Hansa Mehta
Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"
Meaning
Hansa Mehta was a member of the Constituent Assembly from Bombay. She was one of its fifteen women members. She spoke for women's rights during the framing of the Constitution (1946-49). She did not want reserved seats or separate electorates for women. She wanted equal justice in every part of life. Her stand showed that women wanted to be treated as equal citizens, not as a group that needed special favours.
Example
She told the Assembly: "We have never asked for privileges. What we have asked for is social justice, economic justice, and political justice." Later, at the United Nations, she helped change the wording of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from "all men" to "all human beings".
Don't confuse with
- Reservation of seats: this keeps some seats only for a group's candidates. Hansa Mehta turned this down for women and asked for justice instead.
Related concepts
- N.G. Ranga
- Jaipal Singh
- Adivasi
- J. Nagappa
- K.J. Khanderkar
- Dakshayani Velayudhan
- Jagjivan Ram
- Abolition of untouchability
- Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes