Amrit Kaur

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Amrit Kaur with Mahatma Gandhi 1945

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (born February 2, 1889 in Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh , † October 2, 1964 ) was an Indian politician of Christian faith.

biography

Amrit Kaur was the daughter of Harnam Singh, the second son of the Maharajas of Kapurthala . She attended private schools in England and met leading politicians of the Indian independence movement such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Motilal Nehru at an early age in Marnorville, her father's residence in Shimla . They sought the advice of Harnam Singh, who had converted to Christianity .

The princess, who was trained in England and was also successful in sport, later became one of Gandhi's secretaries for sixteen years and ultimately also his adviser, particularly on issues of women's suffrage and equality . She published her ideas on these topics in books like Appeal to Women and For Women and became a co-founder of the All-Indian Women's Committee of the Indian National Congress (INC).

After the sovereignty of India from the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947, she finally began her political career and was appointed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 to the first twelve-member government of India, where she was Minister of Health until 1957. As such, she was also President of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Health Assembly , in 1950 . Between 1951 and 1957 she was also communications minister in Nehru's cabinet.

After leaving the government, she became a member of the House of Lords ( Rajya Sabha ) in 1957 and was a member of it until her death.

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personal data
SURNAME Kaur, Amrit
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian politician
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh
DATE OF DEATH 2nd October 1964