Against the backdrop of the second world war, Bangiya Pradeshik Mohila Atmaraksha Samiti was formed with women workers from different political parties and social organisations and individuals. They all were united against fascism and imperialism and were motivated to participate in freedom movement. The first conference of the samiti was held on 7th and 8th May 1943 in Kolkata. Indira Debi Choudhurani was elected as the chairperson and Ela Reed (Mitra) was elected as the secretary from the conference. The Communist Party of India also took initiative to organise women in the other states, like Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Asam, Tripura etc. in the form of Mahila Samiti. As the country was under the British rule till that time, it was not possible to form an all India based women’s organisation. Unlike other women’s organisation in Bengal and in other states of India, the main focus of Bangiya Mohila Atmaraksha Samiti was to organise women from poor and middle income group and bring forward them to participate in different mass movements including movements focusing on social reforms and independence of India.
In August, 1947, after three hundred years in India, the British finally left and the subcontinent was partitioned into two independent countries – India and Pakistan. The mass organisations were also partitioned and activities of Bangiya Mohila Samiti in India was restricted to West Bengal only. This part of the organisation was renamed as Pashchimbanga Mohila Atmaroksha Samiti. Following the adoption of the Indian Constitution on November 26, 1949, and its implementation on January 26, 1950, India transitioned into a republic and 1st General Election took place in March 1952. Leaders of Mohila Atmaroksha Samiti, Renu Chakraborty and Manikuntal Sen contested in the general election in the parliament and assembly constituencies respectively. Besides the Samiti participated in various movements including movement against rise in the tram fare in Kolkata and supporting the release of political prisoners. Samiti also played an effective role to help poor people suffering from famine in 1953. Mohila Atmaroksha Samiti also organised movements against price rise and ongoing food crisis in West Bengal.
The 9th conference of the Samiti was organised from 31st December 1958 to 1st January 1959. In this conference, the constitution of the Samiti was changed and the word “Atmoroksha” was removed from its name. So the new name was adopted as “Pashchimbanga Mohila Samiti”. In the 1960s, some disagreement among the leadership of the Samiti was observed regarding the policies and role of the Samiti in Indian politics. In spite of the differences, at the time of 4th General Election of the country, hundreds of workers of Mohila Samiti worked in support of Juktafront which was a united front of seven left political parties. However, the split between the two sections of leadership within the Samiti had become prominent and the rightist leaders of the Samiti organised a separate conference in 1970, while the major portion of the Samiti was organising the 13th conference on 7th March 1970 at the Muslim Institute Hall in Kolkata. From this conference Jyoti Chakraborty was elected as the President and Madhuri Dasgupta was elected as the General Secretary. The Deputy Prime Minister of the second Juktafront Government of West Bengal Jyoti Basu was the main speaker in the conference. As per the decision of the thirteenth conference, a draft constitution was written with clear objectives and programs. In this constitution, the Samiti was named as “Pashchimbanga Ganatantrik Mohila Samiti“. The constitution was accepted on 23rd January 1971 with the objectives “Democracy, Equality, Women Emancipation”.
During this time a new magazine “Eksathe” was started by the Samiti. Kanak Mukhopadhyay became the editor of the magazine. All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) was established in 1981 in Madras. Pashchimbanga Ganatantrik Mohila Samiti was considered as the largest state committee of AIDWA. In the 22nd state conference of Pashchimbanga Ganatantrik Mohila Samiti held in Bardhaman, the constitution was corrected and accepted. It was proposed in the conference that after the nation-wide growth of All India Democratic Women’s Association, there is no need for continuing with the name Pashchimbanga Ganatantrik Mohila Samiti, and like all other states of India, this organisation will be named as All India Democratic Women’s Association, West Bengal State Committee. All India Democratic Women’s Association, West Bengal State Committee aims at organising women in the state and fighting for the rights of women, particularly women coming from working classes. The workers of the organisation always participate in democratic movements, in movements of common people to ensure safety and security of women of the country, to guarantee their rights in education, health and for a nation-wide setup to secure equality and democracy for the women.
