KAMLA CHAUDHRY (1908-1970)
Kamla Chaudhary was an active participant in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Elected to the Constituent Assembly from Uttar Pradesh, she later served as a Member of the Provisional Parliament and Lok Sabha. Chaudhary was also known for her fiction writing and commitment to nationalist causes.
Born on 22 February 1908 in Lucknow to Rai Manmohan Dayal, then deputy collector. Despite her family’s loyalty to the British Raj, she joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930, was imprisoned multiple times, and became a committed member of the Indian National Congress.
She was a Member of the Provisional Parliament (1947 to 1952) and acted as the Senior Vice-Chair of the 54th Indian National Congress Session. She entered the Lok Sabha in 1962 after winning from Hapur District in Uttar Pradesh. Kamla Chowdhry actively worked towards educating girls in villages and backward areas. She encouraged the Khadi and Village industries which she felt had the potential provide employment of young women.
An acclaimed Hindi short story writer, her collections include Unmaad (1934), Picnic (1936), Yatra (1947), Bel Patra, among others. Her fiction often explored gender discrimination, peasant exploitation, and widowhood, with a strong feminist viewpoint.
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