Reviving the Voices of History: Celebrating the unsung women of India's constituent assembly

A book on fifteen women who were members of the constituent assembly.

In the introduction to his book Incarnations: A History of India in 50 Lives, Sunil Khilnani writes, “India’s history is a curiously unpeopled place... it has dynasties, epochs, religions, and castes, but not many individuals. Beyond a few iconic names, most of the important historical figures recede into a haze.” The book aims to “dispelling some of the fog by telling India's story through fifty remarkable lives.”

India’s constitutional journey started with the enactment of its Constitution in 1950. However, its trajectory was laid four years prior, when in December 1946, 299 members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the Central Hall of the old Parliament House. Those seated in that Central Hall were stalwarts of their fields and the freedom movement. In that male-dominated assembly, 15 women stood tall. Sadly, their contributions did not receive the recognition they deserved.

Just about 5 percent of the total membership, their voices could have easily gone unheard. However, they were women of high calibre and mettle. They made their voices heard, and their dissent was registered. But barring the few, stories of more than half of them did not get the due recognition in the pages of history.

However, finally, their life stories have been retrieved from the “haze” and historical oblivion in a wonderful new book titled 'The Fifteen: The Lives and Times of the Women in India’s Constituent Assembly' authored by Angellica Aribam and Akash Satyawali.

The authors make a pertinent point when they write, “Although the Constituent Assembly was meant to be a microcosm of India, certain sections of the population were not adequately represented. Only fifteen women were members of this distinguished body.” The fact that there were only 15 women members in the assembly (which came down to 13 after the resignations of Leela Roy and Malati Choudhury) speaks volumes about the male-dominated society. Even after 76 years of independence, when India held general elections in 2024, it chose merely 74 female members, which is only 15 percent of its total membership. Thus, the small number of women members in the assembly at that time is not surprising; rather, it is the historical indifference to recording their achievements that is more surprising.

The book fills this large gap by providing short biographical accounts of these women leaders. The sketches are short and at times leave the readers wanting for more. Nevertheless, it provides a solid background of their politics, ideology, social context, philosophy and above all their struggles and their contribution to nation-building. The book is full of rich and interesting anecdotes related to the members which spice up the historical retelling of these extraordinary lives.

For example, the name of Ammu Swaminathan might not ring a bell to the majority of readers initially. But it becomes familiar when it is revealed that she was the mother of Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, the iconic commander of Rani of Jhansi Regiment of Indian National Army (INA). Ammu’s struggle against caste discrimination and her fight for women's rights especially in the context of property rights is inspiring. At the same time, her “socialite” lifestyle and illustrious family tree that had Mrinalini Sarabhai as the daughter and Vikram Sarabhai as the son-in-law make it extremely fascinating.

Similarly, the story of Annie Mascarene, a Latin Christian who had to struggle against the double odds of gender and caste-based discrimination is inspiring. Her struggle was further accentuated because of the financial constraints. However, through her grit and determination, she went on to do a double MA and later fetched a law degree. During the Constituent Assembly debate, she lent a powerful voice on important constitutional issues.

The majority of women members came from relatively privileged backgrounds. From royalty to politically and socially influential families, the majority of these women had social conditioning that made them what they were—independent, educated, politically aware and socially assertive. But there were exceptions too and the most noteworthy among them was that of Dakshayini Velayudhan. Velayudhan belonged to the Pulya caste, marked as untouchables or ‘slave caste'. The extent of discrimination and injustice this caste faced can be gauged from the fact (as highlighted by the authors) that Pulya women were not allowed to wear upper clothes and their children were barred from the government school. Coming from such a background and then achieving excellence in education and becoming a prominent voice of the Dalit community and marginalised class, is a story that can inspire anyone.

Other women who have been profiled in the book had illustrious careers. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur became India’s first health minister. Sarojini Naidu—a household name, became India’s first woman Governor. Sucheta Kripalani became India’s first woman Chief Minister of the most populous and politically significant state. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit headed the delegation to the UN General Assembly session of 1946 and later became Ambassador to Russia. They all rose to prominence on their sheer hard work. They all contributed immensely and they have been widely celebrated.

However, the life stories of some of the members like Kamla Chaudhuri, Malati Devi Choudhury and Durgabai Deshmukh have remained largely buried in government archives away from the mainstream. The book makes a serious attempt to unearth these stories and pave the way for further research which might result in detailed biographical accounts of these great personalities. As India prepares to celebrate its 75th year as the Republic, the contribution of these 15 women icons needs to be celebrated, and reading this book can be a good starting point.