The Biography of Captain Lakshmi Sehgal

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal   was a Former Freedom Fighter and the Captain of Rani Jhansi Regiment of  Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army founded by Subhash Chandra Bose. She was the First Woman Leader of the Army.

Lakshmi Sehgal died of Cardiac Arrest on July 23 , 2012 at Kanpur.

Sahgal was born on 24 October 1914  as Lakshmi Swaminathan in Chennai, Madras Presidency, British India. Her father was Dr. S. Swaminathan, a lawyer who practiced criminal law at Madras High Court. Her mother was A.V. Ammukutty, better known as Ammu Swaminathan, a social worker and independence activist from the prominent Vadakkath family of Anakkara in Palghat, Kerala.

Sahgal chose to study medicine because of her desire to be of service to the poor, especially poor women.She received an MBBS degree fromMadras Medical College in 1938. A year later, she received her diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics.

In 1940, she left for Singapore, where she 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.

n 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.

Indian revolutionary Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore on July 2, 1943. In the next few days, at all his public meetings, “Netaji” spoke of his determination to raise a women’s regiment which would “fight for Indian Independence and make it complete”. Sahgal joined the new regiment, called the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, and was given the rank of colonel. This women’s army unit was the first of its kind in Asia. The army fought on the side of the Axis powers against the British.

Sahgal married Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal in March 1947 in Lahore, British India. After their marriage, they settled in Kanpur, where she continued with her medical practice and aided the refugees who were arriving in large numbers following the Partition of India.

The Sahgals’ daughter, Subhashini Ali, is a prominent Communist politician and labor activist. According to Ali, Sahgal is an atheist.