The women architects of India's Constitution

It's been 105 years since women won the right to vote and 75 years since the Constitution guaranteed equality for all. What transpired in between to guarantee us this fundamental right?

- Priya Ravichandran

In 1917, Sarojini Naidu read a statement to the viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, and the secretary of state for India, Edwin Montagu. Signed by women across India, the statement pointed out "that in drawing up all provisions regarding representation, our sex shall not be made a disqualification for the exercise of the franchise or for service in public life".

Naidu's speech in support of women's right to vote, for a seat at the table, and for a chance to shape the narrative of a nation marked a pivotal moment in India's nationalist movement. It came nearly two decades before women were granted expanded franchises under the Government of India Act 1935 and three decades before women were elected to the Constituent Assembly.

Naidu's point about representation was almost universal in its appeal. It came at a time when Britain was on the cusp of granting women the right to vote (with age and property ownership conditions), and the US was nearly reconciled to the idea of women's suffrage.

The quest for equitable and considerate politics in India was not Naidu's alone. She was part of a cohort of nationalists, activists and equal opportunity advocates negotiating a space for themselves and their politics on the nationalist stage.

Growing in the shadows of larger fire and brimstone suffragette movements around the world, the Indian suffragists found kinship, voice and backing not just from women in the UK and Europe but also from societies like the Women's India Association within India.

Journals like Stri-Dharma, Indian Ladies Magazine and Bamabodhini Patrika maintained strong connections with international counterparts and published opinion pieces that lobbied for better conditions for women, equal rights and women's suffrage. Women like Dorothy Jinarajadasa, Margaret Cousins and Annie Besant became instrumental in the development of a language for suffrage in India and encouraged women to come together for voting rights.