A Revolutionary Life: Memoirs of a Political Activist

In 1940, Lakshmi Sahgal left for Singapore to work as a doctor, and came into contact with a group of expatriate Indians who would form the core of the future Indian National Army. In July 1943, Netaji called upon her to participate in the formation of the Rani Jhansi Regiment, the first and only all-woman regiment in modern Indian history. Trained in warfare and weaponry, this regiment participated actively in the INA’s struggle for freedom till 1946, when it was disbanded, only to be remembered as the Forgotten Army.

In 1956, Malayala Manorama published a long piece on Lakshmi Sahgal and her Rani Jhansi Regiment in their magazine, Manorama. The first time she wrote of her experiences in the INA was at the behest of Comrade Namboodiripad in the late ’60s. This was translated into Malayalam and published in Chinta, the CPM magazine. The original manuscript was stashed in a trunk where it remained for the next 25 years. It reappeared briefly in a Hindi translation in 1938, then disappeared again.

Here, at last, is Lakshmi Sahgal’s autobiography in its original form, as she wrote it decades ago. One of the few first-person accounts of the time, it is a document of immense political and historical value, and offers a unique perspective on women in armed struggle and the freedom movement.