THE FORGOTTEN INDIAN DOCTOR: DR SUBHAS MUKHOPADHYAY
Just imagine you dedicated your entire life to do something good, something great, something different but no one recognized your efforts and your story of success remained hidden, waiting to disappear with time. Hurts right? Well, this is the story of a genius who never received the respect and recognition he deserves.
Subhash Mukhopadhyay was an Indian Scientist, Physician who created the world’s second and India’s first baby using In-vitro fertilization. Born on January 16, 1931, in Hazaribagh district of present-day Jharkhand, Subhash was the son of a doctor and studied at the National Medical College in Kolkata after completing his schooling. He completed his PhD in reproductive physiology from the University of Calcutta before going to Edinburgh University in the UK for a PhD in reproductive endocrinology. On his return to India in 1967, the dedicated doctor started researching ovulation and spermatogenesis. Later he started his research on in-vitro fertilization.
October 3, 1978, Durga, the world’s second test tube baby was born in Calcutta. It was due to the joint efforts of Dr. Subhash Mukherji, Sunit Mukherji, a cryobiologist, and Saroj Kanti Bhattacharya, a gynaecologist, Durga was born just 67 days after the first IVF baby in UK. He was also the first to use human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG) to stimulate ovaries to produce extra eggs.
When he went to the public ,sharing his story of success he was ridiculed and questioned for going to the media without bureaucratic approval and creating a test tube baby with simple tools in his home. Other well-known doctors also did not believe in him as many of them failed to create a test tube baby at lab but he created it at his home so easily. He was questioned by people who had very little knowledge about modern reproductive technology.
Subhash did not present Durga and her family physically as evidence, as there was a social stigma associated with being childless in 1970s. The couple did not allow him to publicize the details and requested him to maintain their privacy. On the other hand, the insensitivity of the institutionally backed gynecologists' also prevented him from presenting his work to the international community. Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay was harassed by the then West Bengal State Government and Indian Government who did not allow him to share his achievements internationally. He lived a life of sorrow and pain. He faced humiliation and constant social ostracization, bureaucratic negligence from the west Bengal government , he was not allowed to attend international conferences by the Indian Government. He couldn’t handle the constant criticism and harassment, he was tired of being targeted for no reason. On 19 June 1981 he committed suicide and in his suicide note he wrote, “I can’t wait everyday for a heart attack to kill me.” Dear readers, Do you think it is a suicide? It feels like a murder, yes the constant public harassment murdered him.
On August 6, 1986, India’s officially “scientifically documented” IVF baby Harsh Shah was born. Eleven years later, TC Anand Kumar ,the doctor who collaborated with gynecologist Indira Hinduja to create India’s officially first test-tube baby — realized that the title he bore belonged to someone else. Browsing through some documents that he found at the science congress, the handwritten notes of Dr. Mukherji surfaced. Anand Kumar took the courageous decision of researching Subhash’s findings and scientifically presenting it to the world, giving the forgotten doctor his due place in medical history.
Durga, India’s first IVF, said, “I am not a trophy but proud to be the living example of the work of a genius. Justice has been done to my scientific dad.”
Today, The Dictionary of Medical Biography, published by World Foundation, enlists names of 1100 medical scientists from 100 countries around the world for their path breaking contributions to the medical science. Dr. Mukhopadhyay’s name is one of those names. But in his own country it was only in 2002 that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) formally recognized the efforts of a man who was way ahead of his time, Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay. Even today there are only a few Indians who know him. We don’t learn about him in books or celebrate his birthday or his legacy. He still didn’t get the appreciation and love he deserves. Do we as citizens of this country really deserve geniuses, innovators or scientists? There are hundreds of people who did not get recognition for their astounding work. We remember the names of corrupt politicians or prisoners yet fail to recognize the true geniuses who built our nation. Its time we recognize them and give them the respect they deserve. How do you expect to create researchers, scientists and inventors if you can’t give them minimum appreciation and credit they deserve for their work? So please read about them, give them respect because they are the heroes who created the modern world.
Please do share this little piece of information to your friends and let them know this great man.
