Women empowerment was like a dream at the time when the Indian Constitution was made. But 15 women were also given place in our Constituent Assembly. Many of whom held big positions in the government like Princess Amrit Kaur. At the same time, initially only two women got a chance in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. On the other hand, if we talk about the oldest constitution of the world, the American Constitution, then there was not even a single woman who got representation in the Constituent Assembly.
Let us know about these 15 women who played an important role in making the Constitution of India before moving ahead:
1. Princess Amrit Kaur who became the country’s first health minister. She was an integral part of the Constituent Assembly. She also became the first Health Minister of India. The credit for the establishment of All India Institute of Medical Science i.e. AIIMS also goes to him.
2. Sarojini Naidu who was called the Nightingale of India. She was also a part of the Constituent Assembly. After independence, she was made the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. That is, the first woman governor of the country. Sarojini was also the first woman president of Congress. She was also a poet.
3. Sucheta Kriplani, who formed the women’s wing in the Congress. She also played an important role during the Quit India Movement. She also established the women’s wing in the Congress. He later held the position of cabinet minister in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
4. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, who was the first woman minister in the British Raj. She also was the first woman to be made a cabinet minister in India. She was the sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Even before independence, she had been a cabinet minister.
5. Leela Roy, the only woman from Bengal in the Constituent Assembly. She joined the Congress in 1937, Leela used to teach bomb-making to other Bengali women in the 1920s. But later he left this path and joined Congress in 1939. Later she was also a member of the Forward Block of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj. Leela Roy was the only woman from the state of Bengal in the Constituent Assembly.
6. Kamla Chowdhary, linked women to freedom struggle, went to jail 6 times. She was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. Along with being a famous writer, she was associated with Mahatma Gandhi, she was a member of the All India Congress Committee, and was also elected a member of the Lok Sabha, through her stories, she worked to bring women forward in the society. She also played a role in connecting women to the freedom struggle of the country. She had to go to jail 6 times during the freedom struggle.
7. Hansa Mehta raised the right of women to divorce in Parliament. She was also associated with the field of journalism. She became the President of the All India Women’s Conference in 1945-46. Later he was made a member of the Constituent Assembly. In the Constituent Assembly, Hansa raised the issue of women’s rights. In 1948, when the Hindu Code Bill was being debated in Parliament, it was she who insisted on the right of women to seek divorce.
8. Renuka Raywas the woman of Constituent Assembly whose name the committee for backward classes was formed. She was also a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and a minister. It was she who formed the All Bengal Women’s Union and the Women’s Coordinator’s Council in Bengal. Along with being a member of the Constituent Assembly, Renuka was also a social worker, an active MP of the second and third Lok Sabha. Later, under the leadership of Renuka Ray, a committee was formed in 1959 for social welfare and backward class welfare, which is known as Renuka Ray Committee.
9. Durgabai Deshmukh became a part of the country’s freedom struggle at the age of 12. She had joined the non-cooperation movement at the age of 12. She was a part of Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha. She founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha to raise the voice of women. Along with this, he also started the Blind Relief Association.
10. Ammu Swaminathan, jailed for 1 year during Quit India Movement. She formed the Mahila Bharat Sangh in 1917 in Madras. Being an active participant in the Quit India Movement in 1942, he also had to go to Vellore Jail for a year. She became a part of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from the Madras constituency.
11. Dakshayani Velayudh is the only Dalit woman in India who played a role in making the constitution. She was the only female member of the Constituent Assembly belonging to the Scheduled Castes. She was also a member of the Cochin Legislative Council. Dakshayani was the first Dalit woman in India to graduate in science. She was a member of the Provisional Parliament from 1946 to 1952.
12. Poornima Banerjee played an important role in the Satyagraha movement. She was the secretary of the Indian National Congress Committee in Allahabad. She was associated with Satyagraha and Quit India Movement. Poornima Banerjee was a member of the group of women formed for the freedom struggle in Uttar Pradesh.
13. Annie Mascarini, the first woman MP to be elected from Kerala. She was involved in the ongoing freedom struggle in the state of Travancore. She was jailed for his political activities. She was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha in the 1951 general elections. Annie was the first woman MP to be elected from Kerala.
14. Begum EjazRasool, was the only Muslim woman among the members of the Constituent Assembly. She was a member of the Muslim League, later when the Muslim League was dissolved, she joined the Congress. Begum EjazRasool was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, a member of the Rajya Sabha.
15. Malati Chowdhary, went to Santi niketan at the age of 16 and took guidance from Rabindranath Tagore. She was the wife of Nabakrishna Chowdhary, former chief minister of Orissa. Malti Chowdhary participated in the Salt Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi.
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* Dr. Deepak Miglani, Email Id.:- [email protected]