- G. Durgabai
PACT: Mini Models
This negotiation contains a selection of mini-models designed to provide an insight into the ongoing work of PACT and to demonstrate Quill's approach to visualising the archive material and tracking the process of negotiation. It differs from our usual approach in that we will be presenting only certain documents and moments in isolation, rather than including everything tabled during the course of a negotiation. This collection is still under construction, and we will be regularly adding small amounts of new material.
G. Durgabai
Quill platform ID: p17529.
(1909-1981)
Political Party: Indian National Congress
Biography: G. Durgabai Deshmukh was born on 15 July 1909 in Rajahmundry (now in Kakinada district), Andhra Pradesh. She left school at the age of 12 to protest the imposition of English as the medium of instruction. Two years later, she volunteered at the Indian National Congress session in Kakinada. She completed her M.A. from Andhra University while imprisoned and later earned a law degree from Madras University, practicing for a time at the Madras High Court.
Deeply involved in India’s independence movement, Durgabai took part in the Salt Satyagraha in Madras in 1930 and was arrested multiple times for her activism. In 1936, she established the Andhra Mahila Sabha in Madras, an institution dedicated to coaching Telugu-speaking girls for the Banaras Hindu University matriculation exams. She also founded and edited Andhra Mahila, a Telugu-language journal focused on women's issues. Her commitment to women's education extended to founding schools like the Balika Hindi Pathsala in Cocanada and organising training camps in basic education and midwifery for women across Andhra.
As a member of the Constituent Assembly from the Madras, she made significant contributions to debates on the national language, judicial independence, and human trafficking. After independence, she held leadership roles in major institutions such as the Central Social Welfare Board, the National Council for Women’s Education, and the Planning Commission. In 1958, she chaired the National Committee on Girls’ and Women’s Education, influencing national policy on women’s empowerment.
Member of Madras—PACT: Mini Models.
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