Anandi Gopal Joshi | |
|---|---|
 A portrait photo of Anandibai Joshi | |
| Born | Yamuna Joshi (1865-03-31)31 March 1865 [(Kalyan)],Bombay Presidency,British India |
| Died | 26 February 1887(1887-02-26) (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 | |
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Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (Marathi:आनंदीबाई गोपाळराव जोशी; 31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine. She was the first woman from the erstwhileBombay presidency ofBritish India to study and graduate with a two-year degree in western medicine in theUnited States.[1] She was also referred to asAnandibai Joshi andAnandi Gopal Joshi (whereGopal came fromGopalrao, her husband's first name).[citation needed]
Anandi bai Joshi was born Yamuna, inKalyan, on 31 March 1865, the fifth of nine children.[2][3] She was raised in a MarathiChitpavan Brahmin family[4][5][page needed] As was the practice at that time and due to pressure from her mother, she was married at the age of nine to Gopal rao Joshi, a widower almost twenty years her senior.[6] After marriage, Yamuna's husband renamed her 'Anandi'.[7] Gopalrao Joshi worked as a postal clerk inKalyan. Later, he was transferred toAlibag, and then, finally, to Kolhapoor (Kolhapur). He was a progressive thinker, and, unusually for that time, supported education for women. She was also a relative of Pandita Rama bai.[8]
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.[9] After Gopalrao tried to enrol her in missionary schools and this did not work out, they moved to Calcutta. There she learned to read and speakSanskrit and English.
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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.[10] Wilder published the correspondence in hisPrinceton's Missionary Review. Theodicia Carpenter, a resident ofRoselle, 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.[11][6]
Anandibai addressed the community atSerampore College Hall, explaining her decision to go to America and obtain a medical degree.[12] She discussed the persecution she and her husband had endured. She stressed the need for female doctors in India, emphasizing that Hindu women rather than men could be better to serve as physicians to Hindu women.[11]
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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.But this obsession turned out to be abusive. 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."[13]
Anandibai travelled to New York from Kolkata (Calcutta) by ship,chaperoned by two female English missionary acquaintances of the Thorborns.[14] TheViceroy of India had contributed a total of Rs. 200 to fund her education.[15] In New York, Theodicia Carpenter received her in June 1883. Anandibai wrote to theWoman's Medical College of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia, asking to be admitted to their medical program,[14] which was the second women's medical program in the world.Rachel Bodley, the dean of the college, enrolled her.
Anandibai began her medical training at age 19. In America, her health worsened because of the cold weather and unfamiliar diet. She contractedtuberculosis.[9] 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.[11] On her graduation,Queen Victoria sent Anandibai a congratulatory message.[9][16]
In late 1886, Anandibai returned to India, receiving a grand welcome.[17] Theprincely state ofKolhapur appointed her as the physician-in-charge of the female ward of the localAlbert Edward Hospital.[18]
Anandibai died oftuberculosis early the next year on 26 February 1887 before turning 22 inPune. 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 throughoutIndia. Her ashes were sent to Theodicia Carpenter, who placed them in her family cemetery at thePoughkeepsie Rural Cemetery inPoughkeepsie, 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.[17]
In 1888, American feminist writerCaroline Wells Healey Dall wrote Joshi's biography.[19] 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.[11]
Doordarshan, an Indian public service broadcaster aired aHindi series based on her life, called "Anandi Gopal" and directed by Kamlakar Sarang.Shrikrishna Janardan Joshi wrote a fictionalised account of her life in hisMarathi novelAnandi Gopal, which was adapted into a play of the same name byRam G. Joglekar.[18]
Dr. Anjali Kirtane has extensively researched the life of Dr. Anandibai Joshi and has written aMarathi book entitled "डॉ. आनंदीबाई जोशी काळ आणि कर्तृत्व" ("Dr. Anandibai Joshi, Kaal ani Kartrutva: Dr. Anandibai Joshi, her times and accomplishments") which contains rare photographs of Dr. Anandibai Joshi.[20]
TheInstitute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS), a non-governmental organization from Lucknow, has been awarding the Anandibai Joshi Award for Medicine in honour of her early contributions to the cause of advancing medical science in India.[21][18] In addition, theGovernment of Maharashtra has established a fellowship in her name for young women working onwomen's health.[22]
On 31 March 2018, Google honored her with aGoogle Doodle to mark her 153rd birth anniversary.[23][24]
Anandi Gopal, an Indian biographical film on her life inMarathi by Sameer Vidwans released in 2019. It stars Bhagyashree Milind in the titular role,Lalit Prabhakar as her husband - Gopalrao Joshi and Yogesh Soman as her father - Ganpatrao Amriteshwar Joshi.[25] In 2017, aGujarati-language play titledDr. Anandibai Joshi, directed byManoj Shah, premiered at theNational Centre for the Performing Arts.[26][27]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)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.
First Hindu Woman Doctor
Media related toAnandibai Gopalrao Joshee at Wikimedia Commons
