Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari

Lt. Col. Dr. Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari

Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari (1866–1921) was an eminent surgeon of British India. He organized the Bengal Ambulance Corps to serve in the Mesopotamia War during World War I, and managed the Carmichael (R G Kar) Medical College & Hospital, Calcutta with Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Family

The Sarbadhikari family was founded during the early 15th century by Sureshwar Bosu, who was appointed Governor of Orissa province with the hereditary title of "Sarbadhikari" by the Imperial Court of Delhi.^[6]

Suresh Prasad's father was Brigadier, Rai Bahadur Dr. Surya Coomar Sarbadhikari (1832–1904), a surgeon of Calcutta who served during the Sepoy Mutiny or Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the rule of the East India Company.^[7]

His mother was Hemlata Sarbadhikari.

He had 7 brothers and 2 sisters. Of the brothers, mention may be made of Sir Deb Prasad Sarbadhikari who became Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University 1914-1918,^[8] and Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari who was known as the "Father of Indian Soccer".^[9]

His wife was Sarojini Sarbadhikari. His son was Dr. Kanak Sarbadhikari, and daughters were Ashalata Mitra, Sulata Chaudhuri, Bidyutlata Mitra.

Education

Suresh Prasad studied at the Calcutta Medical College, and graduated with the M.B. degree of Calcutta University in 1888. Two years later he obtained the M.D degree.^[1]

Career Highlights

• House-surgeon at the Mayo Hospital, Calcutta, for a couple of years, after which he started his private practice as a surgeon and was a pioneer of ovariotomy in India.^[1][10]
• Member of British Medical Association.^[1]
• Vice-president of first Indian Medical Congress in 1894, & one of the Indian representatives at the International Medical Congress in London.^[1][11]
• Member of the Calcutta University Senate; university examiner in surgery.^[1]
• Professor of clinical surgery at the Carmichael College.^[1]
• Awarded the C.I.E., and appointed as honorary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Medical Service.^[12][13]

Other Significant Episodes of Career

[A] First Experience as a Surgeon

Suresh had originally envisioned to follow the footsteps of his father by specializing as a Physician. However, he had to choose the surgeon's knife in order to follow his mother's directive and successfully treat a poor woman suffering from some gynaecological complications. This experience led him to specialize in surgery as a career.^[14]

[B] Saving an Indian Freedom Fighter mauled by a tiger

"Bagha Jatin", born Jatindranath Mukherjee (1879–1915), was a Bengali revolutionary who fought against British rule. In a jungle near his native village, he was severely wounded after fighting a Royal Bengal tiger. However, he was able to kill the tiger with a dagger. Suresh Prasad took the responsibility of curing Jatin, whose body had been poisoned by the tiger's nails. As a gesture of gratitude, Jatin had presented to Suresh Prasad the dagger and the skin of the killed tiger.^[15]

[C] Activities leading to the establishment of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital

Suresh Prasad established in Calcutta the "College of Physicians & Surgeons of Bengal" with the support of eminent doctors like Nilratan Sircar,^[16] Kali Krishna Bagchi, and Amulya Charan Basu. Later on, this college got incorporated into the "Albert Victor Hospital". Suresh continued to practice as a surgeon at this hospital without accepting any remuneration. He was appointed as a Fellow and Syndicate Member of Calcutta University.

Eventually, the "Calcutta School of Medicine" and "College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal" were merged into a single entity and renamed "Belgachhia Medical College" which was inaugurated by the then Governor of Bengal, Lord Carmichael, with its first batch of 48 students. Later on the college was renamed as "Carmichael Medical College". In 1918, a society named as "Medical Education Society of Bengal" was formed for the better management of the Institution. Suresh Prasad was the first President of the institution, and Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar (R. G. Kar) was its first Secretary. On 12 May 1948, after the demise of Dr. R. G. Kar, the College was renamed as R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.^[4][14] Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, who later became the Chief Minister of West Bengal in 1948, was a close colleague of Suresh Prasad.^[17]

References