Nellie Sengupta

Nellie Sengupta (née 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 at its 48th annual session at Calcutta in 1933.

Family Edith was the daughter of Frederick and Edith Henrietta Gray. She was born and brought up in Cambridge, 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 who lodged at her parental home. Despite parental opposition, she married Jatindra Mohan in 1909 and returned to Calcutta with him. Nellie, as she became known, and Jatin had two sons Sishir and Anil.

She was also elected as an Alderman to the Calcutta Corporation in 1933 and 1936. 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, 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 by the Indian government for her lifetime contribution to freedom, humanity and society.

Awards Padma Vibhushan, 1973