Meet Captain Lakshmi, India’s Freedom Fighter and Activist
Lakshmi Sahgal was a revolutionary 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 during the Second World War.
Born October 24th, 1914 as Lakshmi Swaminathan in Malabar under Madras Presidency, she came from an aristocratic Nair family known as “Vadakkath” family of Anakkara in Palghat, Kerala.
Sahgal chose to study medicine and received an MBBS degree from Madras Medical College in 1938. A year later, she received her diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics and worked as a doctor in the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital located at Triplicane Chennai.
In 1940, she left for Singapore where she met some members of Subhas Chandra Bose‘s Indian National Army and helped established a clinic for the poor, most of whom were migrant laborers from India. It was at this time that she began to play an active role in the India Independence League.
In 1942, during the surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Sahgal aided wounded prisoners of war.
She led a medical team to Bhopal after the gas tragedy in December 1984, worked towards restoring peace in Kanpur following the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. She was arrested for her participation in a campaign against the Miss World competition in Bangalore in 1996.
In 1971, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. When Abdul kalam was nominated for the post of president, the Left parties and their allies had nominated Lakshmi Sahgal. She failed to secure the required number of votes and Abdul Kalam became the President of India.
