Republic Day 2026: Honoring the 15 Founding Mothers of the Indian Constitution

• The Indian Constitution, the world's longest, was drafted by 299 Constituent Assembly members over two years, 11 months, and 17 days.
• This Republic Day, tribute is paid to 15 women who played crucial roles in drafting the Constitution despite facing patriarchy, caste oppression, child marriage, and widowhood.
• Notable figures include Ammu Swaminathan (women's rights, anti-caste), Annie Mascarene (Travancore integration, centralisation debates), and Begum Aizaz Rasul (only Muslim woman, opposed separate electorates).
• Dakshayani Velayudhan (only Scheduled Caste woman, advocated for Article 17), Durgabai Deshmukh (social work, judicial matters), and Hansa Jivraj Mehta (first national flag, UN Human Rights Council) were also key contributors.
• Other influential women were Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (first health minister, AIIMS founder), Sarojini Naidu (equality, women's rights), and Sucheta Kripalani (first female CM of Uttar Pradesh).

Why It Matters: The Indian Constitution's progressive nature is deeply indebted to the 15 pioneering women of the Constituent Assembly.