Annie Mascarene

A police officer once assaulted her. Thieves broke into her home. She published an account of it anyway.

This was Annie Mascarene of Travancore. She fought the all-powerful Dewan, helped bring her state into India, and became Kerala’s first woman member of the Lok Sabha.

1Who was Annie Mascarene?

She was born on 6 June 1902 in Thiruvananthapuram. Her family was Latin Catholic. Her father, Gabriel Mascarene, was a Travancore government official.

She studied at the Maharaja’s College in Thiruvananthapuram. She earned two master’s degrees, in history and economics, by 1925. After a teaching stint in Ceylon, she took a law degree.

Few women in Travancore then went to college at all. A double master’s degree was rare. That training gave her the facts and the confidence to argue with officials.

• Born 6 June 1902, Thiruvananthapuram.
• Double M.A. in history and economics.
• Later took a law degree.

2What did she do in the State Congress?

In February 1938 the Travancore State Congress was formed. Its goal was responsible government. Mascarene was one of the first women to join.

She sat on its working committee and its publicity committee. One early act was a memorandum to the Maharaja. It asked for the removal of Dewan C.P. Ramaswami Iyer and an enquiry into his rule.

The Dewan’s side hit back. On a tour with the party president Pattom Thanu Pillai, she criticised the government in public. She reports that a police officer assaulted her and that her house was broken into. She published an account, which angered the police.

She was arrested and jailed several times between 1939 and 1947. In 1942 she joined the Quit India Movement. In 1944 she became secretary of the State Congress.

Why did a party ask for responsible government? Under the old system the Maharaja and his Dewan decided everything. Ordinary people had little say. The State Congress wanted a ministry that answered to an elected house.

• Joined the Travancore State Congress in February 1938.
• Opposed Dewan C.P. Ramaswami Iyer.
• Jailed several times, 1939 to 1947.
• Secretary of the Congress in 1944.
• Read about Accamma Cherian and the Quit India Movement.

3What did she do in the Constituent Assembly?

In 1946 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly. She was one of fifteen women in it. She spoke for Travancore.

She sat on its select committee on the Hindu Code Bill. That bill later led to the Hindu law reforms of 1955 and 1956.

She also argued for strong provincial powers. She warned that too much centralisation could harm democracy.

In February 1946 Gandhi wrote to her about a speech in Bombay. He called it indiscreet talk. He feared it would hurt her cause. The letter shows how fierce her style was.

The Hindu Code Bill dealt with marriage, inheritance and adoption among Hindus. It touched women’s rights directly. Her seat on its committee fits her record of speaking up for reform.

• Elected in 1946; one of fifteen women members.
• Served on the Hindu Code Bill select committee.
• Favoured provincial autonomy.
• Gandhi called one speech indiscreet talk.
• Read about the Hindu Code Bill.

4How did she become a minister and an MP?

In 1948 she was elected to the Travancore-Cochin assembly. In 1949 she became Minister for Health and Power under Chief Minister T.K. Narayana Pillai. She is called the first woman state minister after independence.

She resigned in early 1950. Later she accused a fellow minister of corruption. That clash helped bring the ministry down in 1951.

In the first general election, held in 1951 and 1952, she stood as an independent from Thiruvananthapuram. She won. She was Kerala’s first woman MP, among only ten women elected nationwide.

In 1957 she lost the seat and came fourth. Her mainstream political career ended there.

• Minister for Health and Power, 1949.
• Served under T.K. Narayana Pillai.
• Won the first Lok Sabha seat as an independent.
• Lost in 1957, finishing fourth.
• Read about T.K. Narayana Pillai.

5How is she remembered?

She died on 19 July 1963 at about sixty-one. Her grave lies at the Pattoor cemetery in Thiruvananthapuram.

In September 2013 a bronze statue of her was unveiled in the city. Vice-President Hamid Ansari did the unveiling.

She sits beside Accamma Cherian and Pattom Thanu Pillai in the story of Travancore’s merger with India.

Her story reminds us that the freedom movement reached into the princely states too. Leaders there fought two battles. One was against the British. The other was against rulers who held back reform.

• Died 19 July 1963.
• Buried at Pattoor cemetery.
• Bronze statue unveiled in September 2013.

6What are the exam traps?

• Her first-MP title dates to the first Lok Sabha; some sources write 1951, others 1952.
• She was an independent, not a Congress candidate, in that election.
• Do not mix her up with Accamma Cherian or Dakshayani Velayudhan.
• The Dewan she opposed was C.P. Ramaswami Iyer.