Prem Sahgal

Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal (25 March 1917 – 17 October 1992) was an officer of the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose which fought against the British imperial rule in undivided India.

Sahgal was a Captain in the 2/10th Baluch Regiment of the British Indian Army and fought against Japanese forces in Malaya serving with distinction before being made a Prisoner of War in 1942.^[1] He then joined the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose to fight against the British, and 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 before surrendering.

Sahgal was later tried at Red Fort along with three other fellow-officers for treason, a trial that became famous all over India in 1946. Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal married Lakshmi Sahgal in March 1947 in Lahore. Their daughter Subhashini Ali is a leader of the All India Democratic Women's Association, politically affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

According to his daughter Subhashini Ali, Sahgal was an atheist.^[2]

References

1. ^ Smith pp 543-544
2. ^ "There are religions that have very rigid rules and there are others that don't. Religion is something that I, as a person, am not interested in. I have always been an atheist. My parents were atheists. It doesn't bother me if somebody is religious. My problem is when religion is used to institutionalise other things." The Rediff Interview/ Subhasini Ali, 8 August 2001 (accessed 21 April 2008).

Further reading

• Fay, Peter Ward. The Forgotten Army. New Delhi: Rupa Paperback, 1994 (Paperback, ISBN 81-7167-356-2)
• Smith, Colin. Singapore Burning . London: Penguin Books, 2006 (Paperback, ISBN0-141-01036-3)

Persondata
Name	Sahgal,Prem
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 March 1917
Place of birth
Date of death	17 October 1992
Place of death