G. Durgabai

History glossary

Also called: Durgabai Deshmukh · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

G. Durgabai (later known as Durgabai Deshmukh) was a woman member of the Constituent Assembly from Madras. She was one of its fifteen women members. She is remembered for her warning in the language debate. In the south, opposition to Hindi was "very strong", she said. People there saw the Hindi drive as an attack on the "composite culture" of India, meaning a culture built by mixing many traditions. Her voice showed that the language question could split the new nation if it was handled roughly.

Example

Durgabai said she had answered Gandhi's call and taught Hindi in the south herself. In the Constituent Assembly she said she was shocked by the angry tone of the Hindi campaign. She was also unhappy that Urdu and regional words were being pushed out of Hindustani. She warned that this would block "the natural influence of other powerful languages of India".

Don't confuse with

  • Dakshayani Velayudhan: another woman member from Madras. She spoke for the Depressed Castes and asked for a "moral safeguard", not for caution on language.
  • T.A. Ramalingam Chettiar: also from Madras and also cautious on Hindi. But he spoke as a male member pleading for "mutual adjustment", not as someone who had once taught Hindi.

Related concepts

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