We all tell our children bedtime stories. In some of those stories, a princess is waiting for her prince charming. In the end, they both find each other and live happily ever after.
But I am going to tell you about Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, a princess who did not wait for any prince to fulfil her dream. Because her dream was different. Her dream was to live in an independent country. All she wanted was to bring justice and social change to her country.
EARLY LIFE
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born on 2 February 1889 in Lucknow in Kapurthala royal family. She was sent to England for her schooling. At the age of 20, she returned to India in 1918. After returning she found her father closely associated with the leaders of the freedom movement.
After meeting Mahatma Gandhi in 1919 she was influenced by his ideas and teaching. In later years, she joined Gandhi’s ashram and served as a secretary for 16 years.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT
Amrit Kaur joined the Indian independence movement in the 1930s. In 1927, she co-founded the AIWC (All India women’s conference). She was worried about the social status of women at that time. She strongly condemned the social customs like purdah, child marriage and Devdasi.
She strongly criticized Jalliawala Bagh’s massacre. After that, she joined the Indian National Congress as an active member. In 1930 she was imprisoned for participating in Gandhi March. She also criticized Ramsay MacDonald’s award which separated the electorate into minorities, including women.
Amrit Kaur played a vital role in shaping our Constitution. She was elected as a member of the assembly’s fundamental right subcommittee and the minority subcommittee.
She advocated universal adult franchise and women’s role in politics. She was in favour of the Uniform civil. Her idea of increasing the age of marriage for girls and boys gave birth to SHARDA ACT.
ROLE AS A CABINET MINISTER
In 1947, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was appointed as the first health minister and the first women cabinet minister of independent India. Later on, she made many contributions to both the health and education sectors.
In 1956, she introduced AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) and helped in its establishment. In 1945, she was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Indian delegation to UNESCO. She was the founder member and chairperson of the Indian Red Cross Society and vice president of the International Red Cross Society.
She played a vital role in fighting diseases like Malaria and Tuberculosis in the country. She achieved the largest BCG vaccination program in the world.
She was the founder member of Delhi’s Lady Irwin College.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was a visionary leader. Her ideas on social reforms shaped the future of India. She died on February 6, 1964 at the age of 75. Even after her death, her ideas will be alive in all of us.