Nellie Sengupta (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Edith Ellen Gray; 12 January 1886 – 23 October 1973) was an English-Indian politician and social worker who fought for Indian Independence. She was the first woman Alderman for Calcutta and was elected president 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 ...

at its 48th annual session at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in 1933.

Family

Edith was the daughter of Frederick and Edith Henrietta Gray.Sushila Nayar and Kamla Mankekar (2002)
''Women pioneers in India's renaissance, as I remember her: contributions from eminent women of present-day India''
India: National Book Trust. p. 167. She was born and brought up in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where her father worked at a club. As a young girl, she fell in love with Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, a young Bengali student at

Downing College Downing College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, ...

who lodged at her parental home. Despite parental opposition, she married Jatindra Mohan in 1909 and returned to

with him. Nellie, as she became known, and Jatin had two sons Sishir and Anil.

Non-Cooperation Movement

On returning to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Nellie's husband Jatindra Mohan started a very successful career as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

in Calcutta. In 1921 Jatindra Mohan joined the Indian freedom struggle and was

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

's right-hand man in Bengal apart from being the Mayor of Calcutta for three terms and the head of the Legislative Assembly. Nellie joined her husband in participating in the

Non-Cooperation Movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

of 1921. After his imprisonment during the Assam-Bengal Railwaymen's strike, she forcefully protested against the District authorities imposition of a ban on assembly, addressed mass meetings and courted arrest. She defied the law by selling Khadi (hand-spun cloth) door to door. In 1931 she suffered four months' imprisonment at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

for addressing an unlawful assembly. Jatin was imprisoned in

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

and died in 1933.

Congress president

During the turmoil of the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

many senior Congress leaders were imprisoned. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya the President elect of the Congress was arrested before the Calcutta Session of 1933. Nellie Sengupta was elected in his place, thus becoming the third woman, and the second European-born woman to be elected. She was elected president by the party for her contribution to the party and the country. She was also elected as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

to the Calcutta Corporation in 1933 and 1936. She was also elected on a Congress ticket to the

Bengal Legislative Assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislatures of British India, legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal Presidency, Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It ...

in 1940 and 1946 from Chiitagong. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she drew attention to the misbehaviour of foreign troops.

Post-independence

East Pakistan

After independence, she chose to live in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, in her husband's hometown of

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, on the specific request of the then Indian Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, who asked her to look after the interests of the Hindu minorities in East Pakistan. She was elected unopposed to the

East Pakistan Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

in 1954. She was a member of the Minority Board and played an active role in the social life of Chittagong. In 1970, she was injured at her home due to a bad fall. At the initiative of then-Indian PM

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 ...

, she shifted to Calcutta for medical treatment and care.

India

While in Calcutta with her family, the Pakistani government confiscated her residential mansion and other properties as enemy property under Enemy Property Act. When Bangladesh was liberated in 1971, she continued to live on in Calcutta while briefly returning to Chittagong in 1972. She continued her treatment in Calcutta, where she was operated on and all medical expenses being paid for by the Indian government. She was accorded a tremendous public reception in Calcutta and was honoured by the government with

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

by the Indian government for her lifetime contribution to freedom, humanity and society. She died in Calcutta in 1973.

Awards

, 1973

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengupta, Nellie 1886 births 1973 deaths People from Cambridge British people in colonial India Politicians from Kolkata Presidents of the Indian National Congress Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in social work Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Social workers from West Bengal Women in West Bengal politics Women educators from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal Naturalised citizens of India Indian people of English descent Pakistani people of English descent Politicians from East Pakistan Politicians from Chittagong Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954 East Pakistan MLAs 1954–1958 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century Pakistani women politicians 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Women members of the Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan