138 years ago, Dr Radha Gobind Kar who returned from abroad laid the foundation of RG Kar Hospital – RG Kar Hospital which is Radha Gobinda Kar Hospital Kolkata Medical Student Rape Murder ntc

People across the country are angry over the rape and murder case of a junior doctor in Kolkata. The accused in this case is in the custody of the CBI. His polygraph test has been approved by the court. But at the centre of this whole incident is the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

This medical college and hospital holds great importance in the healthcare system of Kolkata. It was established in 1886. It was the first non-governmental medical college in Asia, which laid the foundation of the healthcare system in West Bengal and the entire country. It was founded by Dr. Radha Gobind Kar, who was also the first secretary of this medical college and held the same position till his death in 1918.

The West Bengal Government took over this medical college on 12th May 1958. It is affiliated to the West Bengal University of Health Sciences and recognised by the Medical Council of India. Apart from post-doctoral (DM/MCH), PG diploma and fellowship programmes, undergraduate (MBBS) and post-graduate (MS/MD) medical education is imparted here.

Who was RG Kar?

Radha Gobind Kar was a visionary social reformer who founded a medical college in a rented house on Baithakkhana Bazaar Road, Calcutta. She was born in 1852 during the British rule. Her father was a doctor. Radha Gobind Kar studied medicine at Bengal Medical College. Bengal Medical Asia was the oldest medical college in Asia at that time. It was later known as the famous Calcutta Medical College. After graduation, she went to England for further studies and returned to India in 1886 with a degree in medicine.

According to the report, upon returning to India, he realized that the colonial culture of the country was a hindrance to the general people due to which they could not get the benefits of the existing medical schools as students and patients.

Due to this, he came up with the idea of ​​establishing a new medical college and thus the Calcutta Medical College was established in 1886. According to an article published in the US National Library of Medicine in 2011, the first medical course at the medical college was of three years duration and medical education was imparted in Bengali.

How did RG Kar Medical College and Hospital get its name?

The rented building on Baithak Khana Road, Kolkata, was later shifted to Bowbazar Street. However, at that time there was no hospital in its name. Due to this, the students had to go to Mayo Hospital in Howrah for training.

According to The Telegraph report, in 1898, four acres of land was purchased at Belgachia for Rs 12,000 to construct the college building. Four years later, in 1902, a single-storey hospital with 30 beds was inaugurated by the then Governor Lord Woodburn, named after Prince Albert Victor of Britain. After this, two more floors of the hospital were prepared. The building from that time still remains intact.

The Bengal College of Physicians and Surgeons, formed in 1985, was merged with R. G. Kar Medical in 1904. After this, the name of the Calcutta Medical College was changed to Belgachia Medical College in 1916. But two years later, in 1918, Kar died.

Before its demise, the college had achieved many accomplishments. Over time, a new surgical building and an anatomy block were built in the college. Asia’s first psychiatric OPD was also started here. Sir Kedarnath Das Maternity Hospital was built on its campus in 1935. Alongside it, the Department of Cardiology was also established in 1939.

After the country gained independence in 1947, the fame of this medical college and hospital increased. A few months after independence, on 12 May 1948, its name was changed to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in honour of its founder Dr. RG Kar.