Captain Lakshmi Sehgal serves till the very last, donates eyes and body
LUCKNOW: Legendary freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, who was part of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (INA), died on Monday. She breathed her last at 11.20 am. She was admitted to a private hospital on July 19 after a massive heart attack at her residence in Civil Lines area and was kept on life support system. The 97-year-old revolutionary turned social activist served the country all her life. Even after death, as per her will, her eyes and body were donated to medical college. The eyes will give vision to visually challenged and the body will be used for medical studies.
Born on October 24, 1914, in Madras Presidency (Chennai), British India, Captain Lakshmi's father Dr S Swaminathan, a lawyer at Madras High Court and mother AV Ammukutty was a social worker. Captain Lakshmi chose to study medicine. She got MBBS degree from Madras Medical College in 1938 and later did diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics.
In 1940, she left for Singapore, where she opened a clinic for the poor, most of whom were Indian migrant laborers. In 1942, during World War II, after surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Captain Lakshmi treated wounded prisoners of war. When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore on July 2, 1943, she joined the INA and was made head of Rani Jhansi regiment, a one of its kind women army unit. She was also made minister women affairs in the Azad Hind government formed by Netaji in exile after declaring war against British.
Captain Lakshmi was taken prisoner in Burma after INA's defeat. After independence, Captain Lakshmi married Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, who also served in INA, in 1947. The couple settled in Kanpur. Captain Lakshmi continued with her medical practice and aided the refugees who were arriving in large numbers following the partition of India.
In 1971, Captain Lakshmi joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and was elected for the Rajya Sabha. During the Bangladesh crisis, she organized relief camps and medical aid in Calcutta for refugees who streamed into India from Bangladesh. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1998. In 2002, the Left parties nominated Captain Lakshmi as a candidate in the presidential elections against APJ Abdul Kalam backed by BJP and Congress. Though she lost, she showed her fighting spirit. Captain Lakshmi's daughter Subhashini Ali, is a communist leader.
Subhashini Ali said her mother's first love was always her profession. "Just weeks before falling ill, she used to regularly sit in her clinic to see patients, " she said, adding that Sehgal would treat everyone who came to her, regardless of whether the patient had money or not.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the death of Captain Lakshmi saying that the nation has lost an icon of selfless service. Ansari described her as a noted freedom fighter and tireless campaigner for women's rights and social causes. In his condolence message, prime minister said, "Nation has lost an icon of liberal values and selfless service." UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said that Captain Lakshmi contribution to the country would always be remembered. CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat remembered Captain Lakshmi as a motivated human being who fought injustice wherever she saw it.
Captain Lakshmi Sehgal serves till the very last, donates eyes and body - The Times of India
