A soldier who led women into battle against the British Empire, Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal commanded the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Azad Hind Fauj — and on her birth anniversary, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta offered a heartfelt homage to the freedom fighter on Saturday, 24 October 2026.

Posting in Hindi, CM Gupta wrote: 'Koti-koti naman' (a million salutes) to Dr. Sahgal, honouring her as a commander of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, a great freedom fighter, and a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan. She described Dr. Sahgal's 'indomitable courage, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication to national service' as an eternal source of inspiration, calling her life 'an unparalleled example of women's power, patriotism, and selfless public service.'

The woman who armed India's daughters for freedom

Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal was born on 24 October 1914 in Madras. A trained physician, she joined Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fauj — the Indian National Army — in Singapore during World War II, driven by a single conviction: that India's freedom was worth every sacrifice.

Bose personally appointed her to command the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, the first organised all-women military unit in modern Indian history. The regiment drew its name from Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the 19th-century warrior queen — a deliberate invocation of feminine martial courage. Dr. Sahgal drilled, trained, and led these women soldiers through some of the most difficult terrain of the Burma campaign, blending her medical expertise with frontline leadership.

A life after the front lines — and a Padma Vibhushan

After independence, Dr. Sahgal returned to medicine and spent decades serving the poor in Kanpur, running a free clinic that became legendary in the city. Her post-war life was, in many ways, as remarkable as her wartime one — quiet, consistent, and entirely devoted to others.

The Government of India recognised her contributions with the Padma Vibhushan in 1998, the country's second-highest civilian honour. She passed away in 2012, aged 97, widely mourned as one of the last living bridges to the Bose-era independence movement.

Why the INA tradition endures in political memory

Tributes to Azad Hind Fauj figures have long held a distinctive place in Indian political messaging. The INA represents a strand of the freedom struggle defined by armed resistance and sacrifice — one that BJP leaders, including CM Gupta, have consistently foregrounded to underscore nationalist history and the contribution of women to India's independence.

Dr. Sahgal's story, in particular, threads together several powerful threads: military courage, medical service, women's leadership, and grassroots public work — making her a figure almost all political traditions can honour without contest.

A century after she first picked up a stethoscope and a cause, Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal's life remains the sharpest possible rebuke to anyone who underestimates what a woman with purpose can do.