Snippets of Information
Achievements - Science / Medicine
* 16 Jan 2026
Image Source: ias.ac.in
Kamala Sohonie was the first Indian woman on whom the title of PhD degree was conferred
Her father Narayanrao Bhagwat and his brother Madhavrao were
distinguished chemists and were among the first to pass out from (Tata)
Institute of Science, Bangalore. Inspired by them and wanting to follow
in their footsteps, Kamala applied to Indian Institute of Science
(IISc), Bangalore after passing her B.Sc (physics and chemistry) from
Bombay University and having stood first (in first class) in that
exam. But she was denied admission by the director of the
institute, Sir C.V. Raman, Nobel Laureate on the ground of her
gender. In those days in 1933, women were expected to stay
confined to domestic life. She would not give up and as a firm
believer in Mahatma Gandhi, she decided to do satyagraha in Sir Raman’s
office, till she was admitted. Prof. Raman granted her admission on
condition that for one full year she would be on probation and also that
her presence did not distract his male researchers from their work.
Kamala accepted these terms and she worked very hard under her teacher,
Shri Sreenivasayya. Satisfied and impressed by her sinceirty and
dedication, Sir Raman allowed her to do regular research in Bio-chemistry at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
He was impressed enough to admit lady students to the institute from
then on. She thus opened the doors for other women students too. Here
she worked on proteins in milk, pulses and legumes. In 1936, Kamala,
then only a graduate student, was the first person to work on pulse
proteins. She submitted her research to Bombay University and received
her MSc degree. She then went to Cambridge University and first worked
in the laboratory of Dr Derik Richter and later under Dr Robin Hill, who
was doing similar work, but on plant tissue.
Kamala sent a short thesis describing her finding of cytochrome C in
respiration of plant tissue, to Cambridge University for her PhD degree.
Her PhD degree is remarkable in many ways. Her research and writing of
the thesis was done in less than 14 months since arriving at Cambridge.
It consisted only of 40 type written pages. She was the first Indian woman on whom the title of PhD degree was conferred. She was keen on returning to India, and started work at Lady Hardinage College, New Delhi, 1939 as professor and head of the newly opened Department of Bio-chemistry. Later she was Assistant Director of the Nutrition Research Lab, Coonoor. There she conducted important research on the effect of vitamins.
She married M.V.Sohonie, an actuary by profession and moved to Mumbai in
1947. During her tenure at the Royal Institute as Professor of
Bio-chemistry in the newly opened Bio-
chemistry Department, she worked with her students on nutritional
aspects of Neera, pulse and legume proteins as well as Dhan (paddy)
atta. All the subjects of her research were very much of relevance to
Indian Societal needs. In fact, her work on Neera was started on a
suggestion from the then Rashtrapati Dr Rajendra Prasad.
Her work conducted by her students showed that introduction of Neera in
the diet of tribal malnourished adolescent children and pregnant women,
caused significant improvement in their overall health. She made her
students (different batches) do this work on samples of neera taken from
all over the country. They worked for 10-12 years and always got the
same results. Kamala Sohonie received the Rashtrapati Award for this work.
When finally she was given the post as Director of the Institute of Science, Bombay,
Dr Derik Richter, her first guide at Cambridge, remarked that "she made
history by being the first lady Director of such a big science
institute." Kamala Sohonie passed away in 1998.
Source: The scientist lady Kamala Sohonie by Vasumati Dhuru, ias.ac.in
* 1 Jan 2026
First indian woman doctor - Dr. Anandibai Joshi (1865 - 1887)
Image Source: Zee News
Dr. Anandibai Joshi was the first Indian female physician to complete
her studies in Western medicine at the Women's Medical College of
Pennsylvania. A pioneer in medicine, she was a trailblazing Indian
woman, who had faced many hurdles during her quest for education. In her
short span of life, she faced a lot of emotional, mental, physical, and
social turbulence and had to prove herself at every step to the
orthodox patriarchal Indian society the need to study medicine. As
childhood marriage was a common practice in India during the 19th
century, Anandibai was married to Gopalrao Joshi when she was only 9
years old, who renamed her "Anandi." With an encouraging father during
her childhood and a supportive husband after marriage, she could pave
the way for herself in the orthodox Indian society, dominated by males.
When she was 14 years old she delivered a baby boy who could not survive beyond 10 days due to
lack of medical care. This was the turning point in her life, and she
was determined to become a physician so that the other women would not
suffer the way she had.
Strongly supporting his wife, Gopalrao wrote a letter to Royal Wilder,
an American missionary, to help Anandibai Joshi study medicine in the
United States. Wilder published the letter in Princeton's Missionary
Review. This letter was read by Theodicia Carpenter, a resident of
Roselle, New Jersey, who was thoroughly impressed by Anandibai's
interest to pursue medicine and her husband's support for her to do the
same. For nearly two years, Theodicia and Anandibai exchanged their
views regarding religion, social, and cultural differences between the
two countries. During this period, Anandibai gained confidence in
self-expression in English. Theodicia was instrumental in convincing
Wilder, and Anandibai was lucky to get a chance to study medicine at the
Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), Philadelphia.
Dr. Anandibai's thesis titled "Obstetrics among Aryan Hindus" included
references from ancient Indian texts as well as from American medical
literature. She also received a letter from Queen Vitoria, the Empress
of India, congratulating her in recognition of the medical degree she received at the age of 19. Dr.
Anandibai Joshi returned to her home country where she was given a
warm-hearted welcome and greatly appreciated for her accomplishments in
1886.
She had been appointed as the physician-in-charge and was given
the responsibility of Edward Albert Memorial Hospital in Kolhapur.
However, she succumbed to tuberculosis at an early age on February 26,
1887, before becoming 22 years old. Despite her short life, Dr.
Anandibai Joshi inspired women throughout the country and is a pioneer
in Indian healthcare.
The Institute of Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS)
named the Anandibai Joshi Award for Medicine in honor of her significant
contribution. The Government of Maharashtra has a fellowship program in
her name to honor young females working on women's health.
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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