Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Encyclopedia
Dame
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur DStJ (2 February 1889 – 2 October 1964) was the health minister in the Indian Cabinet for ten years after India's independence from the British Raj
in 1947. She was an eminent Gandhian, a freedom fighter, and a social activist.
, Uttar Pradesh
(then United Provinces), India. She and her seven brothers were the eight children of Rājā Harnam Singh, a member of the princely family of Kapurthalā in the Punjab region
and his wife Rāni Harnām Singh, who was the daughter of a Bengal
i Presbyterian mother and an Anglican father.
The Rajkumari had her early education in Sherborne School for Girls
in Dorset
, England
, and had her college education at Oxford University. After completing her education in England, she returned to India.
(INC) party leaders, including Gopal Krishna Gokhale
. After her return to India from England, Rajkumari got interested in India's freedom struggle through the occasional visits of those leaders to her father's home. After meeting in person Mahatma Gandhi
in 1919 in Bombay (Mumbai
), she felt drawn to 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 from the Raj. She joined the INC, and began to participate in India's struggle for freedom, and also in social reform activities in India.
Rajkumari co-founded the All India Women’s Conference in 1927, became its secretary in 1930, and president in 1933.
For her participation in Gandhi-led 240-mile Dandi March in 1930, British Raj authorities imprisoned her.
Rajkumari 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 Rajkumari 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.
Rajkumari championed the cause of universal suffrage, and testified before the Lothian Committee on Indian franchise and constitutional reforms, and before the Joint Select Committee of British Parliament on Indian constitutional reforms.
Rajkumari served as the Chairperson of the All India Women’s Education Fund Association. She was a member of the Executive Committee of Lady Irwin College
in New Delhi
. The British Raj appointed her as a member of the Advisory Board of Education; (she resigned from that Board during the Quit India Movement). She was sent as a member of the Indian delegation to UNESCO
conferences in London
and Paris
in 1945 and 1946, respectively. She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the All India Spinners’ Association.
Rajkumari worked to reduce illiteracy, and eradicate the custom of child marriage
s and the purdah
system for women, which were prevalent then among some Indian communities.
's first Cabinet; she was the first woman to hold Cabinet rank. She was assigned the Ministry of Health and was one of only two Indian Christians in the Cabinet (along with John Mathai
. In 1950, she was elected the president of World Health Organization
, becoming the first woman and the first Asian to hold that post; for the first 25 years of that organisation's history, only two women held that post.
Kaur was a strong moving force behind the establishment of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi
, and became its first president. For establishing the institute, she secured aid from New Zealand
, Australia
, West Germany
, Sweden
, and USA. She and one of her brothers donated their ancestral property and house (named Manorville) in Simla
, Himachal Pradesh
to serve as a holiday home for the staff and nurses of the Institute.
Kaur served as the Chairperson of the Indian Red Cross society for fourteen years. During her leadership, the Indian Red Cross did a number of pioneering works in the hinterlands of India. She initiated the Tuberculosis Association of India and the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute in Madras (Chennai
). She started the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing and the National Sports Club of India.
From 1957 until her death in 1964, she remained a member of Rajya Sabha
. Between 1958 and 1963 Kaur was the president of the All-India Motor Transport Congress in Delhi. Until her death, she continued to hold the presidencies of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Tuberculosis Association of India, and the St. John’s Ambulance Corps. She also was awarded the Rene Sand Memorial Award.
Today, her private papers are part of the Archives at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
, at Teen Murti House, Delhi.
s:
It is a crying shame that the people who cater for our services are relegated in most towns to live in the most abominable dwellings—if, indeed we can call their hovels by this name.
About Child Marriages:
Child marriage is eating as a canker into the vitality of our national life. Girls become mothers while they are children themselves, and bring into the world offspring who are, in the very nature of things, the victims of disease and ill health.
About the Plight of Women:
The abolition of early marriage and purdah...will remove two of the main obstacles in the way of the spread of female education. Needless to say that the position of the widows in Hindu homes, marriage laws and the laws relating to the inheritance of property by women need radical alteration.
In the realm of educational reform, we have urged ever since our inception that there should be free and compulsory education. Again, as far as proper facilities for the female education are concerned until such time as universal, free and compulsory primary education as well as an adequate supply of infant and girls’ schools equipped with trained women teachers are introduced, we must continue to do our utmost to have the system of education in our existing institutions changed.
Dame (title)
The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur DStJ (2 February 1889 – 2 October 1964) was the health minister in the Indian Cabinet for ten years after India's independence from the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in 1947. She was an eminent Gandhian, a freedom fighter, and a social activist.
Early life
The Rajkumari was born on 2 February 1889 in LucknowLucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
(then United Provinces), India. She and her seven brothers were the eight children of Rājā Harnam Singh, a member of the princely family of Kapurthalā in the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and his wife Rāni Harnām Singh, who was the daughter of a Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i Presbyterian mother and an Anglican father.
The Rajkumari had her early education in Sherborne School for Girls
Sherborne School For Girls
Sherborne Girls is an independent day and boarding school for girls located in Sherborne, North Dorset. The school was founded in 1895 by Mr. and Mrs. Kenelm Wingfield Digby...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and had her college education at Oxford University. After completing her education in England, she returned to India.
Participation in India's Freedom Movement
Raja Harnam Singh enjoyed the confidence of many Indian National CongressIndian 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...
(INC) party leaders, including Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Gopal Krishna Gokhale, CIE was one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants of India Society...
. After her return to India from England, Rajkumari got interested in India's freedom struggle through the occasional visits of those leaders to her father's home. After meeting in person Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
in 1919 in Bombay (Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
), she felt drawn to his thoughts and vision for the country. The notorious Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...
of mostly Sikhs the same year by the British Raj troops convinced her of the necessity of India's gaining its freedom from the Raj. She joined the INC, and began to participate in India's struggle for freedom, and also in social reform activities in India.
Rajkumari co-founded the All India Women’s Conference in 1927, became its secretary in 1930, and president in 1933.
For her participation in Gandhi-led 240-mile Dandi March in 1930, British Raj authorities imprisoned her.
Rajkumari went to live at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
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
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...
, in 1937 Rajkumari went on a mission of goodwill to Bannu
Bannu
Bannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
, 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.
Rajkumari championed the cause of universal suffrage, and testified before the Lothian Committee on Indian franchise and constitutional reforms, and before the Joint Select Committee of British Parliament on Indian constitutional reforms.
Rajkumari served as the Chairperson of the All India Women’s Education Fund Association. She was a member of the Executive Committee of Lady Irwin College
Lady Irwin College
Lady Irwin College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. Established in 1932, it is women's college and located in New Delhi, India, and offers graduate and post-graduate courses in Home Science.-History:...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. The British Raj appointed her as a member of the Advisory Board of Education; (she resigned from that Board during the Quit India Movement). She was sent as a member of the Indian delegation to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
conferences in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1945 and 1946, respectively. She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the All India Spinners’ Association.
Rajkumari worked to reduce illiteracy, and eradicate the custom of child marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
s and the purdah
Purdah
Purdah or pardeh is the practice of concealing women from men. According to one definition:This takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes, and the requirement for women to cover their bodies and conceal their form....
system for women, which were prevalent then among some Indian communities.
Post-independence Service
After India’s independence, Amrit Kaur became part of Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
's first Cabinet; she was the first woman to hold Cabinet rank. She was assigned the Ministry of Health and was one of only two Indian Christians in the Cabinet (along with John Mathai
John Mathai
John Matthai was an economist who served as India's first Railway Minister and subsequently as India's Finance Minister, taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1948. Mathai graduated in economics from Madras Christian College. He served as a part-time professor in...
. In 1950, she was elected the president of World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, becoming the first woman and the first Asian to hold that post; for the first 25 years of that organisation's history, only two women held that post.
Kaur was a strong moving force behind the establishment of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, and became its first president. For establishing the institute, she secured aid from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and USA. She and one of her brothers donated their ancestral property and house (named Manorville) in Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
to serve as a holiday home for the staff and nurses of the Institute.
Kaur served as the Chairperson of the Indian Red Cross society for fourteen years. During her leadership, the Indian Red Cross did a number of pioneering works in the hinterlands of India. She initiated the Tuberculosis Association of India and the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute in Madras (Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
). She started the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing and the National Sports Club of India.
From 1957 until her death in 1964, she remained a member of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
. Between 1958 and 1963 Kaur was the president of the All-India Motor Transport Congress in Delhi. Until her death, she continued to hold the presidencies of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Tuberculosis Association of India, and the St. John’s Ambulance Corps. She also was awarded the Rene Sand Memorial Award.
Today, her private papers are part of the Archives at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library is a library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous institution under the Indian Ministry of Culture, and was founded in 1964...
, at Teen Murti House, Delhi.
Quotes
About the Plight of HarijanHarijan
Harijan was a term used by Gandhi for Dalits. Gandhi said it was wrong to call people 'untouchable', and called them Harijans, which means children of God...
s:
It is a crying shame that the people who cater for our services are relegated in most towns to live in the most abominable dwellings—if, indeed we can call their hovels by this name.
About Child Marriages:
Child marriage is eating as a canker into the vitality of our national life. Girls become mothers while they are children themselves, and bring into the world offspring who are, in the very nature of things, the victims of disease and ill health.
About the Plight of Women:
The abolition of early marriage and purdah...will remove two of the main obstacles in the way of the spread of female education. Needless to say that the position of the widows in Hindu homes, marriage laws and the laws relating to the inheritance of property by women need radical alteration.
In the realm of educational reform, we have urged ever since our inception that there should be free and compulsory education. Again, as far as proper facilities for the female education are concerned until such time as universal, free and compulsory primary education as well as an adequate supply of infant and girls’ schools equipped with trained women teachers are introduced, we must continue to do our utmost to have the system of education in our existing institutions changed.