Interventions that Women Made
Krishna Menon
FOUNDING MOTHERS OF THE INDIAN REPUBLIC: GENDER POLITICS OF THE FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION by Achyut Chetan Cambridge University Press, 2022, 364 pp., INR 1295
August 2023, volume 47, No 8

Books on the Constitution of India  usually discuss the events leading up to the formation of the Constituent Assembly, followed by a focus on the landmark debates within the assembly and then of course, the examination of the various provisions of the Constitution.  There is often a discussion on the composition and nature of the membership of the Assembly, the diverse nature or otherwise, of the members who framed the Constitution of India as noted by most scholars.

One view has been to note the varied nature of members who worked on putting the Constitution together. In stark contrast, others have remarked about the limited nature of representation and lack of political diversity and so on. Most have barely noticed the presence or absence of women, as the business of constitution making has been seen as a masculine activitythe assembly itself a men’s club where erudite, eloquent and influential men came together to determine the lives and futures of a new nation that was being crafted.

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