Radha Govinda Kar: Renaissance man of Betore
Dr Radha Govinda (R.G. Kar) Kar was a prominent physician of British India as was his father Dr Durgadas Kar. His brother Dr Radhamadhab Kar. was also a renowned physician, as well as a successful theatre. He Dr Radha Govinda established Asia's first private medical school to make the medical system affordable for all in British-ruled Bengal. R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, a swanky state-of-the-art government hospital in the heart of the city carries the legacy of this great physician and a greater philanthropist.
A brisk 15-minutes’ walk from Ramrajatala station in Howrah district leads to the illustrious Kar family mansion at Betore, the birthplace of Dr Radha Govinda Kar. The historical mansion was constructed a year before the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Radha Govinda was born here on August 23, 1850, to eminent physician, Dr Durgadas Kar, who established Midford Hospital in Dhaka.
Radha Gobinda completed his schooling from Hare School, a premier institution of Calcutta. His father had already decided on his son’s career and after school, Radha Govinda was compelled to sit for the medical college entrance test which would seal his fate in medicine. However, as stories go, Radha Govinda was passionate about theatre and showed initial resistance at the prospect of sitting for the entrance test. However, he had to relent when his father ordered him to take the test. The rest, as they say, is history.
Radha Govinda’s struggle to improve the medical system of the country was initially resisted by the Bengali intelligentsia. Even Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar had reservations and discouraged him. Vidyasagar believed that setting up a medical school was a different ball game than setting up a general school. Radha Govinda, however, did not give up. In between doing his chores and attending to patients, he spared no efforts to raise funds for the establishment.
When Radha Govinda started college, his father Durgadas built a house at Shyambazar in north Calcutta to facilitate his studies. Radha Govinda mostly stayed in this house in Calcutta. Durgadas Kar was also a meritorious physician. He used to teach in the vernacular department of Calcutta Medical College. He also wrote medical books in Bengali language. This inspired Radha Govinda to emphasize the importance of native language in the practice of medicine in the future. A look at Radha Govinda's entire life reveals his father’s influence.
Famous playwright Dinabandhu Mitra was a close friend of Durgadas and Radha Govinda also came in contact with Mitra, which drew him into the world of theater as a student. Radha Govinda along with his thespian friends, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Ardhendushekhar Mustafi and Nagendranath Banerjee, established the Baghbazar Amateur Theater in 1868. Radha Govinda also appeared on stage. In 1872, he made a name for himself when he essayed the female role of Kshirodvasini in Dinabandhu Mitra's 'Lilavati'. He later appeared in many other theatre productions. But his weakness for theatre was affecting his studies. Radha Govinda was married while still a student and his first wife died soon after. All these distractions hindered his study so his family sent him to Scotland in 1883 for higher studies. He got admission at Edinburgh University. He returned to India in 1887 with a degree in medicine from the University of Edinburgh.
How was the medical education and medical system of Calcutta at the time when Radha Govinda started practicing medicine? Calcutta Medical College was established in the middle of the 19th century. The British did not have any faith in traditional indigenous medical systems. Besides, introduction of European education system was also a part of colonization. The government was enthusiastic about setting up the Calcutta Medical College partly for fulfilling their own interests. Many Bengali doctors were educated in the European medical education system at that time.
When European doctors wanted to develop a native medical 'cadre', language became the main obstacle. Students who came from Hindu College were fluent in English but for the hoi polloi, there were no good books on general science written in Bengali. Radha Govinda observed his classmates faltering due to language problem and this inspired him to translate and write medical books in Bengali language. His first book was 'Bhishabandhu'. Published in 1871. He wrote several books and notable among them are 'Concise Physiology', 'Rogi Paricharchyya', 'Vishaka Suhrid', 'Plague', 'Illustration and Brief Theory of Gynecology', 'Brief Infant and Child Medicine', 'Brief Physiology', and 'Kaviraj Doctor News'.
In 1898, a plot was bought for Ras 25,000 and a single storied hospital with 30 beds was built with Rs 70,000. In 1899, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, John Woodburn inaugurated the hospital in the presence of Dr Mahendralal Sarkar, Raja Pyarimohan Mukhopadhyay and many other distinguished members of the society. The hospital began functioning from 1902. Babu Maniklal Sheel donated money to build a dispensary in the hospital.
The books were written in lucid Bengali keeping in mind ordinary readers who could read and comprehend the contents effortlessly. His books were popular with medical students who used those books for reference. Radha Govinda was inspired by his father to write medical books in Bengali as well. Although Durgadas Kar was educated in English, he was against the aggressive expansion policy of the European educational system. The colonial mindset of the British was most evident in the field of medical education. Durgadas had also observed that European medical education was introduced with the intention of wiping out the age-old indigenous medical system. He decided to counter this aggression and in 1868, he published 'Bhasajya Ratnavali', a book that dealt with the conventional ‘Ayurvedic’ treatment of various ailments with medicinal plants. The book was immensely useful for ‘Vaidyas’ (traditional rural doctors) who found it invaluable. Apart from writing books, Radha Govinda also edited his father's books and published revised editions from time to time.
However, he was aware that writing books or guidelines and pamphlets was not the only solution. He had observed that many Bengali doctors who passed out of medical college suffered from dilemma when treating and prescribing medicines to patients. They could not decide whether to stick to the old Ayurveda system or try out newly-acquired European method of treatment. A separate medical college and hospital was acutely required to address this issue.
After completing his studies abroad, Dr Radha Govinda returned to India and contemplated on setting up a national medical institute in Calcutta. He established an association with some of the best Bengali doctors of Calcutta in a house at No. 161 Old Baithakkhana Bazar. The members of the society included some of the most distinguished physicians of the city at that time including Dr. Mahendranath Banerjee, Dr. Akshay Kumar Dutta, Dr. Bipin Bihari Maitra, Dr. M. L. Dey, Dr. B. G. Banerjee and many others.
It was in this association that the proposal to establish Asia's first private medical school was accepted. The school started in 1886 and it was named 'Calcutta School of Medicine'. Initially, the syllabus followed the indigenous medical system. Department of Allopathy started in 1887 and the name of the institution was changed to 'Calcutta Medical School'. Later, the schoolhouse was shifted from Baithakkhana Bazar to Bowbazar Street.
By 1890, the British government allowed necropsies in schools. Initially, books written in Bengali by Dr Kar and Dr Madhusudan Gupta were part of the in the curriculum at Calcutta Medical School. The need for a spacious compound was required and the schoolhouse was shifted to 298, Upper Circular Road. At that time the number of beds in the hospital attached to the medical school was only 14! The school authorities then bought 12 bighas of land in Belgachia. Eighteen thousand rupees was received from Prince Albert Victor's India Tour Fund. The medical school was built on its own land. However, due to shortage of beds, the school hospital system could not be started in full swing.
In 1898, a plot was bought for Ras 25,000 and a single storied hospital with 30 beds was built with Rs 70,000. In 1899, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, John Woodburn inaugurated the hospital in the presence of Dr Mahendralal Sarkar, Raja Pyarimohan Mukhopadhyay and many other distinguished members of the society. The hospital began functioning from 1902. Babu Maniklal Sheel donated money to build a dispensary in the hospital. A few years after the establishment of Radha Govinda Kar's first private medical school, another private medical institution came into existence—the 'College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal'. Established in 1895, this institution was merged with Dr Radha Govinda’s medical college in 1904. In December 1914, the proposal to affiliate this joint educational institution was passed in Calcutta University.
The Calcutta Medical School was named after Radha Govinda a year after Independence. A resolution was adopted in the general meeting of the Medical Education Society of Bengal to name the institution as 'R. G Kar Medical College and Hospital'.
How was the medical education and medical system of Calcutta at the time when Radha Govinda started practicing medicine? Calcutta Medical College was established in the middle of the 19th century. The British did not have any faith in traditional indigenous medical systems. Besides, introduction of European education system was also a part of colonization.
Radha Govinda’s struggle to improve the medical system of the country was initially resisted by the Bengali intelligentsia. Even Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar had reservations and discouraged him. Vidyasagar believed that setting up a medical school was a different ball game than setting up a general school. Radha Govinda, however, did not give up. In between doing his chores and attending to patients, he spared no efforts to raise funds for the establishment. There are legendary tales of his dogged perseverance. Dr. Radha Govinda would be often spotted outside wedding venues of rich aristocrat families, seeking financial help for his dream project. He was often ridiculed and insulted but nothing could detract him.
Dr Kar donated all the money he had earned to establish the medical school and had no personal property at the time of his death. There was only a house built in Belgachia and that too he bequeathed to the medical college. The will stipulated that after his death, his wife would enjoy the ownership of the house during her lifetime. After her death, 'Durgadas Arogya Niketan' would be established in its premise in memory of his deceased father.
Radha Gobind Kar died of influenza on 19 December 1918. It has been more than a century since he passed away but he has not been acknowledged for his pioneering role. Bengalis did not pay the due respect he deserved neither during his lifetime nor after his death. But perhaps his greatest honor was given to him by another legendary physician of Bengal - Bidhan Chandra Roy. In 1948, a wealthy man from Calcutta announced a donation of Rs two lakh rupees to the Belgachhia Medical College fund. The condition was that the college would have to be named after a member of his family. Considering the financial crisis, the college committee agreed to this proposal. At this juncture, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy stepped in and opposed the decision, forcing the committee to negate the proposal and the college retained its founder’s name.
