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Forgotten Founders

Govind Ballabh Pant, the first Uttar Pradesh CM and an early feminist

Ananya Bhardwaj - March 7, 2019

Damodar Swarup Seth, the socialist who felt Constituent Assembly didn’t represent all

Upendranath Barman, the voice in Constituent Assembly for uplift of backward classes

Deshbandhu Gupta, a freedom fighter who believed in free press

Balkrishna Sharma: A freedom fighter & poet admired by Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Aastha Singh - December 8, 2018

Balkrishna Sharma campaigned vigorously for Hindi to be declared a national language of India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1960.

Lokanath Misra: Politician who opposed freedom to propagate religion as fundamental right

Manisha Mondal - November 24, 2018

Lokanath Misra served as governor of three 3 northeastern states. As member of the Constituent Assembly, he highlighted need to protect Hindu culture & religion.

VT Krishnamachari: India’s master planner who laid the foundation of panchayati raj system

Achyut Mishra - November 10, 2018

A civil servant, Krishnamachari donned many hats in pre- and post-Independent India, with the most notable being his stint at the Planning Commission.

Algu Rai Shastri: The socialist who vociferously denounced English as a foreign language

Aastha Singh - November 3, 2018

Algu Rai Shastri, a member of the Constituent Assembly, was against forced religious conversions and known for denouncing views of religious minorities.

Durgabai Deshmukh: The brave woman from Andhra who ended her own child marriage

Simrin Sirur - October 27, 2018

Durgabai Deshmukh, one of 15 women in the 299-member Constituent Assembly, was a feisty individual who studied law to help the wrongfully convicted.

Sardar Hukam Singh, a minority rights champion in Constituent Assembly

Fatima Khan - October 13, 2018

Sardar Hukam Singh, who served in first three Lok Sabhas, refused to sign draft of the constitution as he felt it failed to secure...

The Kerala governor who openly pushed Indira’s case for PM

Aastha Singh - October 7, 2018

Ajith Prasad Jain also served in a Nehru Cabinet and backed the abolition of the zamindari system.

Gokulbhai Bhatt, the Constituent Assembly member who called the Constitution ‘un-Indian’

Achyut Mishra - October 6, 2018

Gokulbhai Bhatt, who quit college to join the non-cooperation movement, was a staunch proponent of the Gandhian Panchayati Raj.

Muhammad Ismail, Indian Muslim League pioneer who wanted Hindustani as official language

Rupanwita Bhattacharjee - September 29, 2018

During Constituent Assembly debates, Ismail pushed for Hindustani because it was the most spoken and understood language in India.

Hiralal Shastri, the man who pushed for equal rights within Constituent Assembly

Manisha Mondal - September 22, 2018

The first chief minister of Rajasthan, Shastri also co-founded the all-women Banasthali Vidyapith.

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Forgotten Founders

Govind Ballabh Pant, the first Uttar Pradesh CM and an early feminist

Damodar Swarup Seth, the socialist who felt Constituent Assembly didn’t represent all

Upendranath Barman, the voice in Constituent Assembly for uplift of backward classes

Deshbandhu Gupta, a freedom fighter who believed in free press

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