Anandi Gopal Joshi
Anandi Bai Joshi | |
---|---|
Born | Yamuna Joshi 31 March 1865 |
Died | 26 February 1887 | (aged 21)
Resting place | Poughkeepsie, New York, United States (ashes) |
Other names | Anandibai |
Alma mater | Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania |
Spouse | Gopalrao Joshi |
Signature | |
Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine. She was the first woman from the erstwhile
Early life
Originally named Yamuna, Joshi was born and raised in a Marathi
At the age of fourteen, Anandibai gave birth to a boy, but the child lived only for a total of ten days due to lack of medical care. This proved to be a turning point in Anandi's life and inspired her to become a physician.[7] After Gopalrao tried to enroll her in missionary schools and not working out, they moved to Calcutta. There she learned to read and speak Sanskrit and English.
Academic life
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) |
Her husband encouraged her to study medicine. In 1880 he sent a letter to Royal Wilder, a well-known American missionary, stating his wife's interest in inquiring about a suitable post in the US for herself.[8] Wilder published the correspondence in his Princeton's Missionary Review. Theodicia Carpenter, a resident of Roselle, New Jersey, happened to read it while waiting to see her dentist. Impressed by both Anandibai's desire to study medicine, and Gopalrao's support for his wife, she wrote to Anandibai. Carpenter and Anandibai developed a close friendship and came to refer to each other as "aunt" and "niece." Later, Carpenter would host Anandibai in Rochelle during Joshi's stay in the U.S.[9][4]
While the Joshi couple was in
A physician couple named Thorborn suggested that Anandibai apply to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. On learning of Anandibai's plans to pursue higher education in the West, orthodox Indian society censured her very strongly.
Anandibai addressed the community at Serampore College Hall, explaining her decision to go to America and obtain a medical degree.[10] She discussed the persecution she and her husband had endured. She stressed the need for female doctors in India, emphasizing that Hindu women could better serve as physicians to Hindu women.[9] Her speech received publicity, and financial contributions started pouring in from all over India.[citation needed]
Married life
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) |
In the 1800s, it was very unusual for husbands to focus on their wives' education. Gopalrao was obsessed with the idea of Anandibai's education and wanted her to learn medicine and create her own identity in the world. One day, he came into the kitchen and found her cooking with her grandmother and proceeded to go into a raging fit. It was very uncommon for husbands to beat their wives for cooking instead of reading. As Gopalrao's obsession with Joshi's education grew, he sent her with Mrs Carpenter, a Philadelphian missionary, to America to study medicine. Before her voyage, she addressed a public hall in 1883. She addressed the lack of women doctors and said "I volunteer myself as one."[11] She also mentioned how midwifery was not sufficient in any case and that instructors who teach these classes have conservative views. Gopalrao eventually moved to America when he felt displeased by her efforts. By the time he arrived in Philadelphia, she had completed her studies and was a doctor.[citation needed]
In the United States
Anandibai travelled to New York from Kolkata (
Anandibai began her medical training at age 19. In America, her health worsened because of the cold weather and unfamiliar diet. She contracted tuberculosis.[7] Nevertheless, she graduated with an MD in March 1886; the topic of her thesis was "Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindus." The thesis utilized references from both Ayurvedic texts and American medical textbooks.[9] On her graduation, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message.[7][13]
Return to India
In late 1886, Anandibai returned to India, receiving a grand welcome.
Death
Anandibai died of tuberculosis early the next year on 26 February 1887 before turning 22 in Pune. Years preceding her death, she was fatigued and felt constant weaknesses. Medicine was sent to her from America but there were no results so she kept studying medicine until death. Her death was mourned throughout India. Her ashes were sent to Theodicia Carpenter, who placed them in her family cemetery at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York. The inscription states that Anandi Joshi was a Hindu Brahmin girl, the first Indian woman to receive education abroad and to obtain a medical degree.[14]
Despite practicing medicine for only two to three months, she rose to fame for her sheer determination and hardwork, to become the first Indian female to study western medicine, becoming an inspiration to all others who came after her.[citation needed]
Legacy
In 1888, American feminist writer Caroline Wells Healey Dall wrote Joshi's biography.[16] Dall was acquainted with Joshi and admired her greatly. However, certain points in the biography, particularly its harsh treatment of Gopalrao Joshi, sparked controversy among Joshi's friends.[9]
Doordarshan, an Indian public service broadcaster aired a Hindi series based on her life, called "Anandi Gopal" and directed by Kamlakar Sarang. Shrikrishna Janardan Joshi wrote a fictionalised account of her life in his Marathi novel Anandi Gopal, which was adapted into a play of the same name by Ram G. Joglekar.[15]
Dr. Anjali Kirtane has extensively researched the life of Dr. Anandibai Joshi and has written a Marathi book entitled "डॉ. आनंदीबाई जोशी काळ आणि कर्तृत्व" ("Dr. Anandibai Joshi, Kaal ani Kartutva: Dr. Anandibai Joshi, her times and accomplishments") which contains rare photographs of Dr. Anandibai Joshi.[17][dead link]
The
On 31 March 2018, Google honored her with a Google Doodle to mark her 153rd birth anniversary.[20][21]
References
- Qz.com.
- ^ Kosambi, M., Ramaswamy, R., Kolhatkar, M. and Mukherji, A., 2019. A Fragmented Feminism: The Life and Letters of Anandibai Joshee. Routledge India.
- ISBN 81-250-0843-8.
- ^ a b "Who is Anandi Gopal Joshi?". The Indian Express. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Anandibai Joshi". Streeshakti The Parallel Force. Streeshakti. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ Rao, Mallika (8 April 2014). "Meet The Three Female Medical Students Who Destroyed Gender Norms A Century Ago". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ a b c Falcone, Alissa (27 March 2017). "Remembering the Pioneering Women From One of Drexel's Legacy Medical Colleges". DrexelNow. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ Naskar, Dipankar (2014). "Some Women of Inspiration: A Glance on Women Empowerment & Development in India". Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: D History, Archaeology & Anthropology. 14 (5): 51.
- ^ a b c d Pripas-Kapit, Sarah. Educating Women Physicians of the World: International Students of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1883-1911 (PhD). University of California, Los Angeles.
- ^ "Anandi Gopal Joshi: Google Doodle Celebrates India's First Female Doctor's 153rd Birthday". NDTV.com. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "This woman in 1883 had the best answer to the question of why a girl would want to be a doctor". 28 July 2014.
- ^ Scan of letter Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine from Anandibai Joshi to Alfred Jones, 28 June 1883; DUCOM Archives
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Why is a Crater on Venus Named After India's Dr Anandibai Joshi?". The Quint. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "Who is Anandi Gopal Joshi to whom Google dedicated a Doodle?". India Today. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- Roberts Brothers, Boston
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "IRDS Awards 2011". Irdsindia.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
Anandibai Joshi was one of the first Indian women to have obtained a degree in modern medicine when despite great hardships and poor health she got the MD from University of Pennsylvania in the USA in the end of 19th Century.
- ^ "How Anandi Joshi obtained a degree in Western medicine from Pennsylvania college". The Indian Express. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Anandi Gopal Joshi's 153rd Birthday". www.google.com. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "जानिए कौन हैं आनंदी गोपाल जोशी और गूगल ने क्यों उनके जन्मदिन पर बनाया डूडल" (in Hindi). Lokmat. 31 March 2018.
- ^ Taran Adarsh [@taran_adarsh] (2 February 2019). "Story of a husband who fought against all odds to make his wife a doctor... Trailer of #Marathi film #AnandiGopal [with English subtitles]... Directed by Sameer Vidwans... 15 Feb 2019 release... #AnandiGopalTrailer" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Phukan, Vikram (26 May 2018). "The trailblazing Dr Anandibai". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Pawar, Yogesh (27 November 2017). "A play to celebrate life and times of one of the first female doctors of India, Dr Anandibai Joshi". DNA India. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
Bibliography
- Mrs. Caroline Healey Dall (1888). The Life of Dr. Anandabai Joshee. Roberts Brothers, Boston.
- Eron, Carol (1979). "Medicine and Health Care". In O'Neill, Lois Decker (ed.). The Women's Book of World Records and Achievements. Anchor Press. p. 204. ISBN 0385127332.
First Hindu Woman Doctor
- Kosambi, Meera, "Caste and Outcast (review)". Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History – Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2003, The Johns Hopkins University Press
- Anandibai Joshi: India’s first woman doctor (1865–1887)
- Between the Lines, an 18-minute English documentary on the life of Anandi Joshi
- Madhukar Vasudev Dhond, "Jalyatil Chandra" (Marathi) (Rajhans Prakashan, 11993)
- Documents at the Drexel University College of Medicine Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and referencing Anandi Gopal Joshi
External links
- Media related to Anandibai Gopalrao Joshee at Wikimedia Commons
- Anandibai Joshee materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)
- A Marathi movie on Anandi Gopal https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8621438/