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Forgotten Founders

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

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’

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

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

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

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar: The man Ambedkar said was ‘better’ than him

Ayyar, a member of Constituent Assembly, had an unparalleled knowledge of the world’s constitutions, said Ambedkar himself.

Maulana Azad — the scholar-politician who laid out India’s higher education road map

As India’s first education minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad advocated for free and compulsory primary education for all up to the age of 14.

Harekrushna Mahatab: The man who started the merger of princely states with India

Congressman Mahatab, the first CM of Orissa in independent India, served as a cabinet minister in the Nehru government.

The man who played a role in the politics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Allama Raghib Ahsan, an adviser and confidant to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly.

This tribal leader who opposed prohibition also led India to first Olympic hockey gold

Through his organisation Adivasi Mahasabha, Munda, in 1938, also raised the demand for a separate state of Jharkhand.

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