Sucheta Kriplani

We have our own Indian freedom fighters list that we remember, talk about, and respect, and most of the names coincide. These are names that are fed to us since school days. We remember them through textbooks and generational accounts for their unmatched contribution to India’s struggle for freedom. But there are some names that do not make it to our textbooks, or the reminisce of generations. But their contribution cannot be undermined. One such name is Sucheta Kriplani.

From being a freedom fighter to becoming India’s first woman chief minister of a state, she lived a life that can inspire countless women, as well as men. Even today, her legacy continues through institutions, governance, and organisations like Sucheta Kriplani Hospital. This is her story, her life of courage and silent leadership.

Sucheta Kriplani was born as Sucheta Majumdar to a nationalist family in Ambala on 25 June 1908. She grew up around ideas of patriotism, national submission, and independence yearning. Even though her father, Surendranath Majumdar, was commissioned as a doctor under the British Government in India, he was strongly patriotic and inspired his children to live with the same ideas. Due to frequent transfers of his father professionally, the family travelled across colonial India, which exposed Sucheta to the inequality, brutality, and violation that the British Government subjected her countrymen to. Moreover, she connected every life to one common thread, which was suffering.

These experiences shaped how she started viewing the world and the country. Further, they instilled a sense of public service and duty in her. Thus, since a very young age, she was a believer in non violence, discipline, and social reform, which guided her political journey.

Higher education of Sucheta Kriplani proceeded at the Indraprastha College for Women and later at St. Stephen’s College in the University of Delhi. Here, she earned a degree in history, which provided her with a better understanding of governance, colonialism, and the constitutional framework across the globe. She later joined the Banaras Hindu University in 1929, in order to teach constitutional history, and this was where her entire journey flipped. At that time, BHU was where most nationalist activities were prevalent, and many freedom fighters and political thinkers were present. Sucheta Kriplani was in constant touch with not only the constitutional history but also nationalist ideas, which further developed Harwell to participate in the Indian struggle for independence.

Sucheta Kriplani married Acharya JB Kripalani in 1936, who was a senior Congress leader and prominent Gandhian thinker. However, there is much resistance from her family and some apprehensions of Mahatma Gandhi as well, but despite all that, she went on to pursue this personally and politically unconventional marriage. Her marriage brought her closer to the national Congress, and she formally joined it in 1938, where she took on responsibilities as the secretary of the foreign department and women’s section. She went on ahead to mobilise women and showed them how to enter political action.

In 1940, she founded the All India Mahila Congress, which empowered women politically as well as socially. The main aim was to inspire women to come out of their homes and not limit their voices to symbolic participation towards India’s freedom struggle and later, the Quit India Movement.

When the British repression started growing, she started organising, leading, and coordinating protests and activities that supported the Quit India Movement of 1942. Her active participation might be forgotten today, but was very much highlighted in the eyes of the British government back then. For her impactful role in the Quit India Movement, she was imprisoned by the British authorities.

Once India gained its independence, many Indian freedom fighters and politicians were involved in the drafting of the Indian Constitution. Sucheta Kriplani was one of them. She was a member of the constituent assembly from 1946 to 1950 and was among the few women who joined the drafting committee of the Constitution of independent India. During assembly proceedings, she used to sing Vande Mataram as a reminder that the freedom of India was not only political, but also cultural.

In 1963, Suchita Kriplani became the first woman to take oath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. On 2 October 1963, she became the first woman in India to head a state government. She held the chair till March 1967 and focused on education reforms, rural development, and women’s welfare. Uttar Pradesh was the most populous state of India, and there were many internal party conflicts and management challenges that it faced. But unlike any other leaders of that time, she led the state as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, with policy and principles.

From a stellar Parliamentary career to Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, The Legacy of Sucheta Kriplani inspires and reflects strength. After becoming the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, she stepped down from her position in 1967 when she won the seat to the Lok Sabha from the Gonda constituency. She served her position till 1971 when she finally retired from active politics. Three years after that, on 1 December 1974, she passed away in New Delhi.

One of India’s most recognised government hospitals for women and children, Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, reflect her legacy and commemorates her contributions. Additionally, her governance, constitutional values, and inspiring career continue to live with future generations.