Kadambini Ganguly was India’s first graduate and physician woman. Kadambini means “an array of clouds”. He was born in Bhagalpur (Bihar) of British India. Kadambini ganguly was the first to get a chance to deliver a speech in the session of the Indian National Congress. Kadambini Ganguly was the first South Asian woman to receive training in European medicine.
From women working in mines to freedom fighters of India. Influenced by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, love for the nation arose in him. He was opposed a lot by the conservative people but he did not give up and continued to work in his field.
If you want to know who was Kadambini Ganguly? The biography of Kadambini Ganguly or the history of Kadambini Ganguly, read this article in its entirety.
Table of Contents
Who was Kadambini Ganguly?
Who was Kadambini Ganguly ? This is a very interesting story. This was at a time when some conservative people in India were against women’s education. At such a time when a woman gets a bachelor’s degree, it is a big deal, that too in Physician.
Kadambini Ganguly has the distinction of being India’s first graduate and physician woman. Influenced by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Kadambini Ganguly worked for the independence of India. She married Dwarkanath Ganguly, the leader and social reformer of Brahmo Samaj.
Kadambini Ganguly , who was born in Kolkata, also died in Kolkata in 1923. In short, you have come to know who was Kadambini Ganguly? Now we will discuss in detail the biography of Kadambini Ganguly and the history of Kadambini Ganguly.
Kadambini Ganguly Biography and History of Kadambini Ganguly.
- Name- Kadambini Ganguly.
- Date of Birth Kadambini Ganguly date of birth – 18 July 1861 AD.
- Place of Birth- Bhagalpur,Bihar (India).
- Education- Bethune College, Calcutta.
- Kadambini Ganguly died- 3 October 1923 AD.
- Place of death- Calcutta (Kolkata).
- Father’s name kadambini Ganguly fathers name- Brijkishor Basu.
- Husband’s Name Kadambini Ganguly Husband- Dwarkanath Ganguly.
- Childrens Kadambini Ganguly Childrens- Nirupama Haldar, Nirmal Chandra Ganguly, Prafulla Chandra Ganguly, Jyotirmoyee Ganguly, Prabhat Chandra Ganguly, Amal Chandra Ganguly, Himani Ganguly, Jayanti Burman. Apart from these, he also adopted a son and daughter, whose names are Bidhumukhi Devi and Satish Chandra Gangopadhyay respectively.
- Reason for Fame- Famous for being India’s first female physician and first female graduate.
The family of Kadambini Ganguly, who is now in Bangladesh (Barisal), was from this place. Kadambini Ganguly’s father Brij Kishore was a man of liberal views, at that time women’s education was seen with hatred, but still Brij Kishore ji paid a lot of attention to his daughter’s education and this was the reason that in 1882 AD, Kolkata Kadambini Ganguly passed the BA examination from the university.
Even after getting a BA degree, Kadambini Ganguly did not stop and after 4 years in the year 1886 she received a degree in medical science from the University of Kolkata, she was the first woman in India to do so.
After consulting his father, Kadambini Ganguly had to go abroad for higher education. It is said that when a father’s hand is on someone’s head, no one can stop him from touching the heights. Passion, passion and passion multiply manifold, the same happened with Kadambini Ganguly.
He holds higher degrees in medicine from the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. It was a time of pride for women across India, when India got Kadambini Ganguly as the first woman doctor in the 19th century.
She was the only woman in not only India but the entire South Asian region to receive training in European medicine. With this, Kadambini Ganguly got the distinction of becoming the first woman physician of India.
The biography of Kadambini Ganguly is very long and wide. If we talk about his personal life, Kadambini Ganguly married the leader of Brahmo Samaj, Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay. Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay was striving for many years to raise the standard of living of women.
Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay wanted to improve the condition of women throughout India. When he got married with Kadambini Ganguly, he got more inspiration to work in this field.
Many agitations were taking place in the country for the independence of India. Mahatma Gandhi was also out of the country these days due to the Satyagraha movement against apartheid in South Africa. To support this movement, Kadambini Ganguly collected donations while in Kolkata. At the same time, in 1906, a Congress women’s conference was held in Kolkata, which was presided over by Kadambini Ganguly.
After the end of the Satyagraha movement in South Africa, when Mahatma Gandhi came to India in 1914 AD. Then he was called to Kolkata for his honor and a huge gathering was organized, which was also presided over by Kadambini Ganguly. These social and political activities included in the biography of Kadambini Ganguly were very important.
Criticism and opposition of Kadambini ganguly
Kadambini Ganguly’s biography reveals that when she returned to India, India was home to a large number of orthodox people who were completely against female education. He believed that the work of women is limited only to the boundary wall of the house, it is not proper for a woman to do any work outside it. When Kadambini Ganguly campaigned against all these things, she had to face a lot of criticism by the conservative society.
Not only this, a Bengali magazine whose name was “Bangbashi”, an article was published in this magazine and indirectly the word prostitute was used for Kadambini Ganguly. Such criticism and problems started coming against Kadambini Ganguly, who fought for women’s rights, but she too was not one to give up.
Kadambini Ganguly’s husband Dwarkanath Ganguly has filed an F.I. in the police station regarding this matter. I. R. Registered, the matter reached the court. Ultimately Dwarkanath Ganguly won and Mahesh Pal, the editor of that magazine, was sentenced to 6 months in jail.
How did Kadambini Ganguly Die?
The biography and history of Kadambini Ganguly was very proud. Kadambini ganguly sacrificed her whole life for women’s upliftment and women’s rights and the death of India’s first woman doctor Kadambini Ganguly was a great loss not only for her family but for the whole of India.
He died in Calcutta on 3 October 1923 at the age of 62. After the death of Kadambini Ganguly, many serials and stories on her life were broadcast on television.
The serial “Prothoma Kadambini” based on the biography of Kadambini Ganguly which is aired on Bengali television is very popular and is being broadcast for almost 1 year.
