Amrit Kaur
Dame Amrit Kaur | |
---|---|
Minister of Health | |
In office 16 August 1947 – 16 April 1957 | |
Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Preceded by | Post established |
Succeeded by | D. P. Karmakar (as MoS) |
Personal details | |
Parent(s) | Harnam Singh Priscilla Golaknath |
Life
Amrit Kaur was born on 2 February 1887 in Badshah Bagh, Lucknow University Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (then North-Western Provinces), India. Kaur was born to Raja Sir Harnam Singh Ahluwalia the younger son of the Raja Randhir Singh of Kapurthala. Harnam Singh left Kapurthala following a conflict over succession to the throne, becoming the manager of estates in the former princely state of Oudh, and converted to Christianity on the urging of Golakhnath Chatterjee, a missionary from Bengal, Singh later married Chatterjee's daughter, Priscilla, and they had ten children, of which Amrit Kaur was the youngest, and their only daughter.[7]
Kaur was raised as a
Kaur died in New Delhi on 6 February 1964.[9] Although she was, at the time of her death, a practicing Christian, she was cremated according to family customs and her funeral was presided over by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi.[10] Kaur had never married, and had no children.[6]
Today, her private papers are part of the Archives at the
Career
Participation in India's independence movement
After her return to India from England, Kaur became interested in the Indian independence movement. Her father had shared close association with Indian National Congress leaders including Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who often visited them. Kaur was drawn to the thoughts and vision of Mahatma Gandhi, whom she met in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1919. Kaur worked as Gandhi's secretary for 16 years, and their correspondence was subsequently published as a volume of letters titled Letters to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.[12][6]
Following the
Kaur co-founded the
As a representative of the Indian National Congress, in 1937 she went on a mission of goodwill to Bannu, North-West Frontier Province, colonial India (in the present-day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan). The British authorities charged her with sedition and imprisoned her.[14][6]
The British authorities appointed her as a member of the Advisory Board of Education, but she resigned from the position following her involvement with the Quit India Movement in 1942. She was imprisoned by the authorities for her actions during the time.[15][6]
She championed the cause of universal suffrage,[16] 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.[17]
Kaur served as the Chairperson of the All India Women's Education Fund Association.[18] She was a member of the Executive Committee of Lady Irwin College in New Delhi.[19] She was sent as a member of the Indian delegation to UNESCO conferences in London and Paris in 1945 and 1946, respectively.[20] She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the All India Spinners' Association.[21]
Kaur worked to reduce illiteracy,[22] and eradicate the custom of child marriages and the purdah system for women, which were then prevalent among some Indian communities.[23]
Representative of the Christian Indian community
Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur was a
AIIMS
On February 18, 1956, the then Minister of Health, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, introduced a new bill in the Lok Sabha (House of the People). In her speech, Kaur said:
It has been one of my cherished dreams that for post graduate study and for the maintenance of high standards of medical education in our country, we should have an institute of this nature which would enable our young men and women to have their post graduate education in their own country.
The creation of a major central institute for post-graduate medical education and research had been earlier recommended by the Health survey of the government of India. By 1956, the AIIMS was formed as an autonomous institution through an Act of Parliament.[25]
Member of the Constituent Assembly
Following India's independence from the colonial rule in August 1947, Kaur was elected from the
Health Minister
After India's independence, Amrit Kaur became part of
Kaur believed that the only proper method of birth control was continence, and promoted the rhythm method of birth control in India.[31] Government money was not spent on contraceptives, and instead women were given beads to keep track of "safe" days (green) and "baby" days (black).[31] Some women refused to use the beads, believing that only cows should wear that kind of bead, while others were embarrassed or believed that the beads would guarantee against conception.[31]
Kaur was also instrumental in founding the Indian Council of Child Welfare.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur played a key role in the development of College of Nursing, New Delhi (established in 1946), Government of India renamed the college as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing in her honor.[6]
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,[33] and was named TIME Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1947.[12][6]
References
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Who was Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, named in TIME's magazine list of 100 influential women?". The Indian Express. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Alexander. "INDIA'S GIRLS: FROM PURDAH TO THE PLAYING FIELDS". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Gupta, Sahima (6 February 2018). "Meet Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: India's First Health Minister | #IndianWomenInHistory". Feminism in India. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur". Constitution of India. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sambuy, L. M., & Portnowitz, T. (2023). In Search of Amrit Kaur: A lost princess and her vanished world. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- ^ Studies, HP General (3 May 2020). "Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur". Himachal Pradesh General Studies. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, 75, Dies; India's First Minister of Health; Gandhi's Secretary 17 Years, a Princess, Led Campaign to Eradicate Malaria". The New York Times. 7 February 1964. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ISBN 9788171004591.
- ^ "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, 75, Dies". The New York Times. 6 February 1964.
- Nehru Memorial Museum & Library. Archived from the originalon 3 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Roychowdhury, Adrija (27 August 2020). "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: The princess who built AIIMS". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d Bhardwaj, Deeksha (2 February 2019). "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the princess who was Gandhi's secretary & India's first health minister". ThePrint. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, an epitome of patriotism and sacrifice". Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Srinivas, V (24 September 2016). "RajKumari Amrit Kaur". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Health and Family Affairs. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Amrit Kaur: The princess turned Gandhian who fought Nehru on women's political participation". The Indian Express. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "EMINENT PARLIAMENTARIANS MONOGRAPH SERIES" (PDF).
- ^ "Meet Princess Amrit Kaur, India's First Health Minister Who Built AIIMS". Indiatimes. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: India's First Health Minister And Her Efforts For Reforming The Nation". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "The Place of women in UNESCO: an Indian view".
- ^ "Celebrating Navratri with 9 Women Heros!! Lets Salute Amrit Kaur". www.bankersadda.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- PMID 32412520.
- ^ Rana, Ratika (24 November 2021). "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: India's First Health Minister And Her Efforts For Reforming The Nation". The Logical Indian. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8028-6392-8.
- ^ Host Bibliographic Record for Boundwith Item Barcode 30112116676187 and Others: (1956:Feb.-Mar.). Host Bibliographic Record for Boundwith Item Barcode 30112116676187 and Others. 2013. p. 259.
- ^ Sethu, Divya (17 February 2021). "India's Journey From Requesting Penicillin in 1947 to Making Vaccines for the World". The Better India. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ CADIndia Archived 29 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Cadindia.clpr.org.in. Retrieved on 7 December 2018.
- ^ Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Archived 23 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Cadindia.clpr.org.in (6 February 1964). Retrieved on 2018-12-07.
- ^ "Page 81 | Issue 38503, 4 January 1949 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
- ^ Civic Affairs. P.C. Kapoor at the Citizen Press. 1956. p. 65.
- ^ a b c "INDIA: Baby Days Are Black". Time. 17 January 1955. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Aboutus". www.iccw.co.in. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ "Genealogy". Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
Further reading
- India's 50 Most Illustrious Women (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta
External links
- "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur" by Illa Vij, and short extract from Kaur's Gandhij and Women, The Tribune, Chandigarh