Way before the establishment of the University of Calcutta, four Indians from Bengal were sponsored by a consortium comprising Baboo Dwarka Nath Tagore, the Directors of the East India Company and other benefactors to study medicine in England under the guardianship of Dr Henry Goodeve and then herald a new age of western medicine on their return to India. The timing of this event was almost a decade after the establishment of the first modern Medical College in the shape of the Calcutta Medical College in 1835 which was built on a plot of land donated by the legendary shipping magnate and philanthropist Mr Mutty Lall Seal. The students thus selected for this overseas endeavour were those who belonged to the most erudite class of medical students and one of them was Mr Bhola Nath Bose who was already a student of the college for quite a few years.
Early Years
Bhola Nath Bose was born in the year 1825. The early years of his life were spent in Barrackpore where he received his early education in the present-day Barrackpore Government High School which was set up by Lord Auckland, the Governor General himself who would often visit it along with others. It was in this institution that Lord Auckland came across a bright individual by the name of Bhola Nath Bose whom he would go on to patronise for ages to come. After his schooling days were over, Lord Auckland ensured that Bhola Nath Bose received admission to Calcutta Medical College. It was here that he further excelled and was among the brightest candidates of the institution. Lord Auckland also ensured that Bhola Nath Bose received a stipend of Rupees Ten every month, a responsibility which he ensured from his own estate. When Bhola Nath Bose was finally selected to travel to England, while it may seem like a great opportunity to many but one should not forget the time frame of the incident, that being more than a decade before the Indian Rebellion of 1857-1858. Around this time it was considered a taboo among many Indian families to cross the seas and visit a foreign land. Thus this act was strictly forbidden by many. Against all the odds of society, Bhola Nath Bose and his co-students not only travelled to England and earned their certificates but also established successful careers once they returned back to India. His colleagues in this legendary endeavour were Dwarka Nath Bose, Gopal Chunder Seal and Soorjocoomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty. Lord Auckland on Dr Bholanath Bose's return to India reportedly sent him a monetary gift as a sign of remembrance.
Return From England
Bholanath Bose earned his MRCS and then a first-division Bachelor of Medicine degree. The book "Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Travellers and Settlers in Britain 1600-1857" by Michael H. Fisher states that Bhola Nath Bose was awarded gold medals in Botany and Comparative Anatomy and silver medals in Chemistry and Materia Medica. He also earned certificates in Midwifery, the practice of Medicine and Surgery. He finally followed this with an MD degree and thus he probably became the first Indian to earn that advanced degree alongside being the first Indian to earn a foreign degree. On his return to India from England after three years of study, he was designated as an Uncovenanted Medical Officer. He was appointed Surgeon and Superintendent of Sukea Lane's Dispensary in Calcutta, present-day Kolkata. He also had a respectable military career and served in the Anglo-Sikh War of 1848-1849 and was thus awarded a medal with a clasp. He also went on to serve in the Santhal Rebellion of 1855. It is not sure why he never appeared for the Indian Medical Service Examination in 1855 when it was open to the Indians but it might have been the result of his advanced age and secured job and medical practice in India. Dr Bose served for many years as Civil Medical Officer in Faridpur, undivided Bengal.
Last Years & Legacy
This son of Bengal finally met his end as a result of a carbuncle in his neck in 1884. It should be noted that some old reports also report the year of his death as 1882. While he left the mortal world his philanthropic side ensured his presence in the medical world with the establishment of two separate dispensaries which were founded with the contribution of money and property from his estate including one in Barrackpore. Today the Doctor Bhola Nath Bose Sub Divisional Hospital in Barrackpore not only bears the name of this legendary doctor but also continues serving society as a medical institution of repute.
