LAKSHMI SAHGAL (1914–2012)
Born in 1914 in Malabar (present-day Kerala), Lakshmi Sahgal hailed from a socially conscious family. Her father, S. Swaminathan, was a lawyer, while her mother, Ammu Swaminathan, was a prominent social reformer and later a member of India’s Constituent Assembly.
Lakshmi pursued her medical studies at Queen Mary’s College, Chennai, earning her MBBS in 1938, followed by a diploma in gynecology and obstetrics in 1939–40. In 1940, she moved to Singapore, where she set up a clinic that served the Indian diaspora and marginalized communities.
After the fall of Singapore to Japanese forces in 1942, she began offering medical aid to Indian prisoners of war and became active in the Indian Independence League. It was during this period that she met Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Inspired by his call to arms, she played a pioneering role in the formation of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, the first allwomen infantry regiment of the Indian National Army (INA), where she held the rank of Captain and served as Minister for Women’s Affairs in the Provisional Government of Azad Hind. The regiment later saw action in Burma (Myanmar), but following the INA’s defeat in the Battle of Imphal, she was captured by British forces in May 1945 and detained in Rangoon until her repatriation in March 1946. Her arrest and trial galvanized public opinion in India, further
energizing the independence movement.
In 1947, she married Col. Prem Kumar Sahgal, a fellow INA officer, and settled in Kanpur, where she practiced medicine and worked extensively with refugees displaced by Partition. Her commitment to humanitarian service continued throughout her life—during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, she treated displaced persons in Bongaon border camps; she responded to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur by organizing medical relief and intervened during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy with on-ground assistance. A committed Marxist, she joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1971 and was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha. In 1981, she co-founded the All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and served as its Vice President, advocating fiercely for women’s rights, secularism, and social equity.
Dr. Sahgal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998 in recognition of her lifetime of service. In 2002, she stood as the Left's presidential candidate, challenging A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and using the campaign to draw attention to issues of structural inequality, communalism, and democratic accountability.
Undeterred by age, she continued treating patients at her Kanpur clinic well into her 90s. Her enduring resolve was summed up in her words at age 92: "The fight will go on." She passed away on 23 July 2012, aged 97, and donated her body for medical research—a final act of service in a life defined by courage, compassion, and commitment to the nation.
|
|