33 Facts About Amrit Kaur

Rajkumari Dame Bibiji Amrit Kaur DStJ was an Indian activist and politician.

Amrit Kaur held the charge of Sports Minister and Urban Development Minister and was instrumental in setting up the National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

Amrit Kaur was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, the body that framed the Constitution of India.

Amrit Kaur was born on 2 February 1887 in Badshah Bagh, Lucknow University Campus, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Amrit Kaur was born to Raja Sir Harnam Singh Ahluwalia the younger son of the Raja Randhir Singh of Kapurthala.

Harnam Singh left Kapurthala following a conflict over succession to the throne, becoming the manager of estates in the former princely state of Oudh, and converted to Christianity on the urging of Golakhnath Chatterjee, a missionary from Bengal, Singh later married Chatterjee's daughter, Priscilla, and they had ten children, of which Amrit Kaur was the youngest, and their only daughter.

Amrit Kaur was raised as a Protestant Christian, and had her early education in Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, England, and had her college education at Oxford University.

Amrit Kaur's father had shared close association with Indian National Congress leaders including Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who often visited them.

Amrit Kaur was drawn to the thoughts and vision of Mahatma Gandhi, whom she met in Bombay in 1919.

Amrit Kaur formally joined the Congress and began active participation in India's independence movement while focusing on bringing about social reform.

Amrit Kaur was strongly opposed to the practice of purdah and to child marriage, and campaigned to abolish the devadasi system in India.

Amrit Kaur was later appointed its secretary in 1930, and president in 1933.

Amrit Kaur was imprisoned by the British authorities for her participation in the Dandi March, led by Mahatama Gandhi in 1930.

Amrit Kaur went to live at Gandhi's ashram in 1934 and adopted an austere lifestyle despite her aristocratic background.

Amrit Kaur was imprisoned by the authorities for her actions during the time.

Amrit Kaur championed the cause of universal suffrage, and testified before the Lothian Committee on Indian franchise and constitutional reforms, and before the Joint Select Committee of British Parliament on Indian constitutional reforms.

Amrit Kaur served as the Chairperson of the All India Women's Education Fund Association.

Amrit Kaur was a member of the Executive Committee of Lady Irwin College in New Delhi.

Amrit Kaur was sent as a member of the Indian delegation to UNESCO conferences in London and Paris in 1945 and 1946, respectively.

Amrit Kaur served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the All India Spinners' Association.

Amrit Kaur worked to reduce illiteracy, and eradicate the custom of child marriages and the purdah system for women, which were then prevalent among some Indian communities.

Amrit Kaur was a member of Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights and Sub-Committee on Minorities.

Amrit Kaur advocated for universal franchise, opposed affirmative action for women, and debated the language concerning the protection of religious rights.

Amrit Kaur led the campaign to eradicate tuberculosis and was the driving force behind the largest BCG vaccination programme in the world.

Amrit Kaur introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha for the establishment of AIIMS in 1956, following a recommendation made after the Government of India conducted a national health survey.

Amrit Kaur was instrumental in raising funds for the establishment of AIIMS, securing aid from New Zealand, Australia, West Germany, Sweden, and the United States.

Amrit Kaur was instrumental in founding the Indian Council of Child Welfare.

Amrit Kaur served as the Chairperson of the Indian Red Cross society for fourteen years.

Amrit Kaur served on the boards of governmental bodies aimed at fighting tuberculosis and leprosy.

Amrit Kaur started the Amrit Kaur College of Nursing and the National Sports Club of India.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur played a key role in the development of College of Nursing, New Delhi, Government of India renamed the college as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing in her honor.

Between 1958 and 1963 Amrit Kaur was the president of the All-India Motor Transport Congress in Delhi.

Amrit Kaur was awarded the Rene Sand Memorial Award, and was named TIME Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1947.