Kadambini Ganguly: Google doodle pays tribute to India’s first practising female doctor

In 1886, Kadambini Ganguly became the first practising woman physician in south Asia trained in European medicine.

Pic Courtesy: Google Doodle

New Delhi: Google paid tribute to Kadambini Ganguly through a doodle on her 160th birthday on Sunday (July 18). Ganguly was the first woman to get admission to the Calcutta Medical College in 1884, when the institution was almost exclusively attended by men at the time. 

Ganguly was born in 1861 in Bhagalpur British India, now Bangladesh. In 1883, Kadambini Ganguly and her peer Chandramukhi Basu became the first women to graduate college in Indian history.

The journey to getting admission to Calcutta Medical College was not an easy one for Ganguly, however, she persevered and achieved the feat. Ganguly and Anandibai Joshi, who hailed from Mumbai, both obtained their degrees in medicine back in 1886, thus getting recognized as the first female doctors in India. 

In 1886, Ganguly became the first practising woman physician in south Asia trained in European medicine. 

Ganguly was married to professor and activist Dwarkanath Ganguly, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. 

Kadambini Ganguly aimed to uplift other women in India through both medical service and activism in India’s women’s rights movement. Ganguly joined six others to form the first all-women delegation of the 1889 Indian National Congress. 

The 2020 “Prothoma Kadambini” biographical television series was based on Ganguly’s life which told her inspirational story to a new generation.

The Google Doodle honouring Ganguly is designed by Bengaluru-based artist Oddrija.