Constituent Assembly's sole survivor says ...
by Rajni Khaitan

    Indore: Not many in India will know who Kusumkant Jain is, and it will come as a surprise to many that he was the youngest member of the Indian Constituent Assembly, and is now its sole surviving member. Though Jain now spends time with his wife in Indore, he has very fond memories of a time gone by. Of the 299 members of the Constituent Assembly, Jain is the only survivor. Born in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua District, Jain was a freedom fighter, a journalist, a Member of Parliament, a Member of the Legislative Assembly and a Minister.

   Talking about the early days of his political career, he said that he came from a very small district and was the only person from what was then known as Central Provinces to enter the political arena. He participated in the All India Congress Meeting in Kanpur in 1945-46. "Jawaharlal Nehru noticed my face, came and patted me on my back and reminded me of the Udaipur meeting with Dr. Keskar. He expressed surprise over my being in the Constituent Assembly and asked how could I become a member at my age. He asked me to come to his residence as he had a lot of things to talk about. So, I went to Teen Murti. It was a great honour going to meet Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence. The Maharaja of Gwalior asked me to arrange some function and call Sardar Patel. He appreciated the idea. Patel came to Gwalior alongwith everyone and I was also taken," said Jain.

   Jain was also applauded by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar. Jain explains that he fought and argued for Hindi to be made the national language. "Dr.Ambedkar came and sat down next to me and gave me his blessings and said, " you're so young and how come you're here."I said it's your blessings. Foremost were Ambedkar, TT Krishnamachari, Bakshi Tekchand, Thakurdas Bhargav and two or three more persons, who used to dominate. I spoke only once, when the matter of the national language came up. People from the south wanted English as the national language as they were under the influence of the British Raj. But, I alongwith Purushottamdas Tandon advocated for Hindi saying how English could be our national language," added Jain. Jain said that the Partition of the Indian subcontinent took place owing to a difference in ideologies. Jain, who is fluent in Gujarati, also remembers his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in Wardha, with pride. This pillar of strength of the Indian Constitution who went to prison twice, spends his time now in Indore with his wife, reading newspapers and writing for them, reading books and going for walks.

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