Kadambini Ganguly: breaking barriers in medicine

Have you heard of the names Kadambini Ganguly and Anandibai Joshi? Considered India’s first female doctors, these names have often been looked past in the pages of history and even medical textbooks. Today, let’s talk about the story of Kadambini Ganguly — India’s first practising lady doctor.

It was in 1861 that Brahmo reformer and headmaster Braja Kishore Basu had a daughter. She was named Kadambini Basu. Young Kadambini, despite hailing from a community that did not necessarily support women’s education like many others at the time did, received an education at the Brahmo Eden Female School and later at the Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya.

As the daughter of someone who organised and fought for women’s emancipation, Kadambini went on to study in college and became the first woman to pass the University of Calcutta entrance examination. In 1882, she passed the examination for the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree along with Chandramukhi Basu from the University of Calcutta, making her and Chandramukhi the first female graduates in the country.

Wanting to study medicine, Kadambini decided to enrol at the Calcutta Medical College after graduation. She was, however, believed to have been unable to receive the BMC certificate due to a shortage of a couple of marks.

She did receive the GBMC (Graduate of Bengal Medical College) degree, though, in 1886. Thus, she became the first Indian woman to be allowed to practice Western medicine. Around 1888, Kadambini started working at the Lady Dufferin Hospital for a monthly salary of 300 rupees.

She had even gone to Nepal to treat British royalty. Along with pursuing medicine, she was also politically quite vocal and active. Around 1899, Kadambini was one of the first women delegates elected to the Fifth Session of the Congress in Bombay and the next year, she won to become the first women speaker at the Congress.

She also served as the president of the Transvaal Indian Association, founded by Gandhiji’s colleague Henry Pollock. She was a member of the Women’s Conference held in Calcutta and even presided over the General Brahmo Samaj session in Calcutta.

Around 1883, Kadambini married Dwarakanath Ganguly (thus the change in name from Kadambini Bose to Kadambini Ganguly in many documents). Dwarakanath Ganguly was a Bengali Brahmo reformer, educator, journalist, and pioneer of women’s rights in British India.

She was a mother to eight children and is often said to have been deft in needlework. She became a practising doctor while equally devoting herself to family and household affairs, an action which was deemed impossible by many in the era.

Despite having being burdened with domestic chores, like most women of that time, Kadambini still managed to smash the glass ceilings and societal stereotypes in both her professional and personal life. A name which should not be forgotten in the course of time, Dr Kadambini is a reason many of us are able to pursue our passion — in medicine and in life.