Lieutenant colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal (25 March 1917 – 17 October 1992) was an Indian Army officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. After becoming a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, he served as an officer in the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

, which was led by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

and had been set up by the Japanese to fight against

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Life

Sahgal was educated at the Central Model High School and Government College, Lahore. In 1936, he passed the military entrance exam and went to the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on the Special List published on 1 February 1939 and was attached to the 2nd Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, then stationed at Secunderabad. He joined that battalion on 24 February 1939 and remained there for a year. That battalion was posted to Singapore in August 1939, in anticipation of war, but Sahgal was transferred to the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, which remained in a peace station. After one year of service, Sahgal took a one month leave and spent time with his family in Lahore. Upon his return, he was posted to the 5th Battalion of the 10th Baluch Regiment, stationed at Peshawar on the North West Frontier, relatively close to his family and far from the theatres of war. Shortly afterwards, on 30 April 1940, Sahgal was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He volunteered to be transferred to the 2/

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

as they were short of officers. In October 1940, he reported to the 2nd Battalion at

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

near

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 ...

, in the then United Provinces. That regiment sailed for Singapore on 28 October 1940 and landed there on 11 November 1940. By December 1941, Sahgal was promoted acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 2/

of the

and fought against

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

forces in Malaya. He served with distinction before being made a prisoner of war in February 1942.

Indian National Army

As a prisoner, Sahgal was invited to fight for Japan’s proxy - the Indian National Army. He joined the

(INA) of

and took up arms against his former colleagues in the British Indian Army. He served as the commander of the 2nd Division, led the 2nd Infantry Regiment at Popa against Messervy's 17th Indian Division during the latter half of the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

before surrendering to the British forces. During his stint with the INA, Sahgal came into contact with Lakshmi Swaminadhan, whom he later married. After the INA disbanded, officers and soldiers of the INA were arrested. Major General Shah Nawaz Khan, Brigadier Habib ur Rehman of Panjeri (Bhimber) Colonel Prem Kumar, and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were tried in court. Upon the directive of Allama Mashriqi, the

Khaksars The Khaksar movement was established by Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi in 1931, with the aim of freeing India from the rule of the British Empire. The Khaksars opposed the partition of India and favoured a united country. The membership of the Kha ...

made great efforts for their release, and their efforts did not go in vain. During a visit to the Khaksar Tehrik headquarters, Major General Shah Nawaz thanked Allama Mashriqi for obtaining their release. The general also thanked the Khaksars and stated, "We are highly grateful to the Khaksar Tehrik for their efforts in obtaining our release." (“Al-Islah” dated 11 January 1946) After surrendering, Sahgal spent time in an Indian prison before being put on trial for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

along with three fellow officers. The trial was held in November 1945, by which time India was on the verge of gaining her independence. The stage was set for suitable atmospherics when the

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

was named the venue for the trial, a choice without precedent in the annals of Indian law. Jawaharlal Nehru recognized the potential of the event and donned his lawyer's robes, after an interval of several decades, to appear as counsel for the defense. The trial duly became famous all over India in 1946 and are known in history books as the

Indian National Army trials The Indian National Army trials (also known as the INA trials and the Red Fort trials) was the British Indian trial by court-martial of a number of officers of the Indian National Army (INA) between November 1945 and May 1946, on various charges ...

. The charge of treason was not upheld, but Sahgal was dismissed from the army.

Personal life

In March 1947 at Lahore, Sahgal married Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan, daughter of

Ammu Swaminathan Ammu Swaminathan or A. V. Ammakuti (22 April 1894 – 4 July 1978) was an Indian social worker and political activist during the Indian independence movement and a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Early life Ammukutty Swaminadha ...

. His wife had been the head of the women's wing of the Indian National Army, and they had worked closely together. Lakshmi had previously been married to P. K. N. Rao, a commercial pilot working with Tata Airlines. She had walked out of that marriage. but had never secured a divorce, having no grounds which were legally valid at that time. Nevertheless, Prem and Lakshmi walked into a registry office, failed to mention this matter there, and received a certificate of marriage. Since Lakshmi's husband wanted only to be rid of her, they never faced any legal problems. The Sahgals have two daughters, Subhashini Ali and Anisa Puri. Subhashini Ali, formerly married to the film-maker

Muzaffar Ali Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. Biography Raja Muzaffar was born in Lucknow of the erstwhile United Provinces, British India, in 1944. The elde ...

, is a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

women's activist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and a leader of the

All India Democratic Women's Association All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) is a women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality and Women's rights, women's emancipation. It has an organisational presence in 23 states in India, with a current membership o ...

, the women's wing of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. According to Subhashini Ali, Prem Sahgal was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and believed passionately in communist ideology.The Rediff Interview of Subhasini Ali
8 August 2001 (accessed 21 April 2008).

Life

Indian National Army

Personal life

References

Further reading