20 Facts About Dwarkanath Ganguly

Dwarkanath Ganguly made substantial contributions towards societal enlightenment and the emancipation of women.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was the husband of the first female Indian physician, Kadambini Ganguly.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was born in the village of Magurkhanda in Bikrampur pargana, south of Dhaka in present-day Bangladesh, on 20 April 1844.

Dwarkanath Ganguly's father, Krishnapran Gangopadhyay, was a compassionate and humble man; his mother, Udaytara, belonged to a wealthy family and was a strong-willed woman.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was deeply influenced by his mother, who instilled in him a love of truth and justice.

Dwarkanath Ganguly began his education in the local village pathshaala.

Keen to learn English, Dwarkanath Ganguly then attended the English school in the nearby village of Kalipara.

Dwarkanath Ganguly, touched by the plight of Bengali women, was influenced by Dutta's belief that "the first vital step to social regeneration is liberating woman from her bondage".

The 17-year-old Dwarkanath Ganguly was pained when he learned that the fatal poisoning of a girl by her relatives was a common practice; he vowed to be monogamous, and began to empathize with the women in his society.

Dwarkanath Ganguly fought for her admission to Calcutta Medical College, and Kadambini became the first female practising Indian physician.

In May 1869, Dwarkanath Ganguly launched the journal Abalabandhab in Dhaka.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was a humanitarian journalist who brought to light cases of female exploitation and suffering.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was a supporter of higher education for women, including the fields of science and mathematics.

Dwarkanath Ganguly advocated equal syllabi for men and women, unlike other social reformers who believed that women's roles should complement those of men.

Dwarkanath Ganguly tried to introduce changes to women's dress, and established a music school for girls.

Divisions within Brahmo Samaj led to the 1878 formation of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, where Dwarkanath Ganguly served several terms as secretary.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was headmaster at the Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya in Calcutta, a boarding school, supervised by Annette Akroyd.

Dwarkanath Ganguly was inspired by her work to write the women's novel Suruchir Kutir, for which he received the Mary Carpenter Prize.

Dwarkanath Ganguly's articles detailing the wretched conditions of tea-plantation workers in Assam eventually led the Indian National Congress to send investigators and sparked agitation against colonial rule.

Dwarkanath Ganguly wrote a novel, Suruchir Kutir; a journal biography of Brohmomoyee Debi, and a who's who of contemporary Bengal.