Popularly known as ‘Iron Lady’, Durgabāi Deshmukh was a prominent Gandhian freedom fighter and one of the 15 women members in the 299-member Constituent Assembly of India.

She was the only woman on the panel of chairpersons in the Assembly and one of the great nation builders of India, who dedicated her life to the sovereignty and social well-being of the country.

Durgabāi served as a member of the Committee for Rules and Procedure and the Steering Committee, both of which held mastery on how the country’s Constitution could be changed in the years to come.

As a member in the Steering Committee, she actively participated in assembly debates defending property rights for women under the Hindu Code Bill, independence of the judiciary and selection of Hindustani as the national language.

She was the first woman member of the Planning Commission of India and the founder chairperson of the Central Social Welfare....