Renuka Ray (1904–1997) was a noted freedom-fighter, social activist and politician of India. She was a descendant of

Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpa ...

reformer,

Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee (''Nibaron Chôndro Mukharji'') was a Brahmo reformer in India during the 19th century. In the ''History of the Brahmo Samaj'' Sivanath Sastri wrote, “The advent of Babu Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, whose name has been m ...

, and daughter of

Satish Chandra Mukherjee Satish Chandra Mukherjee (5 June 1865 – 18 April 1948) was a pioneer in establishing a system of national education in India, along with Sri Aurobindo. The positivist background Satish Chandra was born at Banipur in Hooghly district of pre ...

, an ICS officer, and Charulata Mukherjee, a social worker and member of the All India Women’s Conference. She was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 1988.

Early life and education

She came in contact with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

at an early age of sixteen and was greatly influenced by him. She left college to answer Gandhiji's call for boycotting the British Indian educational system. However, later when her parents persuaded Gandhiji to ask her to go to London for further studies, she joined

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

in 1921. She was married to Satyendra Nath Ray at an early age. Her maternal grandparents were the most distinguished couple of their times. Maternal grandfather Prof. P K Roy was the first Indian to receive a D Phil from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and a member of the Indian Education Service and the first Indian Principal of the prestigious Presidency College, Calcutta. Maternal grandmother Sarala Roy was a well known social worker who worked for the emancipation of women. She was the founder of Gokhale Memorial School and College and the first Indian woman to be a member of the senate,

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. Sarala Roy was the daughter of renowned Brahmo reformer Durgamohan Das and sister of Lady Abala Bose and S R Das, the founder of prestigious Doon School and a cousin of Deshbandhu C R Das.

Career

On returning to India, she joined All India Women’s Conference and worked hard to champion women's rights and inheritance rights in parental property. In 1932 she became President of All India Women’s Conference. She was also its President for the years 1953-54. In 1943 she was nominated to

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

as a representative of women of India. She was also a member of

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

in 1946-47. She was appointed as Minister of Relief & Rehabilitation, West Bengal in the years 1952-57. She was also

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

member for the years 1957-1967 from Malda Lok Sabha constituency. In year 1959 she headed a committee on Social Welfare and Welfare of Backward Classes, which is popularly known as Renuka Ray Committee. Among her siblings Subroto Mukherjee was the first air chief marshal of Indian Air Force who died in Tokyo and was married to Sharda Mukherjee (née' Pandit) a niece-in-law of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Prashanta Mukherjee who was the chairperson of the Indian Railway Board and was married to Keshab Chandra Sen's granddaughter Violet. Her younger sister Nita Sen's daughter Geeti sen is a noted art historian and editor-inchief of IIC, Quarterly and married to renowned Bollywood film director Muzaffar Ali.

Works

She is author of the book ''My Reminiscences: Social Development During the Gandhian Era and After''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Renuka Gandhians Women Indian independence activists 1904 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 Indian independence activists from Bengal Alumni of the London School of Economics Indian activists Indian feminists Indian women activists Indian women's rights activists Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly English-language writers from India Bengali Hindus Das family of Telirbagh Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Women in West Bengal politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians People from Malda district Hindu feminists Activists from West Bengal Indian social workers Indian writers Bengali writers 20th-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian women writers Indian autobiographers Indian historical novelists Indian novelists Indian women novelists 20th-century Indian novelists Indian non-fiction writers Indian women non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Indian political writers