On the 160th birthday of Kadambini Ganguly, one of the first female doctors of India, Google presented a doodle honouring her life and work on its national homepage. Ganguly was born on July 18, 1861, and was the first woman to gain admission to the Calcutta Medical College in 1884, an exceptional feat by the late 19th-century standards since the institution was almost exclusively attended by men at the time.
Kadambini Ganguly pioneered a successful medical practice in India for women along with other such female doctors as Anandibai Joshi, who hailed from Mumbai. Incidentally, the question over who the first female doctor in India was can be settled by the fact that Ganguly and Joshi both obtained their degrees in medicine back in 1886. While Ganguly graduated from Calcutta Medical College, Joshi obtained her degree from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the US. However, Joshi’s career was cut short by her untimely death early in 1887, at the age of 21.
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Google's recognition of Kadambini Ganguly for her pioneering work in medical practice and women's liberation is timely, but also one that comes after years of negligence. In 2017, HT carried a report pointing out how Ganguly remained largely missing in Google's doodle tributes, even though the search engine would distinguish Rukhmabai Raut for being one of the first female doctors of India.
Kadambini Ganguly graduated in 1886, a good eight years before Raut qualified as a physician. In the process, Ganguly also became the first Indian woman to obtain a graduate degree (BA).
{{/usCountry}}Kadambini Ganguly graduated in 1886, a good eight years before Raut qualified as a physician. In the process, Ganguly also became the first Indian woman to obtain a graduate degree (BA).
{{/usCountry}}In 1886, Ganguly became the first practising lady physicians in south Asia trained in European medicine. Three years later, she was the first woman to be on the dais of an Indian National Congress session. In 1892, Ganguly went to the United Kingdom (UK) and obtained further training from Dublin, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. On returning, she joined the Lady Dufferin Hospital in Kolkata, kickstarting her career as a gynaecologist. There, she continued to practise till the day she breathed her last on October 3, 1923.
Kadambini Ganguly paved the way for women's liberation at a time when the cultural and social discourse was dominated by men. She was the second wife of Dwarakanath Ganguly, a prominent Brahmo Samaj leader who lost his first wife a few years before he tied the knot with her.
The Google doodle was designed by Bengaluru-based artist Oddrija, who said that representing the young, spirited woman who was a frontrunner in her contribution to medical infrastructure in India, is a "proud moment for a Bengali".
"In the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen how medical infrastructure and doctors have been hailed as heroes and heroes for becoming the saviors the world needs," Oddrija said. "Looking back in time, Kadambini Ganguly was a frontrunner in her contribution to medical infrastructure in India with her indomitable spirit and inquisitiveness that landed her a triple diploma in her studies in Western Medicine."