Spoke on: Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles: twin pillars of the Constitution
👩 History · Women in Indian history
Women in Indian history and science
Queens and regents, saints and poets, reformers, freedom fighters and scientists — and the fifteen women who helped frame the Constitution.
Constituent Assembly members15
👑 Rulers, regents and queens15
🪷 Saints, poets and artists7
✊ Reformers and the freedom struggle11
🔬 Science and space5
The fifteen women of the Constituent Assembly
Fifteen women were members of the Constituent Assembly that framed India’s Constitution. NCERT lists them with their constituencies and the date each signed the register; the Rajya Sabha has published their selected speeches.
Spoke on: Provincial elections · A tribute to Sardar Patel for unifying India without bloodshed
Spoke on: Against separate electorates · Fundamental rights and minority rights · Naming the Parliament
“This Constitution affirms that ideal and gives the solemn assurance that the rights of women in law will be wholly honoured in the Indian Republic.” — 22 November 1949
📘 NCERT Exploring Society, Grade 7 Part 1, Ch. 10 ↗Spoke on: Freedom from forced labour · Against separate electorates or reservations for Harijans · Beyond the Constitution: the need for a campaign against untouchability
Spoke on: The constitutional remedies for fundamental rights · Protection of children and youth from exploitation and abandonment · The Supreme Court: guardian of the Constitution
Spoke on: Social, economic and political justice for the women of India · Presentation of the National Flag
She demanded justice for women, not reserved seats or separate electorates: “We have never asked for privileges. What we have asked for is social justice, economic justice, and political justice.”
📘 NCERT Themes in Indian History III, ‘Framing the Constitution’ ↗None of her speeches is among those selected in the Rajya Sabha’s collection.
None of her speeches is among those selected in the Rajya Sabha’s collection.
None of her speeches is among those selected in the Rajya Sabha’s collection.
Spoke on: Finances for local bodies · Protecting the rights of individuals under detention · Ultimate sovereignty lies with the people
None of her speeches is among those selected in the Rajya Sabha’s collection.
A Gandhian and freedom fighter (1889–1964) from the royal family of Kapurthala; Minister for Health in independent India’s first ministry, until 1957.
📘 NCERT Politics in India since Independence, Ch. 2 ↗Spoke on: Equality of status and justice for women · Prevention of trafficking of women and abolition of the devadasi system
Spoke on: Seeking an inclusive Constituent Assembly · Resolution regarding the National Flag
Spoke on: Singing of Vande Mataram
Spoke on: The centrality of a new Asia in the post-Raj world order
📘 NCERT Themes in Indian History III, ‘Framing the Constitution’ ↗ · ✓ Rajya Sabha Secretariat — Selected Speeches of Women Members of the Constituent Assembly (2012) ↗
We give no birth or death years for most of these members because the official sources we checked do not state them.
Rulers, regents and queens
👑 Prabhavatigupta (regent) r. 390–410 Daughter of Chandragupta II.
👑 Rudrama Devi r. 1262–1289 One of the few ruling queens; praised by Marco Polo.
👑 Razia Sultana r. 1236–1240 The only woman to rule the Delhi Sultanate.
👤 Rani Durgavati 1524–1564 Gond queen of Garha-Katanga who died resisting Akbar's army
👑 Chand Bibi (regent) r. 1595–1600 Defended Ahmadnagar against Akbar.
👤 Nur Jahan 1577–1645 Jahangir's empress and the power behind his throne
👤 Jahanara Begum 1614–1681 Shah Jahan's eldest daughter and Padshah Begum
👤 Gulbadan Begum 1523–1603 Babur's daughter who wrote the Humayun-nama
👤 Jijabai 1598–1674 Mother and mentor of Shivaji
👑 Tarabai (regent) r. 1700–1707 Led resistance against Aurangzeb.
👑 Ahilyabai Holkar r. 1767–1795 Temple builder and administrator.
👤 Velu Nachiyar 1730–1796 Queen of Sivaganga who fought the East India Company
👤 Kittur Chennamma 1778–1829 Queen of Kittur who led an armed revolt against the Company in 1824
👤 Rani Lakshmibai 1828–1858 Rani of Jhansi and heroine of the 1857 revolt
👤 Begum Hazrat Mahal 1820–1879 Led the 1857 revolt in Lucknow
Saints, poets and artists
👤 Sanghamitta Brought a sapling of the Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka
👤 Andal The only woman among the twelve Alvars; composed the Tiruppavai
👤 Lal Ded (Lalleshwari) 1320–1392 Kashmiri mystic poet of the vakhs
👤 Mirabai 1498–1547 Rajput princess and Bhakti poet devoted to Krishna
👤 Amrita Sher-Gil 1913–1941 Pioneer of modern Indian painting
👤 M. S. Subbulakshmi 1916–2004 Carnatic vocalist, the first musician awarded the Bharat Ratna
👤 Lata Mangeshkar 1929–2022 Legendary playback singer awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001
Reformers and the freedom struggle
👤 Savitribai Phule 1831–1897 Pioneer of women's education who opened a girls' school in Pune
👤 Pandita Ramabai 1858–1922 Scholar who founded the Mukti Mission for women
👤 Annie Besant 1847–1933 Theosophist who launched a Home Rule League in 1916
👤 Kasturba Gandhi 1869–1944 Satyagrahi and wife of Mahatma Gandhi
👤 Sarojini Naidu 1879–1949 The 'Nightingale of India' and first woman governor of an Indian state
👤 Matangini Hazra 1869–1942 'Gandhi Buri', shot while leading a Quit India procession
👤 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay 1903–1988 Freedom fighter who revived Indian handicrafts
👤 Aruna Asaf Ali 1909–1996 Hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank on 9 August 1942
👤 Rani Gaidinliu 1915–1993 Naga spiritual and political leader who resisted British rule
👤 Kanaklata Barua 1924–1942 Teenage martyr of the Quit India Movement in Assam
👤 Mother Teresa 1910–1997 Nobel Peace laureate who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata
Science and space
🔬 Janaki Ammal 1897–1984 Botanist who, as head of the Botanical Survey of India, began programmes to document India’s plant diversity, and played a key role in the ‘Save Silent Valley’ movement.
🔬 Kamala Sohonie 1911–1998 Earned a Ph.D. at Cambridge for work on respiration in plants, later directed the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, and worked to improve the nutritive value of plant foods — including neera from coconut-palm sap.
🔬 Anna Mani 1918–2001 The ‘Weather Woman of India’ invented and built many weather instruments, reducing India’s reliance on imports, and explored wind and solar energy.
🔬 Asima Chatterjee Developed anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs from medicinal plants; the second Indian woman to earn a Doctorate of Science and the first woman to receive the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in chemical science.
👤 Kalpana Chawla 1962–2003 First woman of Indian origin in space
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📜 Constitutional history
How we check: the Constituent Assembly entries come from NCERT and the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and our build fails unless their key phrases are found in the source itself; every other entry links to its own page on YugMap.