1933. In 1934, she joined Gandhi’s Sewagram Ashram, where she served as his secretary for sixteen years.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Kaur developed her political inclinations while spending time with her father, who had close associations with notable Congress party leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale. In the 1930s, she actively participated in the Indian freedom struggle. Kaur strongly criticized Ramsay MacDonald’s 1932 communal award, which granted separate electorates to various minority communities and oppressed castes. At the 1932 All-India Women’s Conference, she proposed a resolution opposing the award for “touching the womanhood of India” and urged for united efforts towards joint electorates. Due to her involvement in various freedom movements, Kaur was imprisoned by the British multiple times. During the Salt Satyagraha, she was arrested for her participation in Bombay. She was jailed again in 1937 on charges of sedition and returned to prison in 1942 for her participation in the Quit India movement. The brutal lathi charge she endured during this time took a toll on her health, leading to her release and subsequent house arrest in Shimla. Throughout her life, Kaur remained a devoted follower of Gandhi, embodying his principles by wearing Khadi and leading a simple life at Sewagram Ashram.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Kaur was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Central Provinces and Berar on a Congress ticket. Although she did not speak frequently during the Assembly proceedings, she was a member of significant sub-committees and played a crucial role in shaping constitutional provisions. She was a prominent member of both the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee and the Minorities Sub-Committee. Within the latter, she opposed including the freedom to practice religion, arguing it could provide constitutional protection for discriminatory practices such as purdah, sati, and the Devadasi system. Her protest led to a crucial amendment stating that the freedom to practice religion would not restrict the State’s ability to legislate for social reform, which ultimately became part of the Constitution. Kaur also voted in favour of the State framing a Uniform Civil Code, which, despite being voted out, was later included in the non-justiciable Directive Principles of State Policy.

Renuka ROy

Early Life

Born on 4th January 1903, Renuka Ray went on to receive education from Loreto House School and Diocesan College, Calcutta. Ray keenly followed the Indian political developments from a young age. Persuaded by Gandhi’s call for fight against the British rule, she joined Gandhi’s ashram and accompanied him in protests. Later, she went on to obtain a degree from the London School of Economics.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Ray was a prominent women’s rights advocate. She was a legal secretary to the All India Women’s Conference and authored “Legal Disabilities of Women in India; A Plea for a Commission of Enquiry”. She closely worked on prevention of women trafficking and improvement of conditions for women labourers.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Ray was elected to the Constituent Assembly from West Bengal. She made several interventions in the Assembly including on women’s rights issues, minorities rights and bicameral legislature provision.

Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13th, 1879 as Sarojini Chattopadhyaya in Hyderabad. Aghorenath Chattopadhyaya, her father, was a Principal of Nizam College and advocated for social reform and education for women. Naidu’s mother, Varada Sundari, was a Bengali writer and dancer. Naidu was educated at home; her father gave her lessons in Mathematics and Science and encouraged her to pursue them. She passed the Madras University matriculation exam at the age of twelve and obtained Hyderabad Nizam’s scholarship to study in King’s College, London, and later in Girton College, Cambridge.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

After her return to India, Naidu embarked on India’s freedom movement. She took part in the Congress session in Bombay in 1904. Thereafter, she made associations with Gokhale, Tagore, Annie Besant, Gandhi, and Nehru. She went on to become the first Indian women to preside Indian National Congress in 1925 at its 40th session, Kanpur.

Naidu was involved in Non-cooperation movement, Home Rule movement, Salt Satyagraha. She was arrested 5 times during the freedom struggle. As a suffragette and women rights activist, she advocated for reforms to improve conditions of widows in the Indian National Social Conference in Madras, 1908. In 1917 she headed the All-India Women’s Deputation and championed women’s suffrage before E. S. Montagu (Secretary of State for India). In the same year, she along with Annie Besant and others set up the Women’s India Association.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Naidu was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from Bihar. She spoke about the importance of adopting a national flag in the Assembly.

Sucheta Kripalani

Sucheta Kripalani was born in Ambala, Punjab, in June 1908. She completed her education at Indraprastha College, part of Delhi University. Kripalani began her professional career as a teacher of Constitutional History at Banaras Hindu University, where she worked until 1939. In 1936, she married Acharya Kripalani, a member of the Congress Party and a prominent freedom fighter. She joined the Congress Party in 1938 and served as the Secretary to the Foreign Department and Women’s Section for one and a half years.

Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Kripalani actively participated in the Indian independence movement during the 1940s, including her involvement in the Quit India Movement of 1942. She evaded arrest at that time but was eventually arrested in 1944 and detained for a year.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

In 1946, Kripalani was elected to the Constituent Assembly representing the United Provinces. She was a member of the Flag Presentation Committee, which presented the first Indian flag to the Constituent Assembly.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born Swarup Kumari Nehru on 18 August 1900 to the Nehru family. Her father, Motilal Nehru was an illustrious lawyer, political leader and freedom fighter. Pandit did not receive any formal school education but was tutored privately. In 1921 she married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit and changed her name.

Role in India’s independence movement:

Pandit actively participated in the freedom struggle, as a result of which she was incarcerated thrice: in 1932-1933, 1940, and 1942-1943.

Contribution to Constitution Making:

Pandit was elected to the Constituent Assembly from United Provinces under a Congress party ticket.