ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: 15 women involved in shaping the Indian Constitution

Over the years there has been increasing awareness about women's issues in the country and there have been efforts to encourage them in every sphere, but events of the past year have forced us to catalyse, concentrate and rethink our efforts. At such a time it, on the occassion of our 65th Republic Day it will interesting to know of contribution of women to the Constitution of India, what they felt about reservation of seats for women as well as other issues ranging from law and governance to education and elections, for which they raised their voice during the constituent assembly debates.

AMMU SWAMINATHAN

Ammukutty Swaminathan was an Indian social worker and political activist during the Indian independence movement and also a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Like several members involved in making of the constitution, she too had some criticisms when it was finally drafted.

"This Constitution is to my mind a very long and a very bulky volume. I always imagined a constitution and still believe, to be a small volume which one could carry in one's purse or pocket and not a huge big volume...All the details, I think, should have been left to the Government and the legislatures."

Whether such a thing was possible or not at the time can be another debate, but one can imagine the benefit of a constitution that one can carry everywhere, the concise content would encourage people to read it and it wouldn't seem so inaccessible to the general masses that only lawyers and those involved in litigation take interest in it. From her speeches in the assembly debates, that she applauded equal rights given to Indian women by way of the constitution and was anxious that Constitution be executed well to bring democracy to people of India in real terms and also help people realise their duties and responsibilities towards the State.

"His freedom should be so used as to be of benefit to this country. Freedom is not to be used for doing anything that anyone likes."

ANNIE MASCARENE

A freedom fighter who jailed for various periods and the first woman to join the Travancore State Congress, Annie Mascarene's speech during the assembly debates reflected the tensions of the time: the need to find the right balance between power that would be given to the centre and to the provinces. In response to one of the Articles brought forward in this regard, she had said, "What is reality and expediency today is not reality and expediency tomorrow. We are here laying down principles - rudimentary principles - of democracy, not for the coming election but for days to come, for generations, for the nation...If this section is to be accepted we are to believe that thereafter the Provincial election will be under the perpetual tutelage of the Centre"

She emphasised that centralisation was important, but should be introduced at later stages of democracy and not the initial stages, where it would seem like autocracy. In independent India she was the first woman MP from Kerela and among the only few to be elected to the parliament in the general elections of 1951.

BEGUM AIZAZ RASUL

The only Muslim woman in the constituent assembly, she was the from United Provinces, her speeches showed that she was not only well versed with law, but also had knowledge of constitutions of other countries. She pointed out and moved several amendments for important issues: like the need for ministers to hold office for a good period to get enough time to do work of real impact. Hence, she was in favour of the Swiss method and a single non-transferable vote. She supported India's membership to the Commonwealth, which many members were opposed to. After partition many Muslims were unsure about their future in the country, but not Rasul. She not only opposed seperate electorates for minorities but also strongly opposed reservation of seats in legislative assemblies.

"To my mind reservation is a self-destructive weapon which separates the minorities from the majority for all time. It gives no chance to the minorities to win the good-will of the majority. It keeps up the spirit of separatism and communalism alive which should be done away once and for all." In India of the time, Hindustani, a combination of Urdu and Hindi, was spoken more widely than Hindi; while she embraced Hindustani and even use of devanagri script, she pointed out that it should be made effective after a few years so that the masses in non-hindi speaking parts of the country have sufficient time to learn the language.

She expressed her concerns regarding limitations put on the fundamental rights, "I find that what has been given with one hand has been taken away by the other." And also wanted an agency to ensure that the fundamental rights and directive principles of the constitution are observed in all provinces in letter and spirit. While she was all praise for the constitution being drafted, her one regret remained in relation to right of property. " Like builders of cities, the makers of the Constitution frame a Constitution for all times, embodying principles of universal applicability. The Constitution should not favour one party or one group or one province. It is regrettable that the provisions of Article 31 do not pass this test and have been made to facilitate party programme in some provinces. It discriminates against zamindari abolition in provinces other than the U.P., Bihar and Madras, and also discriminates between agricultural and industrial property.

It takes away the rights of justiciability from agricultural property in these provinces. This is a strange provision and makes an ugly blot on an otherwise beautiful picture." A strong voice in the assembly, Rasul's speeches had clarity of thought, purpose, a long term vision, optimism and impact.

Later she, along with Ammu Swaminathan and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, also became a member of the Rajya Sabha. Both before and after independence she held several important positions in her political career, handling various ministeries, she has books and articles to her credit and held the office of President of the Indian Women Hockey Federation for 20 years and was also President of Asian Women's Hockey Federation. In 2000, she awarded the Padma Shree for her contribution to social work.

DAKSHAYANI VELAYUDAN

A prominent leader of dalits, among the first generation of people to be educated from her community, and also the first dalit woman graduate in India, Velayudhan wanted a declaration in the constitution making untouchability unlawful. Her complete faith that in independent India there would be no barriers based on caste or community is clear from her strong opposition of seperate electorates and reservations for dalits during assembly debates.

"We should not make ourselves the laughing stock of our future generations by harping on separatism. Communalism, whether Harijan, Christian, Muslim or Sikh, is opposed to nationalism. (hear, hear) What we want is not all kinds of safeguards. It is the moral safeguard that gives real protection to the underdogs of this country...It's better to join in the majority than depend alone on votes from your own community." She also attacked Churchill's for claiming that the British Goverment had done a great deal for dalits.

"What has the British Government done to improve the social status of the Harijans? Did they ever pass any legislation to remove the social disabilities of the Harijans except producing some chaprassis and butlers? And Mr. Churchill also complained that the Harijans were thrown at the mercy of the Caste Hindus, their oppressors. Mr. Churchill cannot take the 70 million Harijans of this land to Great Britain to give them protection. He may give protection to a few communalists who might fly to England." She insisted on a clause aboloshing forced labour or begar, and also suggested a solution in favour of decentralisation, whereby the provinces which were under central power during British rule could be merged with those that were decentralised, making it easier to give adequate powers to provinces instead of having strong control from the centre.

DURGABAI DESHMUKH

Both a student as well as a practioner of law at the time of assembly debates, it is not surprising that Durgabai suggestions included the method of appointing judges in provincial high courts, need for independence of judiciary, process of appointing the governer, establishment of new high courts in new states. She also suggested an amendment to ensure that "Every judge shall be a citizen of the union of india", and another one to lower the age from 35 to 30 for holding a seat in the council of states.

Involved in politics from an early age her breath of vision was not limited to matters of the court, but she spoke in favour or disfavour on matters such as human trafficking, responsibility of the government towards protection of children and youth from exploitation and abandonment, and the need for censorship boards to in the Centre to "act so carefully in administering on this subject that while the provinces could produce and contribute to the international ornational unity they could also preserve the type of culture peculiar to themselves."

She was able to bring to the notice of the assembly, how difficult it was to put aside their linguistic pride and accept hindi as the lingua franca, how in the south where no one speaks hindi an atmosphere to make it happen will require time and how long before the debate of a national language arose, on advice of Mahatma Gandhi at least two decades before independence several voluntary organisations had been convincing people to adopt hindustani in spirit of nationality. She was afraid that the unflexible and forceful attitude of Hindi campaigners could undo all the good work.

Therefore she emphasised on and supported certain conditions suggested by others, "Sir, the national language of India should not be and cannot be any other than Hindustani, which is Hindi plus Urdu. For the sake of satisfying the sentiments of our friends we have accepted Hindi in Devanagari script...The language should be capable of absorbing the words, which are already in use whether of Urdu or any other regional language. It is only then you will convince us that you are asking us to accept it as a national language and not the special brand of Central Province or United Province Hindi.

Another condition which is equally important is that the status quo should be maintained at least for a period of fifteen years, which would enable us to learn and to speak and also to adjust ourselves to the new environment. The third condition...there should be equally an obligation on your part to learn one of the provincial languages. It does not matter whether it is Bengali, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada or any other."

Later, she was a member of the Lok Sabha and also part of the planning commission. She won several awards including Paul G Hoffman Award, Nehru Literacy Award, UNESCO award for outstanding work in the field of literacy and the Padma Vibhushan.

HANSA MEHTA

A freedom fighter and follower of Gandhi she was sent to jail by the the British. She was not only a social activist but also an educator, who served various institutions and translated books from English to Gujrati. She was conscious of the fact that "a few women in the past and even today enjoy high status and have received the highest honour that any man can receive, like our friend, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu. But these women are few and far between" and so a lot needed to be done in upliftment of women, but like her many of her other women contemporaries she too was opposed to reservation for women and was hopeful that equality in the constitution will result in equality of opportunity for women in free India.

While there were many critics of the constitution, Mehta said,"I would like to observe and that is in the circumstances in which we were placed, we could not have produced anything better. With such divergent views in the Assembly, it is indeed a miracle that we have achieved this measure of agreement."

She was opposed to reservation even for minorities, with the exception of Scheduled Caste, "They have suffered and suffered long at the hands of the Hindu society and any exception in their case would be making amends to what they have suffered. In this connection, the abolition of untouchability is the greatest thing that we have done and posterity will be very proud of this."

She saw through loop hole of prohibition, where the root problems are not removed and are left to be tackled with policing and fines. Talking in relevance to that time she said," Gandhiji's name has been associated with the policy of prohibition.

But, what Gandhiji desired was that the State should not manufacture liquor, nor should the State sell it and that public bars should also be closed so that there may be no temptation for those who are susceptible to drinking. But, I do not think that Gandhiji ever desired that we should raise an army of police... We are prepared to forego the tainted income; but is there any reason why lakhs and lakhs of good money should be spent on excise police? It will only add one more source of corruption, and we have enough of corruption in this country. Another thing, it will perpetuate the sales tax and people who are already burdened with taxes are groaning under the sales tax."

Another matter she picked has also come up for discussion over the years, she believed that personal laws were dividing the country and that a uniform civil code was required.

But she warned, "The Civil Code that we wish to have must be on a par with, or in advance of, the most progressive of the personal laws in the country. Otherwise, it will be a retrograde step and it will not be acceptable to all." She was an Indian delegate to the UN and also became the Vice Chairperson, Human Right Commission in the UN in 1950. In 1959, Mehta was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

PURNIMA BANERJEE

In light of the kind of atmosphere created in some religious educational institutions of the time Banerjee tried to make a case for state's control over religious instructions in schools, such that students would not be forced to attend religious classes against their wishes. But she believed that it was important for people to appreciate each other's religion and point of view for a broader outlook. She also tried to strengthen a clause that would ensure that there's no discrimination on the basis or community or religion in state-aided or state educational schools.

The other topics she touched upon were composition and qualifications of those holding office in the upper house, support for progressive taxation system that India currently follows and importance of giving separate identity to educational planning.

She also gave voice to need for humane treatement of those detained or arrested, "Having in our own short political lives and careers of what it is to be detained...we feel that.. if a person is arrested and is placed before a Magistrate he should be given the charges for which he has been arrested..."

She further emphasised that the detenu should also have the right to appear before the Advisory Board to explain his case, a reasonable maximum period of detention be given and timely trial in court. While she did not favour reservation of seats for women, she did wish that casual vacancies of seats previously held by women be returned to women. She was against restrictive provisos to fundamental rights. She believed that for protection foreign aggression, the State should control key industries and mineral resources. She also supported views of certain members that the government should not to levy any duty on salt, and mention in the constitution that salt manufactured in India would be free of duty.

Finally, she believed that for those working in higher services there should be no statutary safeguard for permanency, "bringing in another difference between themselves and the people. The services are usually guided in respect of the manner in which a man should be engaged and the manner in which a man should be dismissed by Service Manuals providing these rules. And if that is good enough for the rest of the services of the country, it should be good enough for the higher services of this land."

RENUKA RAY

Like the previous women in the assembly, she too opposed to reservation of seats for women. They were optimistic and felt vindicated, as when they looked around them they found women like Vijayalakshmi Pandit who was given the office of the ambassador to the land based on merit. She says, "When Mahatma Gandhi gave his call so specifically to the women of this country to take part in the national movement, all the social barriers of centuries broke down..." She called reservation an "Insult to our intelligence and capacity." Although equality had already been mention in fundamental rights, she also supported another member's contention that it was is necessary to have an explicit provision that social laws of marriage and inheritance of the different communities shall not also have any disabilities attached to them on grounds of caste or sex. While she was against separate electorates, she suggested a solution of multiple constituencies and cumulative voting for adequate representation of minors. Besides state-aided she also wanted to bring state-recognised institutions under the ambit of government control.

She took wanted to concretise the planning of education further by asking for a proper budget allocation for education. Other issues she expressed views on were share of taxes to be taken by the provinces, her disagreement with bicameral state legislature, re-allignment of provinces on the linguistic lines and blockage of funds for normal functioning of states during emergency. Finally, she recognised that mentioning salaries to be given to digniteries in the constitution would be usurping the role of the parliament and would prove unfruitful given that with the advent of modern times, the value of money was bound to change. She continued her political career even after independence and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1988.

SAROJINI NAIDU

The bulbul-e-hind, needs no introduction, while the assembly was meeting talks of partition was on the rise and like several other members she too missed the presence of some of the Muslim brothers who were absent. "I see gaps in this House and my heart is sore because of the absence of those Muslim brothers to whose coming I am looking forward under the leadership of my old friend Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah. I think if any persuasion were necessary, if any fine wand of magic were necessary to bring them in, it would be the essential sweetness, the essential wisdom, the essential creative faith of Dr. Rajendra Prasad."

While rejoicing when the Indian flag was finally to be hoisted she shared several instances when she had travelled to different countries, and the sorrow and anguish she and the other Indians felt when the Indian flag could not flutter in pride with others.

VIJAYALAKSHMI PANDIT

She was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post and a decade before independence had the honour to move the first resolution--after the inauguration of Provincial Autonomy in United Provinces to demand a Constituent Assembly--to draw up a Constitution for an independent India. During the debates she emphasised on two points, one that in an independent India minorities will not be able to look to outside powers for help without being termed 'traitors'.

"We have had too much talk of rights in recent years and very little about obligations. This approach to any problem is unfortunate. The Resolution before us deals with problems which are fundamental to all of us and only to the extent that they are solved, can we safeguard the rights of any special minority." And two that India's contribution to the future would be that of neutralisation of political and social discontents and to that end. "We must work by the establishment of freedom in our own country and helping all those who strive for freedom in the world. Unless Asia comes into her own the world cannot function as a whole. A world which is divided into groups cannot be secure." Following India's independence she entered the diplomatic services, and also serves as Governer of Maharashtra for a few years.

While in total 15 women were members in the constituent assembly debates, The Selected Speeches of Women Members of the Constituent Assembly of India put together by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat a few years ago only has substantive information about ten. But it does mention the names of the other five, not mentioned in the article so far; they are: Sucheta Kripalani, Kamla Chaudhri, Leela Ray, Malati Chowdhury and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.