Following her long-lasting association with the Indian independence movement, she was appointed the first Health Minister of India in 1947 and remained in office until 1957.

[2][3] During her tenure, Kaur ushered in several healthcare reforms in India and is widely remembered for her contributions to the sector and her advocacy of women's rights.

Harnam Singh left Kapurthala following a conflict over succession to the throne, becoming the manager of estates in the former princely state of Oudh, and converted to Christianity on the urging of Golakhnath Chatterjee, a missionary from Bengal, Singh later married Chatterjee's daughter, Priscilla, and they had ten children, of which Amrit Kaur was the youngest, and their only daughter.

[9] Although she was, at the time of her death, a practicing Christian, she was cremated according to family customs and her funeral was presided over by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi.

[6] Today, her private papers are part of the Archives at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, at Teen Murti House, Delhi.

Her father had shared close association with Indian National Congress leaders including Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who often visited them.

She formally joined the Congress and began active participation in India's independence movement while also focusing on bringing about social reform.

[13] She was strongly opposed to the practice of purdah and to child marriage, and campaigned to abolish the devadasi system in India.

[14][6] The British authorities appointed her as a member of the Advisory Board of Education, but she resigned from the position following her involvement with the Quit India Movement in 1942.

[21] Kaur worked to reduce illiteracy,[22] and eradicate the custom of child marriages and the purdah system for women, which were then prevalent among some Indian communities.

[24] Indian Christians thus made issues relevant to their community known to Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, who delivered their concerns to him.

[24] Jawaharlal Nehru thus saw Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur as "a kind of representative of Christians in India".

[24] On February 18, 1956, the then Minister of Health, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, introduced a new bill in the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

[12] She also advocated for universal franchise, opposed affirmative action for women, and debated the language concerning the protection of religious rights.