About:
Name:
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Date & Place of Birth:
February 02, 1889 – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Date & Place of Death:
October 02, 1964
Activity / Profession / Trait / Objective:
Indian Independence Movement, Politics
Nationality:
Indian
Introduction:
She was the health minister in the Indian Cabinet for ten
years after India's independence in 1947. She was an eminent Gandhian, a freedom
fighter, and a social activist.
History & Achievements
She was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh to Raja Harnam
Singh, a member of the princely family of Kapurthalā, Punjab.
After completing her education in England, she returned to
India and got interested in India's freedom struggle.
After meeting Mahatma Gandhi in 1919 in Bombay (Mumbai),
she became follower of his thoughts and vision for the country.
The notorious Jallianwala Bagh massacre of mostly Sikhs the
same year by the British Raj troops convinced her of the necessity of India's
gaining its freedom. She joined the Indian National Congress, and began to
participate in India's struggle for freedom, and also in social reform
activities in India.
She co-founded the All India Women’s Conference in 1927,
became its secretary in 1930, and president in 1933.
She was imprisoned by the British Raj authorities for her
participation in Gandhi-led 240-mile Dandi March in 1930.
She went to live at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in 1934, and
took up the austere life there despite her aristocratic background. She served
as one of Gandhi's secretaries for sixteen years.
As a representative of the INC, in 1937 She went on a
mission of goodwill to Bannu, in the present day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The British
Raj authorities charged her with sedition and imprisoned her.
In 1942, she participated in the Quit India Movement, and
the Raj authorities imprisoned her again.
After India’s independence, she became part of Jawaharlal
Nehru's first Cabinet; she was the first woman to hold Cabinet rank.
