Captain Lakshmi Sahgal: First officer of Azad Hind Fauj

NationFirst | Unsung Warrior |Captain Lakshmi Sahgal

Before anyone in this world could think of women in combat roles in the military, there was one woman as strong as iron, doing it all to fight for her country’s independence – Captain Lakshmi Sehgal.

Lakshmi Sahgal’s Early life

Lakshmi Sehgal was born to a family of lawyers on October 24, 1914, in Madars presidency. Even as a child, she was brave and always wanted to follow her heart, even though it came at a price. Once, she held a tribal girl’s hand and asked her to play with her and this is at a time when untouchability was at its peak.

At a very young age, she was married to pilot P.K.N. Rao but returned back to complete her MBBS realizing that the marriage was a mistake. At age 26, she moved to Singapore and started contributing to the works of the India Independence League, along with helping poor people with medical issues.

First Step in Indian Freedom Movement

Fate brought Prem Sehgal, a soldier from the Indian National Army, whom she married a few years later. Her primary target became helping Netaji’s dream of a women’s regiment. The courageous leader in her led to the formation of Rani of Jhansi regiment, an all-woman regiment of the Indian National Army, and Lakshmi was chosen to command it. She got the rank of Captain of the regiment and she was known by the name Captain Lakshmi all her life after that.

She helped in treating the prisoners of war and disabled soldiers and also scouted for soldiers to build her own regiment. In June 2012, this armageddon of a lady passed away due to cardiac arrest and her body was donated to Kanpur Medical College for research purposes

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