AEGAEUM JOURNAL ISSN NO: 0776-3808

One of the Pioneers in Western Medicine- Dr.

Chandrani Sadhya

Assistant Professor

School of Arts and Humanities

REVA University, Bangalore-560064

[email protected]

ABSTRACT American Historian David Kopf mentioned Kadambini Ganguly in 1979 in his Book The Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind. He considered Kadambini Ganguly as the “the most accomplished and liberated Brahmo woman of her time.” Raja in association with in 1828 formed the Brahma Sabha. The main objective of this Sabha was to bring out the true essence of the Vedanta which was corrupted by Brahmanical dominion and superstitions. The Trust Deed was created in 1830 which assured its inception and is now called as the Adi . In 1861 the Brahmo Samaj was established by Nobin Roy. The ideals of Brahmo Samaj included eradication of dowry as well as caste system, emancipation of women, better educational system, abolition of Sati system, widow remarriage, righteousness, truth, knowledge, reason, free will, virtuous observation, secular principle, renounce polytheism, renounce the need for place for worship, renounce superstition, dismisses distinctions based on caste, creed, colour, race, religion etc. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was instrumental in bringing the modern Indian Renaissance and was motivated by Western thoughts to begin reforms. He was a person of letters and was proficient in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, English and Bengali. He was against all valueless religious rituals and ceremonies. He followed monotheism and was against idolatry. He vehemently opposed sati system, polygamy and child marriage and was in favour of widow remarriage. He was opposed by conservative Hindus. He was in favour of reason, humanity and compassion. His activities attracted the attention of the then Governor- General William Bentinck who abolished the Sati system in 1829. He despised the underestimation of women and was against the existing ideas that women were inferior to men. He professed the education of women in English language and western sciences. After the demise of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Maharishi continued the great work. He was a profoundly religious person. He combined the Tattwabodhini sabha with Brahmo Samaj. He was one of the first individuals in Bengal who started higher education for women. Keshab Chandra Sen was affected by Christianity. He believed in the spirit of Christianity. In 1866 Keshab Chandra Sen left Brahmo Samaj. He married his fourteen-year-old daughter to a prince. This act of Keshab Chandra Sen was highly criticised by the existing members of the Brahmo Samaj. Braja Kishore Basu, the father of Kadambini Ganguly was an ardent follower of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Braja Kishore Basu, was employed as a headmaster who formed the Bhagalpur Mahila Samiti in 1863, and actively participated in social movements related to women empowerment in conjunction with Abhay Charan Mallick. The youngest member of

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his Bhagalpur Mahila Samiti was his daughter Kadambini Ganguly. During the period of misogynistic practices, namely Purdah, Infanticide, Child Marriage and Sati, Kadambini Ganguly was considered a pioneer in the field of western medicine. Kadambini Ganguly in conjunction with was one of the two foremost lady graduates from India and from the erstwhile British Empire. Keywords: Brahmo Samaj, Dwarkanath Ganguly, Western Medicine, Freedom Struggle of India, Education in England, Social Movements 1. Introduction She was born in 18th July, 1861 as Kadambini Basu in Bhagalpur, Bihar, in a Brahmo family which belonged to Barisal. She became one of the first female physicians to practise western medicine. She belonged to a progressive family as her father believed in the principles of Brahmo samaj. She did her education from Bangla Mahila Vidyalaya which was later combined with the Bethune School. Kadambini cleared the entrance examination for the in 1878. Kadambini in addition to her own studies, she tried to make education available to the reach of the women during that time. Her efforts led to the introduction of the graduation courses and a subject called Fine Arts in in 1883. She did her graduation in 1882 with a degree in arts and then resolved to study western medicine. Kadambini wished to appear for entrance exam along with a Bengali Christian girl, a resident of Dehra Dun called Chandramukhi Basu. However, the University was not admitting female students. Due to the efforts of Dwarkanath Ganguly, Kadambini Ganguly and another lady called Sarala were given a chance to appear for the CU entrance exam. Dwarkanath again raised a storm for Kadambini Ganguly to pursue her career in medicine and finally in 1884, Kadambini Ganguly became the first lady to be admitted to Calcutta Medical College. She was able to graduate in 1886 from Calcutta Medical College after clearing hindrances that came in her way as the authorities in the Calcutta Medical College were not in favour of the idea of admission of female candidates. She became one of the two female candidates to complete her graduation from Calcutta Medical College. She was a pioneer in getting education available to women and was looked upon as a role model for women to wage a war for their right to education. Kadambini was given a scholarship of Rs. 20 per month while she was pursuing medicine. A professor was opposed to the concept of Kadambini’s pursual of western medicine that he had failed Kadambini in a particular subject which deprived her of her MB degree Certificate in 1888. She worked in Lady Dufferin Women’s Hospital for a while before commencing her further education in London in 1892. There was a very prominent reason for leaving Lady Dufferin Women Hospital as her co -workers and the staff there were not ready to accept a lady working as a doctor. 2. Kadambini’s Marriage to Dwarkanath Ganguly and their Married Life Rajib Ganguly, the great-grandson of Kadambini Ganguly once commented in an event arranged by Lady Dufferin Hospital to celebrate Kadambini’s 150th birth anniversary in 2012, that “Their extremely successful relationship (marriage) was founded on mutual love, sensitivity, and intelligence”. He also mentioned that “Dwarkanath fully supported Kadambini’s further education.” Kadambini Basu, which was her maiden name was married to Dwarkanath Ganguly in the year 1883. The marriage was not accepted by the Hindus and a section of the . Dwarkanath was a widower who age was 39 years at the time of their marriage. She met her husband in Bethune School. Dwarkanath helped her realise her underlying talent. He was her mentor and was 17 years elder to her. He was a follower of Brahmo Samaj and fought for the liberation of women. 3. Dwarkanath Ganguly- Husband of Kadambini Ganguly

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Dwarkanath Ganguly was considered as a Brahmo reformer in Bengal of British India. He devoted his life to the emancipation of women and enlightenment of society. Dwarkanath Ganguly was born on 1st Baisakh, 1845 at Magurkhanda village in Bikrampur, . His father was called Krishnapran Ganguly. Dwarkanath Ganguly imbibed the strong will power of his mother. This is proved from the fact that once his mother wanted to visit a pilgrimage called Puri in Orissa. Though she belonged to a rich family she didn’t ask for any help from her father to visit the Pilgrimage. She instead went to the Pilgrimage on foot which shows her strong will power. Dwarkanath Ganguly did his early education from a village Pathsala. Then he studied in a English school. However, he could not clear the entrance class examination. He was a teacher by profession and taught at Sonarang in Bikrampur, Olpur in Faridpur and in the minor school at Lonsingh. At the age of 17 he came to know about a girl who was killed by her family members by poisoning as she had wandered from the normal course of action and he decided never to get involved in polygamy, which was a considered as a fashion in the conservative upper caste Hindu society. He owned a weekly magazine name Abalabandhab which translated into English means Friend of Women. Sivanath Sastri commented, “We were wonderstruck on reading Abalabandhab. Who was the person who was expressing such liberal opinion about the education and development of women from a faraway village”. He later shifted his base to Calcutta and started publishing Abalabandhab from Calcutta. In 1873, he functioned as the Principal, teacher, dietician, guard etc. of Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya. The school was renamed as Banga Mahila Vidyalaya and was later combined with Bethune School. He also published a few articles on the Slave Trade of Assam in the newspaper called Sanjibani on the grim working conditions of the labourers in the tea gardens of Assam. He married Kadambini, few years after the death of his first wife. They had eight children in total which included two children from his first marriage. His daughter Jyotirmoyee became a famous freedom fighter and his son Prabhat Chandra became a Journalist while his daughter from his first marriage called Bindhumukhi was married to Upendra Kishor Ray Chaudhuri. He published a number of works such as Bir Nari(play), Kobigantha, Nababarshiki, Jibanalekya, Suruchir Kutir(Novel), Jatiya Sangeet(compilation), Text Books such as Saral Patiganit, Bhugol, Sasthyatattwa. 4. Kadambini’s association with the Freedom Struggle of India Kadambini was profoundly associated with the freedom struggle of India. She was considered as the first woman to address a gathering of the . She initiated a number of movements at during the partition of Bengal. She also arranged a Women’s Conference in Calcutta in the year 1908. Kadambini fought for the rights of women coal miners in the Bihar, Orissa. She was appointed as the President of Transvaal Indian Association. David Kopf also mentioned in his Book that “Mrs Ganguli’s (sic) case was hardly typical even among the more emancipated Brahmo and Christian women in contemporary Bengali society. Her ability to rise above circumstances and to realise her potential as a human being made her a prize attraction to Sadharan Brahmos”. 5. Annie Besant and Kadambini Ganguly Annie Besant remarked Kadambini Ganguly as a “symbol that India’s freedom would uplift India’s womanhood” in her Book How India Wrought For Freedom. 6. Kadambini Ganguly and Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale Commented about Kadambini Ganguly in a letter that “Do you know or could tell me anything about Mrs Ganguly, or give me any advice? She has already passed what is called the first licentiate in medicine and surgery examinations and is to go up for the final examination in March next. This young lady, Mrs. Ganguly, married after she made up her mind to become a doctor and has had one, if not two children since. But she was absent only thirteen days for her lying-in and did not miss, I believe, a single lecture!”. Florence Nightingale also mentioned in the same letter that

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she had been told to recommend Kadambini Ganguly to Lady Dufferin “for any posts about the female wards of Calcutta”. 7. Kadambini’s Higher Education in England Kadambini made up her mind to pursue her higher education in England. She shattered all the conventions of the then society and instituted her sister to take care of her children while she went to England in1893. This was the result of her strong will power, the active involvement of Dwarkanath in her career and the timely support of her cousin Monomohan Ghosh, who was a barrister by profession in London. Kadambini Ganguly made up her mind to pursue three diploma courses in medical sciences from the Scottish College at Edinburgh. In England Kadambini Ganguly had an advantage that she had already done a BA degree from CU and a GMCB from CMC, she could finish her diploma in a short tenure. She got the three diplomas from Scottish College after getting trained in Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh. She became the only woman amidst the 14 successful candidates in that particular year. Kadambini Ganguly also specialised in paediatrics and gynaecology. The three diplomas she secured were namely, Licentiate of College of Physicians, Edinburgh(LRCP), Licentiate of the College of Surgeons, Glasgow (LRCS), and Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, Dublin (LFPS). 8. Kadambini’s return from England Kadambini Ganguly came back from England and joined the Lady Dufferin Hospital as a senior doctor. Kadambini came back from London with noteworthy degrees such as LRCP(Edinburgh), GFPC (Dublin), and LRCS (Glasgow). She was regarded as the first women in South Asia to function as a practitioner of western medicine having foreign degrees. She however, started her private practice again and became highly successful in that. At one point in time she became the physician of ’s Queen Mother in 1895-96 who recovered under her treatment and thus the royal families started calling her for treatment. 9. Kadambini’s rare feet as a doctor Kadambini Ganguly safely diagnosed a tumour as pregnancy and delivered a child while the other male doctors had diagnosed it as a tumour in the abdomen of a lady. 10. Kadambini’s involvement in Social Movements Kadambini Ganguly emancipated many women. Indian National Congress was established in 1885, however the entry of women was prohibited in Indian National Congress (INC). Dwarkanath Ganguly however was fighting against this practice of the INC. In 1889, Kadambini Ganguly along with five other women were given permission to participate in INC. She was the first female doctor who gave a vote of thanks. In 1890, Kadambini Ganguly gave a speech in English in the session of INC organized in Calcutta. She became the first woman to give a speech in English in the INC. Kadambini Ganguly initiated a Women’s Conference in Calcutta in 1906 soon after the Partition of Bengal. In the year 1908, she organised an association to support the workers in Transvaal, South Africa. She also presided over a meeting of the Sadharan Brahma Samaj in the year 1914, which was organised to honour Mahatma Gandhi. In the year 1915 Kadambini Ganguly criticised the system of Calcutta Medical College to restrict the admission of women which made Calcutta Medical College to change their system and include female students. She supported her husband Dwarkanath Ganguly in criticising the exploitation of tea garden workers in Assam and female coal mine workers in Bihar and Odisha.

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11. Major Confusion between Kadambini Ganguly and Anadibhai Joshi There was a major confusion with regard to India’s first female doctor to practice western medicine- Kadambini Ganguly or Anandibai Gopal Joshi. Anandibhai received her MB degree from Women’s Medical College, Pennsylvania in 1886, whereas Kadambini Ganguly got her degree from India. Anandibhai died of tuberculosis in 1887 a year after she came back to India. Therefore, it is proved that Kadambini Ganguly was the first female practitioner of western medicine in India and Anandibhai Joshi was the first woman to secure a medical degree in Western medicine from the west. Another contemporary of Kadambini Ganguly was Anne Jaannathan. She was the first woman to secure a certificate course in medical sciences from Madras Medical College. Similar to Kadambini Ganguly she too went to England to secure Triple Qualification Board Diplomas from Scottish Colleges. She as well died of tuberculosis after returning to India after a period of two years. 12. Death Of Kadambini Ganguly Kadambini Ganguly died in the year 1923 on 3rd October. She suffered from High blood pressure. However, she never let her illness come between her responsibilities. When she was 63 years old Kadambini Ganguly did a critical operation on a patient. She returned home wilting and eventually passed away in the same evening. 13. Conclusion Kadambini Ganguly has been rightly remarked as the “most accomplished and liberated Brahmo woman of her time”. According to an article on the life of Kadambini Ganguly in India Today it has been mentioned “Despite being born at a time when women becoming doctors was a fairy-tale aspiration, and despite having to bring up eight children, and attend her socio-political activities, Kadambini Ganguly never compromised on her medical responsibilities.”

References India Today, Education Today, GK Current Affairs Story, Kadambini Ganguli, India’s First Female Doctor who made Calcutta Medical College start admitting Women-1570858-2019-07-18 Roshni Chakrabarty New Delhi July 18, 2019 Updated: July 18, 2019 16:25 IST Feminism In India, 2019/01/29 Kadambini Ganguly Doctor Ekata Lahiri January 29, 2019 The Print, The Print Essential, Kadambini Ganguly The First Indian Woman to Become a Practising Doctor/128383 Himani Chandna October 3, 2018 Uncover Kadambini Ganguly A Collaborative Decolonial Research Project Vidhipssa Mohan History Discussion, History of India, Social Condition of Women During Eighteenth Century in India/6043 Surabhi Kadam The Better India/113789/ Kadambini Ganguly One of India’s First Women Graduates Doctors Jovita Aranha August 31, 2017 Brahmo Samaj- India’s National Religion Wikipedia Wiki Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj and Swami Narendranath Vivekananda Indian Et Zone /42/ Doctrines Brahmo Samaj Learn Cultural India Brahmo Samaj

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Your Article Library History Ram Mohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj/22830 Puja Mondal Government Exams, Social and Religious Reform Movements in the 19th Century TNPSC History TNPSC Study Materials October 22, 2019

Wikipedia Wiki Kadambini Ganguly

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