DURGABAI DESHMUKH IN THE TASK OF NATION BUILDING

ABSTRACT

Indian national movement brought women to the centre stage of political and
public life, which produced a critical mass of women leaders at every level. Some of these
women who were active in India’s struggle for independence later became the members of
the Constituent Assembly. Despite a relatively large study being done in the field of
‘constitutional history’ in India, very little is known about the women who were part of the
Constituent Assembly. This paper aims to focus on one such woman in the Constituent
Assembly, Durgabai Deshmukh. Among the fifteen women members (December 1946) in
the Constituent Assembly, Durgabai was invited to join the Constituent Assembly in
recognition of her services to the nation. Her interventions in the Constituent Assembly
debates and the Provisional Parliament shed greater light on her ideas about, women's
emancipation, children welfare, judiciary, Hindu religious reform and social welfare at large.
Durgabai also played an active role in the discussion on Hindu code bill in the Provisional
Parliament (1951) and was instrumental in bringing in back in 1952 despite strong
opposition from orthodox sections. The bill enacted a series of legislative measures for
improving the status of Indian women. However, Durgabai felt that any social or
constitutional law would lack effectiveness unless if it was backed by public opinion and
proper social education. With her broader vision for India, Durgabai would never let go off
an opportunity in her way to build a strong nation. She always dreamt of a nation that is a
welfare-state, self-sufficient in every way and equitable in all forms. Her relentless efforts to
bring the less privileged to the forefront of development can be traced through all her
interventions.

JHANSI RANGU
Ph.D. Research Scholar
Centre for Historical Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-110067, India.
Contact no.: +91-9968572476
Mail id: jhansirangu@gmail.com