This womens’ day, we reflect on the contributions of the women members of the Constituent Assembly that framed our Constitution. The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946, before India gained independence. The Assembly consisted of 389 members, out of whom 15 members were women. Each of them had extensive experience in the national freedom struggle and local movements relevant to their place of operation. They also shaped  the Indian women's’ movement and balanced these interests with nationalist goals. Along with this, they faced the challenges of sexism within the constituent assembly and patriarchal mores in their personal lives, all of which contributed to their ideas of what a future India would look like.

In episode 4 of the DAKSH Podcast we spoke to Priya Ravichandran, an independent analyst in the field of politics and policy-making who has written extensively about the women in the Indian constituent assembly in her blog ‘15 for the republic’. We explored with her, the motivations, experiences and rich lives of these women - both inside and outside the Constituent Assembly and mused on how far we are from the idea of India they had worked for.

Reading list:

1. Priya Ravichandran’s blog available at ​​https://15fortherepublic.wordpress.com/

2. The Constituent Assembly Debates available in the Parliament’s digital library at https://eparlib.nic.in/handle/123456789/4

3. Speeches of the women members of the Constituent Assembly ​​https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/Selected%20Women%20Speech_Final.pdf

4. Priya Ravichandran, The Women Who Helped Draft Our Constitution, Mint https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/dLi6ZIdW6CgswZCGdOA9VM/The-women-who-helped-draft-our-constitution.html

5. HS Anupama, Samvidhana Mattu Mahile, Ladai Prakashana publications, 2019 in Kannada (ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳೆ)

6. Youtube series by The Scroll on Women in the Constituent Assembly hosted by Priya Ravichandran. The first episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ldVv2TFZME 

Host: Anindita Pattanayak

This is a Maed in India production.

Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas

Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome