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395 Articles, organised into 25 Parts and 12 Schedules, make up the Constitution of India

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THE CONSTITUTION FRAMERS
Learn about the members of the Constituent Assembly, the role they played in India’s freedom movement and their contributions to constitution-making.

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Home ≫ The Constitution Framers ≫ Annie Mascarene

Constituent Assembly Members

Annie Mascarene

1902 - 1963

Key Information

Party: Independent, National Conference

Constituency: Travancore-Cochin

Religion: Christian

Caste: Non SC/ST

Gender: Female

Mother Tongue: Malayalam

Education: Postgraduate

Committee Memberships

None

Biography

Early Life

Annie Mascarene was born on 6th June 1902 at Trivandrum. She obtained a double M.A. in history and economics from Colleges for Arts and Law, Trivandrum and went on to become a lecturer in Sri Lanka. After her return to Trivandrum, she procured a law degree.

She was a member of the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly between 1948 and 1952 where she served briefly as a Minister in charge of Health and Power.

Contribution to Constitution Making

Mascarene represented the Princely State of Travancore and Cochin Union in the Constituent Assembly. In the Assembly, she spoke on the issue of federalism.

Later Contributions

Mascarene was elected to the first Lok Sabha as an independent candidate. She was the first woman from Kerala to have been elected to the Lok Sabha where she raised concerns about under-representation of women in politics. Her political career took a hit after her unsuccessful attempt in the 1957 Lok Sabha elections.

Key Speeches

On 18 November 1949, a few days before the adoption of the Constitution, Mascarene supported the federal framework of the Constitution with a strong centre.