Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, second Chief Minister of West Bengal, in whose memory Doctor's Day is celebrated in India on July 1, is cherished as a great physician even today. Born on July 1, 1882, and died the same date in 1962 aged 80, he left an indelible mark by his contributions and proved Robert Owen wrong! He was the embodiment of the following statement:
“A doctor, like anyone else who has to deal with human beings, each of them unique, cannot be a scientist; he is either, like the surgeon, a craftsman, or, like the physician and the psychologist, an artist. This means that in order to be a good doctor a man must also have a good character, that is to say, whatever weaknesses and foibles he may have, he must love his fellow human beings in the concrete and desire their good before his own.” — Auden, W. H.
Dr. B.C. Roy was one of the foremost national leaders of the 20th century. A legendary physician, distinguished political leader, philanthropist, educationist and social worker, he was one of the longest serving Chief Ministers and is rightly hailed as the Maker of Modern West Bengal.
A many-splendoured personality, he had a wide range of interests and he created a large number of institutions. He had a great vision, political and administrative acumen, and concern for the common people. He tried to solve crucial problems in the nation's life, especially during the 15 years that he served as Chief Minister. Dr. Roy, a bachelor, not only excelled as a physician, he was an educationist, amicable reformer, leisure warrior (he joined Mahatma Gandhi's Civil Disobedience movement), and a celebrity of the Indian National Congress.
After completing his FRCS and MRCP, Dr. Roy served as Professor of Medicine, Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University. He was instrumental in starting the Indian Medical Association in 1928 and making it the largest professional organisation in the country. He served the association in various capacities including as national president for two terms. The Medical Council of India was his creation and he was its first president in 1939, a position he held till 1945. He played a key role in establishing the Indian Institute of Mental Health, the Infectious Disease Hospital and the first-ever postgraduate medical college in Kolkata.
In spite of his hectic political duties — he was an MLA, Mayor and Chief Minister — Dr. Roy devoted one hour everyday for the cause of poor patients and the profession. He gifted his house to the people of Bengal in 1961.
Referring to the work of physicians, Dr. Elmer Hess, a former president of the American Medical Association, once wrote: “There is no greater reward in our profession than the knowledge that God has entrusted us with the physical care of His people. The Almighty has reserved for Himself the power to create life, but He has assigned to a few of us the responsibility of keeping in good repair the bodies in which this life is sustained.”
Voltaire, the French writer, said: “Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the earth. They even partake of divinity, since to preserve and renew is almost as noble as to create.”
Bidhan Chandra Roy,M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as an Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter. Bidhan Roy is often considered the great architect of West Bengal, who founded five eminent cities, Durgapur,Kalyani, Bidhannagar,Ashokenagar, Habra. He was an alumnus of the Medical College Calcutta of the University of Calcutta. He is one of the few people who completed both F.R.C.S. and M.R.C.P. simultaneously within only two years and three months.
Personal Details
Bidhan Chandra Roy was born on July 1, 1882, at B. M. Das road, Bankipore in
Patna,
Bihar. His father Prakash Chandra was an Excise Inspector. Bidhan was the youngest of five children and was greatly influenced by the simplicity, discipline and piety of his parents. His parents inculcated in him the idea of service by taking care of people other than relatives with affection and understanding. Bidhan's mother died when he was 14. His father played the role of both father and mother to his five children. He promised never to compel them to do anything but to just guide them on their path. All five children were required to do the household chores themselves. This was very helpful for Bidhan in his college days. Bidhan did his I.A. from
Presidency College, Calcutta and B.A. from
Patna College with Honors in Mathematics. He applied for admission to the
Bengal Engineering College, and the
Calcutta Medical College. He was accepted to both institutions but opted to go to medical school. Bidhan left for Calcutta in June 1901. While at medical school Bidhan came upon an inscription which read, "Whatever thy hands findeth to do, do it with thy might." Bidhan was deeply impressed by these words and they became a source of inspiration for him throughout his life.
Bidhan's term in medical school was fraught with hardships. His father retired as a Deputy Collector after the first year and could no longer send Bidhan any money. Bidhan fended for himself by getting a scholarship and living frugally, saving on books by borrowing notes and relying on books in the library.
The partition of Bengal was announced while Bidhan was in college. Opposition to the partition was being organized by nationalist leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Prajit Sengupta, Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. Bidhan resisted the immense pull of the movement. He controlled his emotions and concentrated on his studies realizing that he could better serve his nation by qualifying in his profession first.
Career as a Physician;
Immediately after graduation, B.C. Roy joined the Provincial Health Service. He exhibited immense dedication and hard work. He was prepared to prescribe medicine to patients and even serve as a nurse when necessary. In his free time he practiced privately, charging a fee of Rs. 2 only.
Bidhan sailed for England with only Rs. 1,200 in February 1909 intending to enroll himself at
St Bartholomew's Hospital to further his education. The Dean, reluctant to accept a student from Asia, rejected Bidhan's application. Dr. Roy did not lose heart. Again and again he submitted his application until finally the Dean, after 30 admission requests, accepted Bidhan to the college. Within two years and three months, Bidhan completed his M.R.C.P. and F.R.C.S. and returned home from England in 1911. On his return he taught at the
Calcutta Medical College, then the Campbell Medical School and finally at the Carmichael Medical College
Dr. Roy believed that swaraj would remain a dream unless the people were healthy and strong in mind and body. He made contributions to the organization of medical education. He established the Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamala Nehru Hospital, Victoria Institution, and
Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital. The Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children was opened in 1926. The women were unwilling to come to the hospital initially but thanks to Dr. Roy and his teams hard work, the Seva Sadan was embraced by women of all classes and communities. He opened a center for training women in nursing and social work.
Career as a Political Leader
Dr. Roy was both Gandhiji's friend and doctor. When Gandhiji was undergoing a fast in Parnakutivin, Poona in 1933 during the
Quit India Movement, Dr. Roy attended to him. Gandhiji refused to take medicine on the grounds that it was not made in India. Gandhiji asked Dr. Roy, "Why should I take your treatment? Do you treat four hundred million of my countrymen free?" Dr. Roy replied, "No Gandhiji, I could not treat all patients free. But I came... not to treat Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but to treat "him" who to me represents the four hundred million people of my country." Gandhiji relented and took the medicine.
Dr. Roy entered politics in 1925. He ran for elections from the
BarrackporeConstituency as an Independent candidate for the Bengal Legislative Council and defeated the "Grand Old Man of Bengal,"
Surendranath Banerjee. Even though an independent he voted with the Swaraj Party (the Parliamentary wing of the Congress). As early as 1925, Dr. Roy tabled a resolution recommending a study of the causes of pollution in Hoogly and suggested measures to prevent pollution in the future.
Dr. Roy was elected to the All India Congress Committee in 1928. He kept himself away from rivalry and conflicts and made a deep impression on the leaders. Dr. Roy efficiently conducted the Civil Disobedience in Bengal in 1929 and prompted Pandit Motilal Nehru to nominate him Member of the Working Committee (CWC) in 1930. The CWC was declared an unlawful assembly and Dr. Roy along with other members of the committee were arrested on August 26, 1930 and detained at Central
Alipore Jail.
During the Dandi March in 1931, many members of the Calcutta Corporation were imprisoned. Congress requested Dr. Roy to remain out of prison and discharge the duties of the Corporation. He served as the Alderman of the Corporation from 1930–31 and Mayor in 1933. Under him, the Corporation made leaps in the expansion of free education, free medical aid, better roads, improved lighting, and water supply. He was responsible for setting up a framework for dispensing grant-in-aid to hospitals and charitable dispensaries..
The Congress Party proposed Dr. Roy's name for Chief Minister of Bengal. Dr. Roy wanted to devote himself to his profession. On Gandhiji's advice, however, Dr. Roy accepted the position and took office on January 23, 1948. Bengal at the time that had been torn by communal violence, shortage of food, unemployment and a large flow of refugees in the wake of the creation of
East Pakistan. Dr. Roy brought unity and discipline amongst the party ranks. He then systematically and calmly began to work on the immense task in front of him. Within three years law and order was returned to Bengal without compromising the dignity and status of his administration. He told the people.
| “ | We have the ability and if, with faith in our future, we exert ourselves with determination, nothing, I am sure, no obstacles, however formidable or insurmountable they may appear at present, can stop our progress... (if) all work unitedly, keeping our vision clear and with a firm grasp of our problems. | ” |
The nation honored Dr. Roy with the
Bharat Ratna on February 4, 1961. On July 1, 1962, after treating his morning patients and discharging affairs of the State, he took a copy of the "Brahmo Geet" and sang a piece from it. 11 hours later Dr. Roy died on his 80th birthday at midday past three. He gifted his house for running a nursing home named after his mother, Aghorkamini Devi. The
B.C. Roy National Award was instituted in 1976 for work in the area of medicine, politics, science, philosophy, literature and arts. The Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Library and Reading Room for Children in the Children's Book Trust, New Delhi, was opened in 1967. Today, his private papers are part of the Archives at the
Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, at
Teen Murti House, Delhi.
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