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Begum Aizaz Rasul

Begum Aizaz Rasul was the only Muslim woman member of India’s Constituent Assembly. She used her position to argue strongly against separate electorates for religious minorities.

Begum Aizaz Rasul, photographed in 1938. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Modern History · ModHist0239

Begum Aizaz Rasul

The Only Muslim Woman in the Constituent Assembly

1937

Becomes Deputy President of the UP Legislative Council — a first for any woman in India.

1946

Becomes the only Muslim woman member of India’s Constituent Assembly.

20 years

Serves as President of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation.

2000

Awarded the Padma Bhushan, for her contributions to social work.

“A self-destructive weapon”

In the Constituent Assembly, she called separate electorates for minorities “a self-destructive weapon which separates the minorities from the majority for all time.”

📑 Contents

1A Voice Against Separate Electorates
2A Long Public Career
3Test Yourself
4Beyond Politics

A Voice Against Separate ElectoratesNeed to Know

Begum Aizaz Rasul, born Qudsia Begum, was born on 2 April 1909, in Lahore, Punjab.
In 1929, she married Nawab Aizaz Rasul, a taluqdar of Sandila, in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
In 1937, she was elected to the United Provinces Legislative Assembly, from a non-reserved seat.
She became Deputy President of the Legislative Council in 1937, serving until 1940. She was the first woman in India, and the first Muslim woman anywhere in the world, to hold such a position.
She was elected to India’s Constituent Assembly in 1946, and was its only Muslim woman member.
After Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman left for Pakistan, she succeeded him as the League’s leader in the Assembly, serving as Deputy Leader of the Muslim League delegation and Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
She served on the Assembly’s Minority Rights Drafting Subcommittee.
She strongly opposed separate electorates for religious minorities. She called them “a self-destructive weapon which separates the minorities from the majority for all time.”
When the Muslim League in India dissolved, in 1950, she joined the Congress party.

A Long Public CareerGood to Know

She was elected to the Rajya Sabha, from 1952 to 1954.
She later served in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, from 1969 to 1989. This included a term as Minister for Social Welfare and Minorities, from 1969 to 1971.
Outside politics, she served as President of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation for 20 years. She also led the Asian Women’s Hockey Federation.
India’s Women’s Hockey Cup, the Begum Rasul Trophy, is named in her honour.

Test Yourself

Beyond PoliticsGreat to Know

She wrote an autobiography, “From Purdah to Parliament: A Muslim Woman in Indian Politics.”
She represented India abroad too. She joined a Prime Minister’s Goodwill Delegation to Japan in 1953, and a Parliamentary Delegation to Turkey in 1955.
She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, in 2000, for her contributions to social work.
She died on 1 August 2001, in Lucknow, at age 92.

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