Annie Mascarene
Annie Mascarene, 1902-1963, political and social worker. Born in a middle-class Christian family of Trivandrum (Kerala), she was the daughter of Gabriel Mascrene, a low-paid government servant, who still gave her daughter a good education. She established herself as a lawyer in about 1936. She became an active worker in the cause of her community, and joined the agitation for responsible government in Travancore State in 1938. She came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, and also suffered frequent arrests and imprisonments for her cause. She became a member of the Constituent Assembly after independence, and the minister of public health in the newly formed Travancore-Cochin State. She was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1951, and was a member of the Indian delegation to the International Democratic Women’s Conference in Copenhagan (Denmark) in 1953. She was defeated in the next general election, and later retired from active politics.
