Biography of ‘Lakshmi Sahgal’
Lakshmi Sahgal (24 October 1914-23 July 2012) was a revolutionist of the Indian Independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to in India as Captain Lakshmi, a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma.
Sahgal was born as Lakshmi Swaminathan in Madras (now known as Chennai) on 24 October 1914 to S. Swaminathan, a lawyer who practiced criminal law at Madras High Court and A.V. Ammukutty, better known as Ammu Swaminathan, a social worker and independence activist from the prominent Vadakkath family of Anakkara in Palghat, Kerala.
In 1942, during the surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Sahgal aided wounded prisoners of war, many of whom who were interested in forming an Indian liberation army. Singapore at this time had several nationalist Indians working there including K. P. Kesava Menon, S. C. Guha, and N. Raghavan who formed a Council of Action. Their Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj however received no firm commitments or approval from the Occupying Japanese forces regarding their participation in the war.
In 1971, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. During the Bangladesh crisis, she organized relief camps and medical aid in Calcutta for refugees who streamed into India from Bangladesh. She was one of the founding members of AIDWA in 1981 and led many of its activities and campaigns.
On 19 Jul 2012, Sahgal suffered a cardiac arrest and died on 23 July 2012 at 11:20 A.M. at the age of 97 at Kanpur. Her body was donated to Kanpur Medical College for medical research.
