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.
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