A woman who dedicated her life to the women of India: Renuka Ray

She was an ordinary woman who became extraordinary by dedicating her life to the women of our country. She was courageous, fearless, a freedom fighter, a social activist, and a notable politician. She was Renuka Ray.

Renuka Ray; Image source: aishwaryasandeep.com

Born on 4th January 1903, Renuka was the daughter of Satish Chandra Mukharjee, an ICS officer and Charulata Mukharjee, a social worker and a member of the All India Women’s Conference. Renuka Ray was the descendent of the Brahmo reformer – Nibaran Chandra Mukharjee. Knowing the background of the family, one could easily guess that Ray followed and started understanding politics at a very young age. After finishing school, she went to Loreto House School and Diocesan College in Calcutta. Later on, she went to London to get a degree in Economics.

Her life would have been the same if she hadn’t met Mahatma Gandhi at the age of 16. She had always been an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi’s work, so when she finally got the chance to meet him, she decided to leave her own life behind and dedicate her entire life to the marginalised groups people. Ray started educating the ones who couldn’t afford an education at that time. Inspired by Gandhiji, Ray also decided to boycott the British Indian Education System but she went back and finished her studies when he insisted.

After finishing her studies, she returned to India and joined the All India Women’s Conference. She worked day and night consistently and finally made her place by becoming the President of AIWC (All India Women’s Conference) in 1932. After that, life never spiralled downwards for her. She worked on several campaigns for women’s rights such as getting equal rights in parental properties. In the year 1934, she wrote a document – Legal Disabilities Of Women In India – a plea for a commission of inquiry.

It was the same year when Ray visited women who worked at the coal mines in Jharia. Seeing their situation, Ray got so worried that she, along with her colleagues, decided to look for alternative employment opportunities for them.

In 1943, being the representative of women in India – Ray was nominated to become a member of the Central Legislative Assembly and became an elected member for the same. She didn’t stop there, and kept striving for the women of the country. From 1952 to 1957, she was the minister for relief and rehabilitation along with being the president of AIWC (1952-53). It was because of her that the All Bengal Women’s Union and the Women’s Coordinating Council were established.

Renuka Ray spent years in order to change the Child’s Marriage Restraint Act. According to the act, the legal age of marriage for girls was 14 years and for boys it was 18 years.

Renuka married Satyendranath Ray at the age of 25. She was given Padma Bhushan by the government of India for her commendable work in 1988. It was her utmost dedication and passion which always drove her to work for the minorities and women of our country. Ray was one of the 15 women who contributed to the formation of the Indian constitution. She passed away in 1997 at the age of 93, leaving a commendable legacy behind.