Rani Lila Ramkumar Bhargava was an Indian

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er, educationist and a former leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. She was an associate of Indian prime minister,

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and was married into the family of

Munshi Nawal Kishore Munshi Nawal Kishore (3 January 1836 – 19 February 1895) was a book publisher from India. He has been called Caxton of India. In 1858, at the age of 22, he founded the Nawal Kishore Press at Lucknow. This institution today is the oldest print ...

, the founder of reportedly the oldest

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Nawal Kishore Press The Nawal Kishore Press (also spelled Newal Kishore Press) was a publishing house founded by Munshi Nawal Kishore in Lucknow, British India, in 1858. It grew rapidly between 1865 and 1872 from its modest beginnings as a small printing press, ad ...

, to Munshi Ramkumar Bhargava, a fourth generation member of the family and the holder of the title of ''Raja'' from

Lord Wavell Field Marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World Wa ...

, then

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

, Her son, Ranjit Bhargava is a noted

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

and a

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

awardee.

Early life and career

Rani Lila was born in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Karnataka. She moved to Lucknow after getting married at the age of 16. She was known as Rani Sahiba and was one of the founding members of the National Council of Women in India (NCWI). Rani Lila also served as its president.

Awards

She was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1971 with

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Death

On 25 May 2014, Rani Lila Ram Kumar Bhargava died after a short illness at the PGI hospital in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. She had three sons and one daughter.

References

Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Year of birth missing 2014 deaths Politicians from Bengaluru Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Indian independence activists from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women scientists Gandhians 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women Indian independence activists 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Scholars from Bengaluru Social workers from Karnataka Women educators from Karnataka Educators from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly {{India-activist-stub