Daughters of science who made India proud

I have been a professor for the past 23 years and a science communicator and I barely knew about them until 10 years ago,” says Dr. Uthra Dorairajan. To shed light on this, she will be giving a talk later this month titled Lilavati’s Daughters, on the women scientists of India.

The title was inspired by a book of the same name published by Indian Academy of Sciences (Bangalore) in 2008 written by Rohini Godbole. “I am a professor of physics and speak about science on All-India Radio, in schools and colleges. I do this because I want to explain science to mothers in language they’ll understand so they can transfer this knowledge to their children,” says the professor. 

Based on her findings, women in India were not stopped from studying or practising education unlike in the West, feels the professor. “The London School of Medicine didn’t open its doors until the late 1800s for women to graduate. Unfortunately, a picture has been painted that women in India were suppressed,” she says. 

Janaki Ammal: She could be called India’s first women scientist based on the data available. She was the brains behind creating the white sugar we know and consume today. She created a suitable hybrid of sugarcane that was sturdy and could produce sweeter sugar using her knowledge of botany, geography, geology, cell biology.

Kamala Sohonie: Who knew 70-odd years ago that pulses had protein or why we had to include it in our meals? Kamala provided ground-breaking research on it. “Her father and brother were graduates in chemistry so she learnt the subject casually while watching or listening to them study,” says Dr. Uthra. 

Abla Bose: JC Bose’s wife, Abla was a reformer in women’s maternity healthcare, primary school education and primary health care. She adds, “I’ll also be speaking about Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi and Kadambini Ganguly, who were one of the first few female graduates and physicians from India, specialising in Western medicine.”