OF CONTEMPORARY INDIA Catalogue Of The Papers of Captain Lakshmi Sahgal Plot # 2, Rajiv Gandhi Education City, P.O. Rai, Sonepat – 131029, Haryana (India) Captain Lakshmi Sahgal (1914-2012) Freedom fighter, social activist and the first woman commander of Indian National Army, Lakshmi Sahgal nee Swaminadhan was born on 24 October 1914 in Madras (now Chennai) to S. Swaminadhan, a criminal lawyer at Madras High Court, and Ammu Swaminadhan, a social worker and freedom fighter. Inspired by the progressive views of her mother, Lakshmi broke social convention and dogmas from a very early stage speaking out against the caste practices in Kerala. She joined the Queen Mary’s College, Madras in 1932. She was married at a young age to P.K.N Rao, a pilot. However, the marriage was not a success and she returned to her hometown to resume her studies. She completed her MBBS in 1938 from Madras Medical College. She also obtained a diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics from the same college in 1940 and joined the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, Madras. Thereafter, she moved to Singapore and established a clinic for the poor and migrant workers from India. She also got closely associated with the India Independence League, founded in 1941 by Rash Behari Bose. In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore Dr. Lakshmi provided medical aid to the prisoners of war. Subhas Chandra Bose visited Singapore in July 1943 and took over the leadership of the League along with the Indian National Army. Dr. Lakshmi was inspired and fascinated by the charismatic leadership of Bose and expressed her desire to work with him. When Subhas Chandra Bose formed the All Women Infantry Regiment of INA, named after Rani Lakshmi of Jhansi, Dr. Lakshmi joined the regiment with great enthusiasm. Dr. Lakshmi became Captain Lakshmi. She was appointed the commanding officer of Rani of Jhansi Regiment comprising 1200 women and later was the only woman minister in Netaji’s Council of Ministers of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind. In 1944, the regiment fought the guerrilla war against the British at the Burma front. Captain Lakshmi was arrested by the British armed forces in July 1945 and detained in Rangoon for over one year. She was repatriated to India in March 1946. On her return to India, she actively associated herself with raising funds for the destitute families of INA who returned to India. She also visited Madras and Kerala where huge camps were set up for the INA refugees. Captain Lakshmi married Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, an officer of INA in Lahore and moved to Kanpur in March 1947. Disheartened by the partition of India, she i dedicated herself to the cause of refugees who came to Kanpur from Pakistan in large numbers. During the Indo-Pak War of 1971, she joined the People’s Relief Committee of Bengal and organized relief camps and medical aid in West Bengal for millions of refugees who came to India from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). In the same year, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. She remained an active member of the party till her death. Sahgal was one of the founding members of All India Democratic Women's Association in 1981 and led many of its campaigns. She worked towards restoring peace and harmony in Kanpur following the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. She also led a medical team to Bhopal after the gas tragedy in December 1984. A committed social activist, she participated in a campaign by AIDWA against the Miss World competition at Bangalore in 1996 and was also arrested. She dedicated her life to the country and its people. She continued to look after patients in Kanpur till the age of 92. Sahgal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998 and bestowed with honorary doctorate by the University of Calicut in 2010. She contested as a joint candidate of the left for the presidential elections in 2002. She penned her life experiences in A Revolutionary Life: Memoirs of a Political Activist (1997). It was translated into Hindi, Mera Jeevan Sangharsh. Captain Lakshmi Sahgal passed away on 23 July 2012. ii CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS OF CAPTAIN LAKSHMI SAHGAL INDEX S. No. Description Period Page No. I. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE 1975-2010 1-9 II. SUBJECT FILES 1946-2008 10-19 A. Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal 1946-1992 10 B. Lakshmi Sahgal as a medical doctor 1962 10 C. Azad Hind Fauj Association /INA 1972-2006 10-12 D. Literary Activities 1976-2004 12-13 E. All India Democratic Women’s Association 1979-2001 13-14 (AIDWA) F. Trade Unions 1979-2005 14 G. Netaji Research Bureau and other Organisations 1979-2007 15-16 H. Invitations /Celebrations/Greetings 1997-2005 16 I. Interviews/Documentaries 1998-2005 17 J. Subhas Chandra Bose 1999-2005 17 K. India-Burma Relationship 2003-2008 17 L. Awards and Honours 1964-2005 18 M. Miscellaneous Files 1998-2006 18-19 III. SPEECHES/WRITINGS BY HER 1988-2004 20-22 iii IV. ARTICLES BY OTHERS 1976-2005 22-24 V. PRESS CLIPPINGS 1999-2004 24 VI. PRINTED/PUBLISHED MATERIAL 1946-2006 25-26 VII. PHOTOGRAPHS 27-41 A. Album: Captain Lakshmi Sahgal 27-31 B. Album: Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal 31-33 C. Album: Subhas Chandra Bose and INA, 1942-1945 33-39 D. Album: Ammu Swaminadhan 39-40 E. Album: Achhru Ram 40 F. Album: Subhashini Ali 41 G. Album: Mrinalini Sarabhai 41 iv CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS OF CAPTAIN LAKSHMI SAHGAL I. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1975-2010 S. No Name of the Correspondent From/To Date No of Comments Pages 1. Ahmed, Humera From 2 March 1998 1+1 Xerox copy/ Enclosed a letter from I. P. Gupta, Lieutenant Governor Andaman and Nicobar Islands/ English 2. Avasthi, R. L. To 25 March 1998 1 Autograph/ English From 3 June 2003 1 Holograph/ English 3. Basu, Jyoti From 18 March 1980 1 Autograph/ English From 29 September 1 Autograph/ English 1980 4. Bhullar, B. S. From 10 May 1999 1 Autograph/ Hindi To 7 June 1999 1 Autograph/ Hindi 5. Chanda, Samarender From 11 May 2005 2 Holograph/ English Chatterjee, Aruna See Subject File No. 12 1 6. Chatterjee, Haraprasad From 15 February 1977 1 Autograph/ English (General Secretary, People’s Relief Committee (P.R.C.) West Bengal) Chhabra, Sagari See Subject File No. 25 Choudhury, Bharati See Sahay, Asha 7. Daaga, Savitri From 10 August 2000 2 Holograph/ Hindi From 14 August 2000 1 Holograph/ Hindi To 18 August 2000 1 Holograph/ Hindi From 31 August 2000 2 Holograph/ Hindi From 20 October 2004 1 Holograph/ Hindi 8. Dasan, D. From 3 June 1998 1 Autograph/ English (Chairman, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Memorial National Welfare Foundation) To 25 July 1998 1 Autograph/ English From 7 April 1999 2 Autograph/ English To 26 April 1999 2 Autograph/ English To 15 November 1 Autograph/ English 1999 From 7 December 1999 1 Autograph/ English To 13 December 1 Autograph/ English 1999 Also enclosed a copy marked to S.S. Yadava 2 (Contd…) Dasan, D. From 2 February 2000 1 Autograph/ English (Chairman, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Memorial National Welfare Foundation) To 10 February 2000 1 Typed copy/ English From 27 July 2000 1 Autograph/ English To 31 July 2000 1 Autograph/ English From 11 September 1 Autograph/ English 2000 To 22 September 1 Autograph/ English 2000 To 13 April 2001 1 Autograph/ English From 21 April 2001 1 Autograph/ English To 26 April 2001 1 Autograph/ English From 2 May 2001 2 Autograph/ English To 14 May 2001 2 Typed copy/ English From 29 May 2001 3 Autograph/ English To 8 June 2001 2 Typed copy/ English To 21 July 2004 1 Typed copy/ English From July 2004 2 Newsletter/ English From 1 November 2004 2 Newsletter/ Duplicate copy also available/ English From December 2004 2 Newsletter/ English From January 2005 2 Newsletter/ English From 16 August 2005 1 Autograph/ English 3 9. Dhillon, G. S. To 15 June 1998 1 Autograph/ English To 28 August 1999 1 Typed copy/ English 10. George, T. J. S. From 8 July 1998 1 Autograph/ English (Editorial Adviser, Express Publications (Madurai) Ltd.) To 11 July 1998 1 Autograph/ English From 11 November 1+4 Autograph/ Enclosed a 1998 list of proposals for the memorial of E.M.S. Namboodiripad/ English 11. Jayalalitha, J. To 6 April 2003 2 Xerox copy/ English (Chief-Minister of Tamil Nadu) To 29 November 1+3 Typed copy/ Letters to 2004 Unni Krishna Panikkar, G. Susheela, and Unni dated November 2004 attached/ English 12. Kahle, John and Sigrid From [2001] 2 Autograph/ English From Dec-January 2006 2 Autograph/ English 13. Khan, Maqbool Ahmed Khan From 20 May 11 Holograph/ English 14. Khandwal, Rama From 27 March 1999 2 Holograph/ English From 31 January 2000 2 Holograph/ English To 9 February 2000 1 Autograph/ English From 27 March 2001 1 Holograph/ English 4 (Contd…) Khandwal, Rama To 5 April 2001 2 Typed copy/ English From 21 October 2003 2 Holograph/ English From 16 December 2 Holograph/ English 2004 From 25 August 2005 2 Holograph/ English To Undated 1 Typed copy/ English 15. Karat, Prakash To 21 April 2004 2 Typed copy/ English 16. Kumar, M. From 7 December 1998 2 Typed copy/ English To 18 December 1 Autograph/ English 1998 17. Kumar, Meira From 25 October 2004 1 Autograph/ Hindi 18. Kurian, M. From 10 March 1998 1 Holograph/ English To 22 March 1998 Typed copy/ English 19. Kurup, C. G. R. From 20 June 2001 1 Autograph/ English To 14 July 2001 1 Autograph/ English 20.