Archive: Biographical Essays Women Politicians of Constituent Assembly Ammu Swaminathan (1894-1978)

ARCHIVE: BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS WOMEN POLITICIANS OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY AMMU SWAMINATHAN (1894-1978) EARLY LIFE: Ammukutty, as she, Ammu Swaminathan, was fondly called, was born in the Anakkara Vadakkath family to Govinda Menon and Anakkara Vadakath Ammuamman, in Palghat (Palakkad) district of Kerala in 1894. Her father was a minor local official earning what was only sufficient for a hand to mouth existence for her whole family. Both of Ammu's parents belonged to the Nair caste, and Ammu was the youngest of their numerous children. However, despite their family’s financial struggles, Govinda Menon and Anakkara focussed on getting all their children educated, including their daughters. Hence, Ammu was not deprived of her right to study, though she received an informal education at home. However, things started worsening when Ammu lost her father, the only breadwinner of their large household, at a very young age. She saw her mother struggling to run their expenses. Consequently, Ammu could not receive the quality education which she was entitled to, for some time. Nevertheless, Ammu was a spirited girl. At the age of 13 when faced with the prospect of marriage, she laid down her own conditions before agreeing to it. Her husband, Subbarama Swaminathan was a close associate of her father P. Govinda Menon and had expressed his desire to marry one of his daughters upon completion of his higher education in England. By that time, Menon had passed away and all his daughters except for the 13-year-old Ammu were married. So, when Swaminathan, a man twenty years her senior, proposed marriage to the young Ammu, he was confronted with a strange situation. Strange, because women in that era rarely ever had the agency to express their desires, let alone ‘conditions’, to their prospective grooms. But Ammu was not the meek and docile girl who would quietly submit to whatever was imposed on her arbitrarily. As her granddaughter Subhashini Ali recollects, Ammu’s conditions included moving to Madras, being given the freedom to pursue an English education and never being asked what time she’d reach home since “nobody asked her brothers that question”. She was fearless in thought and action, evident in her lifetime as a social worker and politician. BREAKING REGRESSIVE TRADITIONS: At that time, the Nair community that Ammu belonged to, used to practise a special form of marriage called, ‘Sambandham’ where children could not inherit property from their father post-marriage. However, Swaminathan and Ammu categorically rejected this practise and got their marriage registered in England. This was in the face of stiff protest from Swaminathan’s family who were opposed to the union as he was marrying outside of their caste. Ammu had four children, two boys and two girls, all of whom were given equal access to education and the opportunity to pursue the careers of their choice. Her two daughters went on to become successful and extremely well known in their respective spheres. Lakshmi Sahgal, her second born, popularly known as Captain Lakshmi became the leader of the Rani Jhansi regiment of Indian National Army formed by Subhash Chandra Bose. Her youngest child, Mrinalini Sarabhai became a very famous dancer and was married to Vikram Sarabhai. POLITICAL ACTIVISM: It was around 1914 that Ammu became politically active. In 1917 she formed the Women’s India Association along with Malathi Patwardhan, Annie Besant, Mrs. Dadabhoy, the Margaret cousins, and Mrs Ambujammal. They tried to address the social and economic issues of women labourers. Ammu joined the Indian National Congress in 1934. She was a strong advocate for universal adult franchise and equal constitutional rights for women and this reflected in her activities as part of the Indian National Congress as well. She was an active participant in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and as an aftermath, was jailed for a year in Vellore. A VOCIFEROUS CRITIC OF THE CASTE SYSTEM: In 1943, while being in Vellore jail, Ammu once heard one of the inmates calling out a sanitary worker by the name “Shudrachi” (a pejorative used to address a lower caste person). Hearing that sanitation worker being insulted through such a derogatory word, she walked up to that inmate and said, “Yes, tell me”. The confused woman explained to Ammu that she was referring to the worker and obviously not to her. However, to this, she is supposed to have spiritedly replied “I am a Shudrachi too. Now say what you want”. This is just one of the many instances where Ammu had shown exceptional strength and resolve in standing up to the caste system and condemning it. She is also known to have criticised Nehru for responding to the title of ‘Panditji’ which according to her was a mark of caste superiority. (‘Pandit’ is a word used to refer to upper caste Hindu Brahmins who perform rituals and religious ceremonies.) While Nehru had supposedly provided a justification that he never asked anyone to address him as such, Ammu still found it problematic that he responded to the title. ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS: Subhashini describes her mother Lakshmi Sahgal as the “thorn in her (Ammu’s) flesh”. She was, however, very fond of her (Ammu, her grandmother). Her mother stayed beside her during her last moments, before she died in 1978 in her late 80s, after the Emergency. “I have never seen a woman like her — so independent and so fierce.” says Subhashini about her grandmother. “What kind of a grand-daughter of mine are you?” She (Ammu) once told Subhashini, scolding her for mentioning that she’d asked her husband Muzaffar Ali’s suggestion on what sari to wear for a particular occasion. The personal accounts of Ammu’s life leave no doubt about how fierce, strong and opinionated a woman she was. She always wanted to contribute towards the upliftment and emancipation of downtrodden women, for which purpose, she formed the Women’s India Association in 1917 in Madras, along with Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Malathi Patwardhan, Mrs Dadabhoy and Mrs Ambujammal. The WIA addressed the economic issues and problems of women workers. It was one of the first associations to demand adult franchise and constitutional rights for women. It turned into one of the largest women’s rights organization in India and worked to tackle social issues including child marriage and devadasi practice. It made representations before the Montague Chelmsford Commission, 1917 and Southborough Commission in 1918 and advocated for equality of voting rights for women. While Ammu would go on to vehemently oppose discriminatory caste practices in her personal and political life, her support for “equal status, adult franchise and removal of untouchability” was complete. Having been at the receiving end of the practice of child marriage herself, she fought hard for the Sarda Act or Child Marriage Restraint Act, Age of Consent Act and the various Hindu Code Bills that pushed for a reform in Hindu religious laws. Later as a member of the Lok Sabha she also pushed for maternity benefits for women. Moulded greatly by watching her resilient mother take care of her and her siblings in their father’s absence, Ammu came to strongly detest practices that involved women having to shave heads, wear white saris and break their bangles after their husbands’ death. Ammu lost her husband when she was a young mother in her thirties but never did she let her social status, that of a ‘widow’, affect her or her children. ROLE IN THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY: In a speech during the discussion on the motion by Dr B R Ambedkar to pass the draft Constitution on November 24, 1949, an optimistic and confident Ammu said, “People outside have been saying that India did not give equal rights to her women. Now we can say that when the Indian people themselves framed their Constitution they have given rights to women equal with every other citizen of the country.” Besides advocating for women’s rights, she also spoke strongly for the freedom of speech, association. She said, “Hindus have always been known to be tolerant towards all religions”; she wanted the constituent assembly to ensure that the Indian Constitution was an all-inclusive one, representing the diversity that the country has been blessed with, with utmost diligence and earnest. Seven decades later as her granddaughter Subhashini Ali recollects the life of her grandmother to Indianexpress.com, she remarks, “Ammu would have been really sad to see how it has all turned out.” Although she was happy with the final draft that the Assembly passed, she criticised it for going into too many details and becoming a very lengthy volume. A strong-willed Ammu, would go on to criticise the “long and bulky volume” it became. “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. There was no necessity to go into so many details as has been done here,” she said. POST INDEPENDENCE WORK: She remained active after independence and was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha from 1950 to 1957 and a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1957 to 1960. Ammu went to Russia (erstwhile USSR), China, USA, and Ethiopia as a goodwill ambassador and served as the President of the Bharat Scouts and Guides from 1960 to 1965. She passed away in 1978 In 1959, while Satyajit Ray was the President of the Federation of Film Societies, she became its Vice President. Later she also headed the CBFC and the Bharat Scouts and Guides. She was also selected as 'Mother of The Year' in 1975 on the inauguration of International Women's Year.

Load more