Dakshayani Velayudhan

She was a Dalit woman in a room full of lawmakers who were mostly men. Dakshayani Velayudhan sat in India’s Constituent Assembly from 1946. She was the first and only Scheduled Caste woman elected to it.

Her road there began in a Kerala village. She was the first generation of her community to get a school education. Then she turned that learning into a voice against untouchability.

1Who was Dakshayani Velayudhan?

Dakshayani was born on 4 July 1912 in Mulavukad. This village lies near Kochi, in today’s Ernakulam district. Her father was Kallachammuri Kunjhan. Her mother was Maani.

The family belonged to the Pulaya community. Caste custom treated Pulayas as untouchable. Most of them worked on other people’s land.

Her brother, K. K. Madhavan, also went into politics. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1976.

• Born 4 July 1912 at Mulavukad.
• Parents: Kallachammuri Kunjhan and Maani.
• Belonged to the Pulaya community.
• Brother K. K. Madhavan reached the Rajya Sabha in 1976.

2How did she get an education?

She was among the first people of her community to be educated. Cochin State gave her scholarships. They paid for her studies.

Accounts say she was the first woman of her community to wear an upper cloth. Other accounts name her mother and elder sister as earlier. So it is safer to say she was among the first.

She finished her degree in 1935. Sources differ on the subject. Some say B.Sc in Chemistry. Others say B.A. Most agree she was the first Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India.

Three years later she completed a teacher’s training course at Madras University. From 1935 to 1945 she taught in government high schools. Her schools were in Thrissur and Tripunithura.

• Studied on Cochin State scholarships.
• Degree in 1935; the subject is reported differently.
• First Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India.
• Teacher’s training at Madras University, about 1938.
• Taught at Thrissur and Tripunithura, 1935 to 1945.

3How did she reach the Constituent Assembly?

In 1945 the Cochin government nominated her to the Cochin Legislative Council. She was now a lawmaker in her home state.

The next year, the Council elected her to the Constituent Assembly of India. Members of provincial and state councils chose many of the Assembly’s members this way.

She sat in the Assembly, and later in the Provisional Parliament, from 1946 to 1952. In Parliament she took special interest in education, especially for Scheduled Castes.

Counts of women in the Assembly vary between sources, from nine to fifteen. But sources agree on one point. She was the only Scheduled Caste woman among them.

• Nominated to the Cochin Legislative Council in 1945.
• Elected to the Assembly by the Council in 1946.
• Member of Assembly and Provisional Parliament, 1946 to 1952.
• The only Scheduled Caste woman in the Assembly.
• Read about the Drafting Committee.

4What did she say in the Assembly?

She was a Gandhian. But on many questions about Scheduled Castes, she sided with B. R. Ambedkar. She agreed that the community should give up its demand for separate electorates.

Instead she asked for what she called moral safeguards. She also wanted social disabilities removed at once.

On 8 November 1948 she spoke on the draft Constitution. She praised the draft. She asked for more decentralisation. She also suggested that the final draft be ratified through a general election.

On 29 November 1948 she spoke on the draft article against caste discrimination. This was the article that later became Article 17. The presiding officer let her go past her time. He said it was only because she was a lady.

She urged public education to make the rule work. She said a clear public statement against caste would send a strong signal. The Constitution, she argued, would work only as well as people behaved.

• Gandhian, but backed Ambedkar on separate electorates.
• Asked for moral safeguards and an end to social disabilities.
• Spoke on the draft on 8 November 1948.
• Spoke on caste discrimination on 29 November 1948.
• Wanted public education to carry the rule.
• Read about Article 17 and the Poona Pact.

5What did she do after 1950?

She married R. Velayudhan, a Scheduled Caste leader who later became an MP. The wedding took place at Sevagram, near Wardha. Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi were witnesses. A leper stood in as the priest.

The year is reported differently. It was in the early 1940s. The couple had five children.

She was related to K. R. Narayanan, who later became India’s President. In 1971 she stood for the Lok Sabha from Adoor. She came fourth among five candidates.

She was also president of the Depressed Classes Youth Fine Arts Club. From 1946 to 1949 she was managing editor of a Madras journal, The Common Man. She became founder president of the Mahila Jagriti Parishad.

She died after a short illness in July 1978, aged 66. A Malayalam biography by Cherai Ramadas records her life.

Her name lives on. The 2019 Kerala budget announced a Dakshayani Velayudhan Award for women who empower other women. It set aside Rs 2 crore.

• Married R. Velayudhan at Sevagram; Gandhi and Kasturba were witnesses.
• Related to K. R. Narayanan, later President. Read his profile.
• Lost the 1971 Lok Sabha race at Adoor.
• Founder president of the Mahila Jagriti Parishad.
• Died July 1978, aged 66.
• Dakshayani Velayudhan Award announced in the 2019 Kerala budget.

6What are the exam traps?

Several nearby names cause confusion.

• She was the only Scheduled Caste woman in the Assembly. Others, like Hansa Mehta and Ammu Swaminathan, were not.
• She was a Gandhian who often sided with Ambedkar.
• She joined the Assembly by election from the Cochin Council, after earlier nomination to that Council.
• Do not confuse her with Damodaram Sanjivayya, India’s first Dalit Chief Minister.