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The Indian Constitution is probably one of the most detailed and sophisticated in the world, created by the excellent spirit of hundreds of people. However, of all the people involved in writing this document, only 15 were women.
On this 73rd Republic Day, let’s take a look at the powerful women who helped draft our Constitution.
Ammu Swaminathan
Ammukutty, as she was fondly called, was fearless in thought and action, evident in her lifetime as a social worker and politician. Through her work at WIA, she addressed the economic issues and problems of women workers. It was one of the first associations to demand adult franchise and constitutional rights for women.
Annie Mascarene
Mascarene was one of the leaders of the movements for independence and integration of the Princely States within the Indian nation. She was one of the first women to participate when the party of the Travancore Legislature was formed. She was also a member of a special committee of the Constitutional Assembly dealing with Hindu bills.
Dakshayani Velayudhan
Dakshayani was the only Dalit woman elected to the Constitutional Parliament. was a member of the Constitutional Parliament, and she has served as part of the Interim Parliament since 1946-52. When she was 34, she was also one of the youngest members of the congregation. Velayudhan's life and politics were influenced and determined by the strict caste system of Kerala.
Begum Aizaz Rasul
Begum was the only female member of the Islamic Parliament. Aizaz Rasul won the first election from her unreserved seat in 1937, and she officially abandoned purdah when she became a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Council. She was also instrumental in promoting female hockey.
Ammu Swaminathan
Ammukutty, as known lovingly, is fearless in thoughts and actions and has emerged in her life as a social worker and politician. Through her work at WIA, she tackled economic and female worker issues. He was one of the first organizations to demand female adult suffrage and constitutional rights. Ammu's second-born Lakshmi Sagar will lead the Lani Janshi Regiment of the Indian National Army under Subhas Chandra Bose.
Durgabai Deshmukh
A prominent social reformer who participated in the Gandhi-led Salt Satyagraha activity during the civil disobedience movement, she was instrumental in organizing the female Satyagrahais in the movement. As a result, British Raj authorities imprisoned her three times between 1930 and 1933. Durgabai also was the first to emphasize the need to set up separate family courts after studying them during her stay abroad in China and Japan.
Hansa Jivraj Mehta
Hansa Jivraj Mehta was a member of the Constitutional Assembly and a member of the State's Basic Rights Subcommittee, Advisory Board, and Constitutional Committee. On August 15, 1947, a few minutes after midnight, Mehta presented Congress with the flag, the first flag to fly over independent India, on behalf of the "Indian Female".
Kamla Chaudhry
Kamla Chaudhry was a Hindi historical writer. She actively participated in the 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement. She was a member of the Constitutional Parliament and was a member of the Indian state government until 1952 after the Constitution was enacted.
Leela Roy
Roy, a freedom fighter and social worker dedicated to educating women in India, was the only female member elected to the congregation by Bengal. She resigned from her post to protest the division of India. She was a close companion to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Malati Choudhury
After independence, as a member of the Constitutional Assembly of India and chair of the Utkal Pradesh Parliamentary Commission, Malati Choudhury did his best to emphasize the role of education in rural reconstruction, especially adult education. rice field. She also participated in the Achariya Vinoba Bhave Bhoodan movement and was greatly influenced by both Tagore and Gandhi.
Purnima Banerjee
Purnima Banerjee was part of a radical network of UP women who led the free movement in the late 1930s. She was the secretary of the Indian National Congress Committee in Prayagraj. She was the sister of the famous freedom fighter, educator, and activist Aruna Asaf Ali.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Amrit Kaur was elected to the Constitutional Assembly by the states of the United States. Her most important contribution was to ensure full political participation of women. She was the first woman to serve as Minister of Health in India. The All India Women's Conference Center, Lady Irwin College in Delhi, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are just a few of the well-known organizations that owe her presence.
Renuka Ray
As part of the West Bengal Constitution, Renuka made several interventions in Parliament, including women's rights issues, minority rights, and two-person rights legislation. She also attended the All India Women's Conference, insisting on women's and inheritance rights in their parents' property.
Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu, widely known as "Indian Nightingale", was an independent activist and poet in India. Her poems on her Naidu include both children's poems and other poems on more serious subjects such as patriotism, romance, and tragedy. She was the chairman of the Indian National Congress and was later appointed Governor of the United Province.
Sucheta Kriplani
Sucheta Kriplani is remembered for her role in the Quit India movement in 1942. In 1940 she founded the Parliamentary Women's Wings. She sang Vandema Mataram in an independent session of the Constitutional Assembly. She was also India's first female prime minister.
Vijayalakshmi Pandit
As an activist, minister, ambassador, and diplomat, she was one of the few who revolutionized the role of women in nation-building. Pandit, the first female minister in Britain, was one of the first leaders to call on the Indian Constitutional Parliament to draft the Constitution.
We bow our heads down to these fearless women who contributed to the making of the constitution. History will always remember these women as the ones who brought the change in society. Florence Capital believes in uplifting Indian women and these 15 women have been a great source of inspiration for us.