Chandramukhi Basu (1860 – 3 February 1944), a Bengali from

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

, which was located in the

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province ...

), was one of the first two female graduates of the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. In 1882, along with Kadambini Ganguly, she passed the examination of the bachelor's degree in arts ( BA) from

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. Their formal degrees were handed during the convocation of the university in 1883.

Early life

The daughter of Bhuban Mohan Bose, she passed the First Arts examination from Dehradun Native Christian School in 1880.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, , p152, At that time Bethune School, to which she wanted to enter; did not admit non-Hindu girls, and as such she had to be admitted at the First Arts (F.A.) level in Reverend Alexander Duff's Free Church Institution (now the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. ...

). In 1876, because of the discriminatory official stances towards gender, she had to be given special permission to appear for the F.A. examination. As the only girl to appear for the examination that year, she had ranked first, but the university had to hold a series of meetings to decide whether her results could be published. Before Kadambini Ganguly, Chandramukhi Basu had already cleared her Entrance Examination in 1876, although the university refused to enlist her as a successful candidate. Only the university's changed resolution in 1878 allowed her to study further After she passed her F.A. examination, she moved to Bethune College for the degree course, along with Kadambini Ganguly. After her graduation, she was the only (and first) woman to pass MA from the

, and the British empire in 1884.

Career

She started her career as a lecturer in Bethune College (it was still part of Bethune School) in 1886. The college was separated from the school in 1888. She became the principal, thus becoming the first female head of an undergraduate academic establishment in South Asia. She retired in 1891 because of bad health and spent the rest of her life in Dehradun.

Sisters

Two of her sisters, Bidhumukhi and Bindubasini, were also renowned. Bidhumukhi Bose and Virginia Mary Mitra (Nandi), graduated in 1890, were among the earliest women medical graduates from Calcutta Medical College. Thereafter, Bindubasini Bose graduated from Calcutta Medical College in 1891.Bose, Anjali (editor), ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol II, 1996/2004,, p215, 219,

References

External links

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History of Scottish Church College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Chandramukhi Indian Anglicans Scottish Church College alumni Bethune College alumni Indian women academics University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Scientists from Dehradun 1860 births 1944 deaths 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Bengali scientists 20th-century Indian medical doctors 19th-century Indian medical doctors 19th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian women scientists 19th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists People from the United Provinces of British India Scholars from Dehradun 20th-century Indian women medical doctors 19th-century Indian women medical doctors 19th-century Indian women educators 19th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Medical doctors from British India People from the Bengal Presidency