Manmohini Sahgal (née Zutshi, 1909–1994) was an Indian

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

and politician. She was a member of the

Nehru–Gandhi family The Nehru–Gandhi family is an Indian political family that has occupied a prominent place in the politics of India. The involvement of the family has traditionally revolved around the Indian National Congress, as various members have traditio ...

Biography

Her father was a nephew to

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Nehr ...

, and she was therefore

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

's first cousin once removed. She was born and grew up in Motilal Nehru's home in

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

. As many others in the family, she was an active participant in India's struggle for independence. A leader in student politics during her college years, Sahgal followed her mother and sisters in brief prison terms for demonstrating against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Between 1930 and 1935, Sahgal finished college, became a teacher and was a member of the revolutionary

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. In 1935, she married a government

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", ...

and, she explains, had to give up politics as well as active association with her old friends. In her autobiography she describes following her husband to various posts, supervising a growing household. Sahgal joined various ladies clubs and volunteer welfare organizations: as a member of the Catering Advisory Committee for the North Eastern Railway, she investigated charges against crooked vendors at train stations. She made an unsuccessful run for public office.

Autobiography

References

Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Nehru–Gandhi family Women in Uttar Pradesh politics 1909 births 1994 deaths Politicians from Allahabad Women Indian independence activists 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians {{UttarPradesh-INC-politician-stub