Nellie Sengupta
Encyclopedia
Nellie Sengupta was an Englishwoman who fought for Indian Independence and was elected President of the Indian National Congress
student at Downing Collegewho lodged at her parental home. Despite parental opposition, she married Jatindramohan and returned to Calcutta with him.Nellie as she was known and Jatin had two sons Sishir and Anil.
of 1921. After his imprisonment during the Assam-Bengal Railwaymen's strike, she forcefully 'protested against the District authorities' imposition of a ban on assembly, addressed mass meetings and courted arrest. She defied the law by selling Khadi(hand spun cloth) door to door. In 1931 she suffered four months' imprisonment at Delhi for addressing an unlawful assembly.Jatin was imprisoned in Ranchi and died in 1936 .
many senior Congress leaders were imprisoned. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya the President elect of the Congress was arrested before the Calcutta Session of 1931. Nellie Sengupta became the third woman, and the second European-born woman to be elected in his place.
She was also elected as an Alderman
to the Calcutta Corporation
in 1933 and 1936. She was also elected on a Congress ticket to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1940 and 1946. During the Second World War she drew attention to the misbehaviour of foreign troops.
, in her husband's hometown of Chittagong on the specific request of the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who asked her to look after the interests of the Hindu minority in East Pakistan. She was elected unopposed to the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly. She was a member of the Minority Board and remained an active social activist.When Bangladesh came into being in 1971 she continued to live on in Chittagong and was well cared for by the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.In 1972 she broke her hip and through the intervention of Indira Gandhi she was brought to Calcutta where she was operated on and all medical expenses were paid for by the Indian Govt. She was accorded a tremendous welcome in Calcutta and honoured by both the Govt and the people for her contribution to both the Indian Freedom struggle along with her husband Deshapriya Jatindramohan SenGupta and her work for the minorities in Bangla Desh. She passed away peacefully in Calcutta in 1973
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
Family
Born Edith Ellen Gray, she was the daughter of Frederick and Edith Henrietta Gray. She was born and brought up in Cambridge, where her father worked at a club As a young girl, she fell in love with Jatindramohan Sengupta, a young BengaliBengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
student at Downing Collegewho lodged at her parental home. Despite parental opposition, she married Jatindramohan and returned to Calcutta with him.Nellie as she was known and Jatin had two sons Sishir and Anil.
Non Cooperation Movement
On returning to India ,Nellie's husband Jatindramohan started a very successful career as a lawyer in Calcutta . However in 1921 he joined the Indian freedom struggle and was Mahatma Gandhi's right hand man in Bengal apart from being the Mayor of Calcutta for three terms and the head of the Legislative Assembly. Nellie joined her husband in participating in the Non-Cooperation MovementNon-cooperation movement
The non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...
of 1921. After his imprisonment during the Assam-Bengal Railwaymen's strike, she forcefully 'protested against the District authorities' imposition of a ban on assembly, addressed mass meetings and courted arrest. She defied the law by selling Khadi(hand spun cloth) door to door. In 1931 she suffered four months' imprisonment at Delhi for addressing an unlawful assembly.Jatin was imprisoned in Ranchi and died in 1936 .
Congress President
During the turmoil of the Salt SatyagrahaSalt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
many senior Congress leaders were imprisoned. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya the President elect of the Congress was arrested before the Calcutta Session of 1931. Nellie Sengupta became the third woman, and the second European-born woman to be elected in his place.
She was also elected as an Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
to the Calcutta Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. The organization is known, in short, as KMC . This civic administrative body administers an area of 185 sq. km. Its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali...
in 1933 and 1936. She was also elected on a Congress ticket to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1940 and 1946. During the Second World War she drew attention to the misbehaviour of foreign troops.
Post-independence
After independence, she chose to live in East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
, in her husband's hometown of Chittagong on the specific request of the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who asked her to look after the interests of the Hindu minority in East Pakistan. She was elected unopposed to the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly. She was a member of the Minority Board and remained an active social activist.When Bangladesh came into being in 1971 she continued to live on in Chittagong and was well cared for by the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.In 1972 she broke her hip and through the intervention of Indira Gandhi she was brought to Calcutta where she was operated on and all medical expenses were paid for by the Indian Govt. She was accorded a tremendous welcome in Calcutta and honoured by both the Govt and the people for her contribution to both the Indian Freedom struggle along with her husband Deshapriya Jatindramohan SenGupta and her work for the minorities in Bangla Desh. She passed away peacefully in Calcutta in 1973