Kalyani Sen
Kalyani Sen (left) with Chief Officer Margaret I. Cooper (right), at Rosyth, 3 June 1945
Born
Kalyani Gupta

c. 1917
Education
Years active1943-1945
Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) WAC(I)
AllegianceBritish Raj British India (1943-1945)
Service/branchWomen’s Royal Indian Naval Service
Years of service1943-1945
RankSecond Officer
Known for
  • Debating
  • First Indian service woman to visit the UK
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1939; div. 1953)​
ChildrenMala Sen (daughter)
Parent

Kalyani Sen (born c. 1917), was Second Officer of the Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS), a section of the Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) WAC(I). In 1945, she became the first Indian service woman to visit the UK.

Sen was the daughter of the principal of the Mayo Arts College, Lahore. In 1938 she gained a masters in English literature from the Punjab University before commencing studies for a masters in political science. As a student she performed in theatre and at one time played Ophelia in the play Hamlet, at a time when Indian women did not typically act on stage. Her success on stage led to her being sought out for cinema. In 1938, while a student at Punjab University, at a session of the All-India Inter-University Debate, she was announced as the best speaker after she spoke against the proposal that India should not contribute to future wars. That debate won her the gold medal and Punjab University the Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee trophy.

In 1943, during the Second World War, Sen joined the WAC(I). The following year she received the King's commission as Second Officer.

Early life and education

Kalyani Sen (née Gupta), affectionately known as 'Babli',[1][2] was born around 1917, the only daughter of S. N. Gupta, an artist and the principal of the Mayo Arts College, Lahore,[1][3][4] and Mrs. Gupta, who later became a chief commander for the Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) WAC(I).[4] Her grandfather was the journalist Nagendranath Gupta.[3] She studied at Kinnaird College and Government College, both in Lahore.[5][6] At the 13th annual exhibition of the Punjab Fine Arts Society in 1935, she was listed as one of the prize winners.[7] At Government College, she performed in open air theatre,[8] and played Ophelia in the play Hamlet, at a time when Indian women did not typically act on stage.[9] Her success on stage led to her being sought out for cinema in then Calcutta.[9]

In 1938, she gained a masters in English literature from the Punjab University before commencing studies for a masters in political science.[5] There, she took part in debates including arguing against the notion that "sport is not in the domain of women."[10] In the same year at a session of the All-India Inter-University Debate, organised by the Calcutta University Law College union, she was announced as the best speaker after she spoke against the proposal "That India should be no party to future wars."[3] That debate won her the gold medal, and resulted in the Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee trophy going to Punjab University.[3]

Second World War

In 1943, during the Second World War, Sen joined the WAC(I).[4][lower-alpha 1] The following year she received the King's commission as Second Officer.[13] In 1945, now an officer for the Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS), she became the first Indian service woman to visit the UK, at the age of 28.[14][15] Along with Chief Officer Margaret I. Cooper and second officer Phyllis Cunningham, their purpose was to carry out a two month study of training and administration in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), by visiting WRNS establishments across Britain.[14][15] They arrived in the UK on 13 April of that year and attended a press conference that same day.[15] Sen made broadcasts from the BBC in English and Bengali, and attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.[5] She reported that "In India there is still a big prejudice against girls and women working with men… but the women are so keen to get into the Services that they are breaking it down."[14] On 3 July 1945, they left the UK to return to India.[16] At the time, her husband was serving with the Indian Army in Burma.[15]

Personal life

During her course in political science in 1939, she married Captain (later Lieutenant-General) Lionel Protip Sen of the Baluch Regiment.[17] Her first daughter, Radha, was born in 1941.[2][18] In 1947, she gave birth to Mala.[19][20] In 1953, her marriage to L. P. Sen ended in divorce.[19][20]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wives of Royal Indian Navy (RIN) officers were first employed in 1939, at the onset of the Second World War, with the purpose of assisting in decoding secret messages.[11] The WAC(I) was created in 1942 and its naval section, WRINS, was formed in 1944.[12] It corresponded with the WRNS.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Palit, Maj Gen DK (2004). Musings & Memories: Vol (I). New Delhi: Lancer Publishers. pp. 114, 127, 236. ISBN 81-7062-275-1.
  2. 1 2 "Births". Civil and Military Gazette. Lahore. 26 September 1941. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chatterjee, Ramananda (1938). "All-India Inter-University debate in Calcutta". Modern Review. Prabasi Press Private, Limited. Lxiv: 658.
  4. 1 2 3 Indian Information. 1945. pp. 386, 463.
  5. 1 2 3 "Women's work for women in India". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 5 August 1945. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Bali, Amar Nath (1969). Glimpses of Punjab's History. New Delhi. p. 148.
  7. ↑ "Punjab Fine Arts Society: 13th Annual Exhibition". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 27 February 1935. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Government College Dramatic Club". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 3 June 1938. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. 1 2 Cinema Vision India. Vol. 1. S. Kak. 1980. But when Kalyani Gupta was sought for from the Punjab to play in a Calcutta film we felt that we were entering the stream of entertainment arts. At that time it must be remembered that hardly any woman had been allowed to appear on the stage or in the films.
  10. ↑ "The Indian Listener". III (6). All India Radio (AIR),New Delhi. 7 March 1938: 360. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ↑ Mohanan, Kalesh (2020). The Royal Indian Navy: Trajectories, Transformations and the Transfer of Power. Abingdon, Oxford: Routledge. pp. 94–96. ISBN 978-1-138-55495-5.
  12. 1 2 Harfield, Alan (2005). "The Women's Auxiliary Corps (India)". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 83 (335): 243–254. ISSN 0037-9700. JSTOR 44231211.
  13. ↑ Deepak, Kashyap (2021). "Indian Women in World War II: The Air Raid Precaution 'Comfort' Women". Indian Historical Review. 48 (2): 202–217. doi:10.1177/03769836211052097. ISSN 0376-9836. S2CID 244592858.
  14. 1 2 3 "Women's Royal Indian Naval Service established during WW2". Association of Wrens. 30 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Three "WRINS" Officers arrive in London". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 15 April 1945. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "WRINS returning to India after training in U.K". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 4 July 1945. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "Allied army chiefs in France". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 2 November 1939. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ↑ "Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class". UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960. 1949 – via ancestry.co.uk.
  19. 1 2 Roy, Amit (27 May 2011). "The woman who tamed a bandit". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Mala Sen: Writer and race equality activist". East End Women's Museum. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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