Calcutta Medical College: A Legacy of Medical Education and Notable Alumni
Calcutta Medical College, now known as Medical College, Kolkata, stands as a testament to the evolution of medical education in India. Established in 1835, it holds the distinction of being one of the oldest medical institutions in Asia, with a rich history intertwined with the socio-political landscape of the country. This article delves into the history of this esteemed institution and highlights some of its most notable alumni who have made significant contributions in various fields.
Founding and Early Years
The genesis of Calcutta Medical College can be traced back to a dispatch sent by the Court of Directors of the East India Company to the Governor-General in Council of India in 1854. Acting on this suggestion, Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General, established the college on January 28, 1835. Classes commenced on June 1 of the same year, marking the beginning of a new era in medical education in India.
Modeled on the University of London, the University of Calcutta was originally a purely affiliating university that offered no actual instruction but was the examining and degree-granting authority for colleges scattered over most of northern India. Since 1904 it has gradually added teaching to its supervisory functions.
The college was established with the aim of providing Western medical education to students regardless of their caste or creed. This progressive approach was a departure from the prevailing social norms of the time and contributed to the college's early success. The curriculum was meticulously designed, mirroring those of renowned medical schools and teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Mountford Joseph Bramley was appointed as the first superintendent of the college. He was an assistant surgeon in the East India Company. Apart from Dr. Bramley and Dr. Goodeve, there were two other native teachers, Madhusudan Gupta and Nabakrishna Gupta, both educated in Western medicine. Madhusudan Gupta is famous in history as the 'first Indian to perform dissection' in the medical college. Initially, students were admitted to the college through an examination. Most of the one hundred candidates were from Hare School, Hindu College, Scotch Assembly School (now Scottish Church Collegiate School).
Read also: Explore Cook Medical Internship Opportunities
Evolution and Expansion
Over the years, Calcutta Medical College has undergone significant transformations, adapting to the changing needs of the medical profession and the evolving socio-political landscape of India.
Student politics is rooted in tradition, with many students participating in the Indian freedom struggle. Anti-British movements were implemented with the programmes of Bengal Provincial Students' Federation (BPSF), the Bengal branch of All India Students' Federation. Student politics were highly influenced by the partition of Bengal and communal riots during and after the partition of India. Between 1946 and 1952, the college's doctors stood for communal harmony and worked hard in the refugee colonies.
The college is affiliated with the West Bengal University of Health Sciences. The language of instruction is English.
In February 2023, Dr. Yengkhom Sumati, a professor at the Medical College Hospital Kolkata, received a patent for developing an ENT device. On December 2024 institutions has been recognized as the best medical college in Eastern India by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), achieving a score of 70%.
Notable Alumni
Calcutta Medical College has produced a galaxy of distinguished alumni who have excelled in various fields, leaving an indelible mark on society. Here are some of the most notable figures:
Read also: Opportunities in Medical Administration
Bidhan Chandra Roy: A physician per excellence, a great teacher and a great visionary, Roy completed his graduation from Medical College and did his MRCP as well as FRCS from London. His diagnostic skills were awe inspiring. Later on he joined politics and became Chief Minister of West Bengal and was awarded with the “Bharat Ratna”. To further honour his teaching skills, the B. C. Roy Award was established.
Vikram Marwah: A doctor who received the Padma Shri award and the Dr. B. C. N. C.
Kadambini Ganguly: One of the first women to graduate from the university in 1883, she became the first female doctor in South Asia to practice Western medicine.
Pasupati Bose: A revered professor of anatomy.
Ram Yadav: The first president of Nepal.
Read also: Innovation at Albany Med
Kamaleshwar Mukherjee: An acclaimed actor, writer, and director of Bengali films.
Other notable alumni of University of Calcutta:
Swami Vivekananda: Born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. He is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late nineteenth century.
Subhas Chandra Bose: An Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific 'Netaji' (Hindustani: "Respected Leader") was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942-by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.
Mithun Chakraborty: An Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and politician who predominantly works in Hindi and Bengali cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 350 films, mostly in Hindi and Bengali languages, and a few in Odia, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi and Tamil. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three National Film Awards and Four Filmfare Awards. In January 2024, Chakraborty was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour by the Government of India. He was also awarded India's highest accolade in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2022, whose announcement came from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in September 2024.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: An Indian politician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of India from 1952 to 1962. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He was also the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and the vice-chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most influential and distinguished 20th century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta from 1921 to 1932 and Spalding Chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford from 1936 to 1952.
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman: An Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering. Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflected light changes its wavelength. This phenomenon, a hitherto unknown type of scattering of light, which they called modified scattering was subsequently termed the Raman effect or Raman scattering. In 1930, Raman received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery and was the first Asian and the first non-White to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist, who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As one of the founding leaders of Bangladesh, he had held continuous positions; initially, he served as the president of the Awami League, later as the president of Bangladesh, then as the prime minister of Bangladesh and later again as president until his assassination in August 1975. His nationalist ideology, socio-political theories, and political doctrines are collectively known as Mujibism.
Mamata Banerjee: An Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served multiple times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time in 2011. She founded the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its second chairperson later in 2001. She often refers to herself as Didi (meaning, elder sister in Bengali).
Amartya Sen: An Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics. He has also made major scholarly contributions to social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, decision theory, development economics, public health, and the measures of well-being of countries.
Pranab Mukherjee: An Indian politician who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019, by his successor as president, Ram Nath Kovind.
Jaya Bachchan: An Indian actress and politician. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party since 2004. Having worked in Hindi films and Bengali films, she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream and arthouse cinema. A recipient of several accolades, she has won Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of India.
Sunil Chhetri: An Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is known for his link-up play, goal scoring abilities, and leadership. He is the fourth-highest international goalscorer, and is also the most-capped player and the all-time top goalscorer of the India national team. He is widely regarded as the greatest Indian football player of all time.
Satyajit Ray: An Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and composer. Ray is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of cinema. He is celebrated for works including The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963), Charulata (1964), and the Goopy-Bagha trilogy (1969-1992).
Rajendra Prasad: An Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1952 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar. A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and the Quit India movement of 1942. After the constituent assembly 1946 elections, Prasad served as 1st Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government from 1947 to 1948. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India and which served as its provisional Parliament.
Sourav Ganguly: An Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer. He is popularly called the Maharaja of Indian Cricket. He was captain of the Indian national cricket team and is regarded as one of India's most successful cricket captains. As captain, he led Indian national team to win the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and reach the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2004 Asia Cup.
Lakshmi Mittal: An Indian-born British steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as chairman of stainless steel manufacturer Aperam. Mittal owns 38% of ArcelorMittal and holds a 3% stake in EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Kumar Sanu: A leading Indian playback singer who primarily sings in Hindi film songs. Apart from Hindi, he has also sung in other languages including Marathi, Nepali, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Manipuri, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi, Odia, Chhattisgarhi, Urdu, Pali, English and his native language Bengali. He holds the record for winning five consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer from 1991 to 1995. He holds the Guinness World Record for recording the maximum number of songs (28 songs) in a single day since 1993.
Leander Paes: An Indian former professional tennis player and the 1st Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-time and holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men's doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He holds a career Grand Slam in men's doubles and mixed doubles making him one of only three men in the Open era to achieve this distinction and won the rare men's/mixed double at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. Paes, together with Mahesh Bhupathi, were the first pair in Open era history to reach the men's doubles finals of all 4 Grand Slams in the same calendar year (1999).
Mircea Eliade: A Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and interpreter of religious experience, he established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential. One of his most instrumental contributions to religious studies was his theory of eternal return, which holds that myths and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but (at least in the minds of the religious) actually participate in them.
Ashok Kumar: An Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He was considered the first big star of Indian cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor. He was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He was honoured in 1988 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India. He received the Padma Shri in 1962 and Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Paramahansa Yogananda: An Indian-American Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India - the only one he created to disseminate his teachings. A chief disciple of the yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West. He immigrated to the US at the age of 27 to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality. His longstanding influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the "Father of Yoga in the West". He lived his last 32 years in the US.
Yogeeta Bali: A former Indian Bollywood actress. She was active from the early 1970s to the late 1980s.
Riya Sen: An Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films.
Satyendra Nath Bose: An Indian physicist, noted for his collaborative work with Albert Einstein.
Calcutta School of Medicine
To look back into the history of a medical institution is incomplete as long as we do not pay adequate attention to the master mind behind the making of that institution. R.G.Kar Medical College, Kolkata is not only one of the premiere institutes of modern India but one with a rich heritage too. Brainchild of Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar was born on 23rd August, 1852 to a physician father and a devoted mother, in the district of Howrah. He did his graduation from the famous Bengal Medical College, later known as Medical College, Calcutta.
Being a great visionary, Dr. Kar soon realized that the prevailing colonial culture was a great hindrance for the people at large, to get the benefit of the existing medical schools-both, as students and as patients. This prompted him to sit together with eminent personalities like Dr. Mahendra Nath Banerjee, Dr. Akshay Kumar Datta, Dr. Bipin Maitra, Dr. Kumud Bhattacharya, Dr. M.L.Dey, Dr. B.B. Banerjee & others to discuss over the formation of a new medical school. Accordingly, “The Calcutta School of Medicine” was founded in 1886. To start with, it was in a rented house, at Baithak Khana Road, but soon was shifted to Bowbazar Street-both being locations in central Calcutta. There being no attached hospital, 24 bedded Mayo Hospital was used for teaching the students. Medium of teaching was Bengali and duration of course was 3 years. Donations were collected from all corners of Bengal including the Viceroy’s fund for commemorating the visit of the Royal Prince. In 1898, a 12 Bigha plot of land (about 4 acres) was purchased for constructing the college building at its present site. 30 bedded, single storied hospital building was inaugurated in 1902 by the then Governor, Lord Woodburn and the building was named after the Royal Prince Albert Victor. In 1904, “The Calcutta School of Medicine” amalgamated with another similar institute “College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal”, which was established in 1895. Gradually other buildings were constructed to accommodate various departments in the same premises. Finally “Belgachhia Medical College” was formally inaugurated by Lord Carmichael in the year 1916. The inaugural ceremony was graced by the presence of luminaries like Sir R.N. Mookerjee, Maharaja Manindra Chandra Nandi, Kumar Manindra Chandra Sinha, Mr. D. Mehta, Dr. M.N. Banerjee, Hon’ble Nawab Samsul Huda and Surgeon General Edward. In the same year, Calcutta University gave affiliation for Preliminary Scientific M.B. course and 48 students got admitted. Next year, the affiliation was extended up to first M.B. standard and 100 students were admitted. Finally in 1919, University granted affiliation for final M.B. standard. Unfortunately, Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar could not witness this glorious moment; he passed away on 19th of December, 1918. The then Governor General of Bengal, Lord Carmichael played very important role towards all these developments. As a mark of gratitude, the college was named after him as Carmichael Medical College. In 1921, Lord Ronaldshaw laid the foundation stone of the present surgical building. Anatomy block was constructed in 1926. The first ever Psychiatry OPD in Asia was started in 1933 by Dr. Girindra Sekhar Bose. Sir Kedar Nath Das maternity hospital came up in 1935. A separate Cardiology department was started in the year 1939. This was also first of its kind in the country. By 1941, the college took the shape of a renowned institution in the country. Its faculty, facilities and students were enviable assets for any institution of contemporary India. On 12th May, 1948 the college was renamed after its founder and since then it is known as R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital.
tags: #Calcutta #Medical #College #history #and #notable
