When we speak about the Indian Constitution, the conversation almost always circles a familiar group of men. Their portraits hang on walls, their names appear in textbooks, and their speeches are quoted whenever democracy is discussed. What rarely enters the public
memory is that the Republic was not imagined or written by men alone. In the crowded halls of the Constituent Assembly, among long debates and difficult decisions, sat fifteen women who helped shape the moral, legal and social foundation of India. They did not enter history with loud declarations. They worked through arguments, persistence and vision, and then quietly faded from collective remembrance.
The Constitution of India was not a ceremonial document. It was born in an atmosphere of uncertainty, trauma and hope. Partition had torn the country apart, communities were divided by fear, and the idea of unity itself was fragile. Every word that entered the Constitution carried weight. This is why even symbolic choices mattered deeply. During the debates, there was intense disagreement about how the Preamble should begin. Many members believed it should open with a reference to God, while others wanted to invoke Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation. Emotionally, these ideas felt powerful. Spiritually and politically, they seemed comforting. Yet they were ultimately rejected.
Ambedkar and several members argued that the Constitution was not a religious promise or a personal tribute. It was a legal and social agreement created by the people of India. To attach it to a deity or an individual would contradict the very idea of secularism and collective ownership. The Republic, they believed, had to stand independent of religious authority and personality worship. This decision revealed how consciously India chose its democratic path. The Constitution would belong to citizens, not symbols.
Within this historic process, women were not passive participants. They brought lived experience into legal language. They spoke about discrimination not as a theory but as a reality. Ammu Swaminathan consistently raised her voice against caste and gender restrictions, understanding that political freedom without social equality was incomplete. She challenged the idea that independence alone would dissolve injustice. For her, the Constitution had to actively dismantle it.
Annie Mascarene brought administrative insight from her role in the Travancore state executive. She understood governance beyond idealism and emphasised responsibility and structure. Begum Aizaz Rasul stood out as the only Muslim woman in the Assembly and took a position that required immense courage. At a time when religious identity dominated political discourse, she opposed separate electorates. She believed democracy could not survive if citizens were permanently divided by faith. Her stance rejected fear and insisted on shared citizenship.
Dakshayani Velayudhan’s presence itself was revolutionary. As the youngest member and the only Dalit woman, she carried generations of exclusion into the Assembly hall. She questioned whether political freedom could truly exist without social dignity. Her voice reminded the Assembly that equality written in law must translate into equality lived in society.
G Durgabai Deshmukh approached the Constitution with a legal mind. As a lawyer, she emphasised the importance of judicial independence, knowing that rights without
enforcement were fragile promises. Hansa Jivraj Mehta, a reformer with a global perspective, linked India’s constitutional values with emerging international human rights ideals. Her influence later extended to the United Nations, showing how Indian thought contributed to global frameworks of dignity and equality.
Kamla Chaudhry added cultural depth to constitutional debates. As a Hindi writer and freedom fighter, she understood how language and literature shape national identity. Leila Roy, closely associated with Subhas Chandra Bose, focused on education and women’s empowerment, believing that freedom without education would remain hollow. Malati Choudhury advocated for farmers and tribal communities, ensuring that rural and indigenous voices were not lost in elite conversations.
Purnima Banerjee brought experience from Satyagraha movements and urban governance, understanding the importance of local bodies in a functioning democracy. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur later became India’s first Health Minister and played a key role in shaping social reform discussions, including principles connected to Article 44. She believed public health and social justice were inseparable.
Renuka Ray fought persistently for women’s inheritance rights within Hindu law. She challenged centuries-old structures that denied women economic independence. Sarojini Naidu, celebrated as the Nightingale of India, represented a rare blend of political leadership and emotional intelligence. Her later role as the first woman Governor symbolised how women could occupy the highest constitutional offices without losing empathy.
Sucheta Kripalani’s voice resonated through the Assembly when she sang Vande Mataram. She later became India’s first woman Chief Minister, proving that constitutional participation was not symbolic but transformative. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit carried India’s democratic ideals to the world stage as the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly. Her leadership demonstrated that the values debated within India had global relevance.
These women did not form a single ideology. They disagreed, debated and challenged one another. What united them was a belief that the Republic had to be inclusive, secular and humane. Their contribution reshaped how discipline, leadership and democracy were understood. They demonstrated that nation-building was not about dominance but about dialogue.
The Constitution was finally signed after years of effort. Feroze Gandhi was the last to place his signature, marking the formal end of the process. Yet the true conclusion lies not in the signatures but in the ideas that survived debate and disagreement. The exclusion of God and individual worship from the Preamble, the insistence on equality, and the commitment to secularism reflect the influence of voices that believed in collective dignity over personal authority.
Remembering these women is not about diminishing the contributions of men. It is about restoring balance to historical memory. Democracies weaken when they forget the diversity
of voices that built them. The Indian Republic was shaped not only by towering figures but also by women who worked without expectation of recognition.
Their legacy lives quietly within every article of the Constitution. It exists in the promise of equality, the protection of rights, and the belief that citizenship transcends identity. To acknowledge them is to understand the Constitution not as a document of the past but as a living agreement shaped by courage, debate and inclusion.
References
- The 15 Founding Mothers. Women Members of the Constituent Assembly https://bit.ly/Founding-Mothers