Renuka Ray

Early Life

Born on 4th January 1903, Renuka Ray went on to receive education from Loreto House School and Diocesan College, Calcutta. Ray keenly followed the Indian political developments from a young age. Persuaded by Gandhi’s call for fight against the British rule, she joined Gandhi’s ashram and accompanied him in protests. Later, she went on to obtain a degree from the London School of Economics.

Role in India’s Independence Movement

Ray was a prominent women’s rights advocate. She was a legal secretary to the All India Women’s Conference and authored “Legal Disabilities of Women in India; A Plea for a Commission of Enquiry”. She closely worked on prevention of women trafficking and improvement of conditions for women labourers.

Contribution to Constitution Making

Ray was elected to the Constituent Assembly from West Bengal. She made several interventions in the Assembly including on women’s rights issues, minorities rights and bicameral legislature provision.

Later Contributions

Ray represented India in U.N. General Assembly in May 1949. She was also elected to the West Bengal Legislature in 1952 and the Parliament in 1957. Ray was awarded Padma Bhushan for her services in public affairs in 1988.

Key Writings

Ray authored ‘My Reminiscences: Social Development During Gandhian Era And After‘. The Telegraph in their review noted that the book provided “a broad view of Indian social development through the first decade of the 20th century till the Seventies”.