Lakshmi Sahgal, Life, INA Role and Rani of Jhansi Regiment

Lakshmi Sahgal was an Indian doctor, freedom fighter and social activist who played a prominent role in the Indian National Army (INA) under Subhas Chandra Bose. She is best remembered for commanding the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, the INA’s all-women regiment, and for serving as Minister for Women’s Affairs in the Provisional Government of Azad Hind.

After Independence, she continued her medical and social work, particularly in refugee relief, healthcare and women’s rights. Her life reflects the participation of women in India’s freedom struggle and the continuation of public service beyond Independence.

Who Was Lakshmi Sahgal?

Lakshmi Sahgal was born Lakshmi Swaminathan on 24 October 1914 in Madras Presidency. She came from a family associated with law, social work and public life.

• Her father, S. Swaminathan, was a lawyer.
• Her mother, Ammu Swaminathan, was a social worker and freedom activist.
• She studied at Queen Mary’s College in Madras before pursuing medicine at Madras Medical College.
• She completed her MBBS in 1938 and obtained a diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics in 1940.
• She later worked at the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Madras.

Her medical training became an important part of both her work during the freedom struggle and her public service after Independence.

Lakshmi Sahgal in Singapore

In 1940, Lakshmi Sahgal moved to Singapore and began practising medicine. She primarily served the Indian community, including poor workers who had limited access to healthcare.

The Japanese occupation of Singapore in 1942 and the activities of the Indian nationalist movement in Southeast Asia brought her into closer contact with the struggle for Indian independence.

• She provided medical assistance to Indian prisoners of war and other people affected by the war.
• She became associated with the Indian Independence League, which sought to mobilise Indians in Southeast Asia for India’s independence.
• Her work with Indian prisoners of war brought her closer to the activities surrounding the Indian National Army.

The arrival of Subhas Chandra Bose in Singapore in July 1943 became a turning point in her life.

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Lakshmi Sahgal and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment

The Rani of Jhansi Regiment was formed in 1943 on the initiative of Subhas Chandra Bose as the women’s regiment of the Indian National Army. Bose wanted women to participate directly in the struggle for India’s independence and named the regiment after Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, who had become a symbol of resistance during the Revolt of 1857.

Lakshmi Sahgal played the central role in organising and leading the regiment. 

• She recruited women from the Indian community in Southeast Asia and helped organise their military training. As its commanding officer, she became popularly known as Captain Lakshmi.
• The regiment included women volunteers mainly from Singapore and Malaya.

• Members received training in military discipline, physical exercises, weapons handling and first aid.
• The regiment was associated with the INA’s Burma campaign and advance towards India.
• Its members also undertook medical and support responsibilities.

The regiment was significant because it gave women an organised military role in the freedom struggle and became one of the most prominent examples of women’s participation in the INA.

Lakshmi Sahgal and the Provisional Government of Azad Hind

On 21 October 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose proclaimed the Provisional Government of Azad Hind in Singapore. It was established as part of the wider Azad Hind movement seeking to end British rule in India.

Lakshmi Sahgal was given responsibility for women’s affairs in the government.

Her position extended her involvement in the freedom struggle beyond the leadership of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. It also reflected the importance attached to women’s participation in the political organisation of the Azad Hind movement.

Lakshmi Sahgal’s Arrest and Return to India

• The INA’s military campaign weakened as Japan suffered defeats in the Second World War. The INA forces were eventually forced to retreat from Southeast Asia, bringing their military campaign towards India to an end.
• Lakshmi Sahgal was captured by British forces in Burma in 1945 and detained in Rangoon. 
• Her arrest took place during the British government’s action against INA personnel. The subsequent INA trials at the Red Fort generated widespread public sympathy for the INA and became an important episode in the final phase of the Indian freedom struggle.
• She returned to India in March 1946.
• After her return, Lakshmi Sahgal continued to remain involved in public service. She helped raise funds for destitute INA families and visited refugee camps in Madras and Kerala.

Lakshmi Sahgal After Independence

After Independence, Lakshmi Sahgal continued her work as a doctor while remaining active in humanitarian and social causes. She settled in Kanpur in 1947 and continued providing medical care, particularly to poor and working-class communities.

Her post-Independence work included several major humanitarian and social initiatives.

• During Partition, she provided medical assistance to refugees and displaced people.
• During the 1971 refugee crisis, she worked with the People’s Relief Committee of Bengal to support refugees from East Pakistan.
• She joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1971 and remained active in public life.
• She was among the founding members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association in 1981.
• Following the anti-Sikh violence of 1984, she worked to assist affected people and promote communal harmony.
• After the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, she led a medical team to provide assistance to victims.
• In 1996, she was arrested during an AIDWA campaign opposing the Miss World contest in Bangalore.
• She continued treating patients in Kanpur well into her later years.

Her long medical career showed that her commitment to serving people continued well beyond the freedom struggle.

Lakshmi Sahgal and the 2002 Presidential Election

In 2002, she contested the Presidential election of India as the joint Left candidate against A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who was elected President. Her candidature brought her back into national political attention and reflected her continued engagement with public and political affairs.

Lakshmi Sahgal Awards and Recognition

Lakshmi Sahgal received recognition for her contribution to public life and social service.

• She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1998.
• The University of Calicut conferred an honorary doctorate on her in 2010.

Lakshmi Sahgal’s Autobiography

Lakshmi Sahgal recorded her experiences of the freedom struggle and her later political and social work in her autobiography.

Her English autobiography, A Revolutionary Life: Memoirs of a Political Activist, was published in 1997. Its Hindi version is titled Mera Jeevan Sangharsh.

Death and Legacy of Lakshmi Sahgal

• Lakshmi Sahgal died in Kanpur on 23 July 2012, at the age of 97.
• Her life connected two phases of public service: the struggle for independence and the building of an independent India. She first became prominent through the INA and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment and later continued serving society through medicine, humanitarian work and political activism.
• She remains particularly remembered for demonstrating the important role that women could play in the armed and political dimensions of India’s freedom struggle.