R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) is a

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is predominantly funded by the government and operates predominantly off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In almost al ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which started as Asia's first private medical college. It was established in 1886 to ensure self-sufficiency in medical education and services in the colonial era. On May 12, 1958, the

West Bengal Government The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial a ...

assumed management of the establishment. It was under the

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 ...

from 1916 to 2003 and affiliated to

West Bengal University of Health Sciences West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS) is a Public medical university in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 2003 by an Act of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for better management of the health and medical educ ...

when it was established in 2003. The college is a co-educational institution that is recognized by the

National Medical Commission The National Medical Commission (NMC) is a statutory body in India that regulates medical education, medical professionals, institutes, and research. Established on 25 September 2020, it replaced the Medical Council of India. The Commission gra ...

History

Established in 1886 as the Calcutta School of Medicine, it had no affiliated hospital and practiced out of the Mayo Hospital. In 1902, it moved to its own complex including a school building and hospital. In 1904, it merged with the National College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal and, after a period of further growth, was renamed as the Belgachia Medical College in 1916. From 1918 to 1948, the college was known as Carmichael Medical College in honor of Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, the Governor of Bengal at the college's inauguration in 1916. The institution was given its current name on 12 May 1948 to honour Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar who first conceived of it. Dr. Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari was the first President of the institution, and Kar was its first Secretary. On May 12, 1958, control of the college was passed to the state of

Academics

The college offers

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

, post-graduate diploma (

DNB DNB may refer to: * The ''Dictionary of National Biography'', a reference work on notable figures from British history * Diplomate of National Board, an Indian credential for healthcare providers * Drum and bass (DnB), an electronic music style * ...

), post degree medical courses ( MS, MD) and super specialty courses ( DM, and MCh).It has a capacity of 250

175 MD, MS, DNB Seats. And 28 DM, MCH Seats. Recently Mch in Neurosurgery opened in this college.

Incidents

On 9 August 2024, a 31 year old second-year

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

postgraduate trainee (PGT)(Chest Medicine) doctor at the college was found dead in the seminar hall on the college campus. An autopsy report later confirmed that she had been

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed. The incident has triggered outrage and protests throughout the country which demanded a thorough investigation while also questioning the safety of doctors and also women in their workplaces in

Notable alumni

* Sushovan Banerjee, Indian physician and politician,

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

awardee *

Sanjeev Kanoria Sanjeev Kanoria is a London-based liver transplant surgeon, and healthcare entrepreneur. He is the owner and chairman of Advinia HealthCare as well as the vice-chairman of the supervisory board of Austrian Anadi Bank. Kanoria is also the princ ...

, liver transplant surgeon, owner of

Advinia HealthCare Advinia Healthcare Ltd is one of the largest private care providers in the United Kingdom. Advinia operates 38 care homes and 3,250 beds across England and Scotland. History Advinia Health Care was founded in 1999 by Dr Sanjeev Kanoria. He is ...

Nirmal Kumar Ganguly Nirmal Kumar Ganguly (born 1941) is an Indian microbiologist specialising in tropical diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and diarrhea. Education Ganguly is a graduate of R. G. Kar Medical College, then affiliated with the University of Calcu ...

, microbiologist,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

awardee * Santanu Sen, former Member of Parliament in

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

from

Shashi Panja Shashi Panja is a doctor and politician who currently serves as Cabinet Minister for Industries, Commerce & Enterprises and Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare of the Government of West Bengal. Early life Panja born ...

, cabinet minister of

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

Samar Banerjee Samar "Badru" Banerjee (; 30 January 1930 – 20 August 2022) was an Indian association football, footballer who played primarily as a striker for the India national football team. He captained India at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, wh ...

, player of

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

Nachiketa Ghosh Nachiketa Ghosh (28 January 1925 – 12 October 1976) was a Bengali music director in India. He mainly composed for Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia ...

, Bengali music director *

Ragini Sonkar Ragini Sonkar (born 11 December 1990) is an Indian physician and politician serving as a member of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh from Machhlishahr representing the Samajwadi Party. She is the daughter of politician Kailash N ...

, Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly * Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Member of Parliament in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

Nihar Ranjan Gupta Nihar Ranjan Gupta (, pen name: ''Banbhatta'' (বানভট্ট); 6 June 1911 – 20 February 1986) was an Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelist. He is the creator of the fictional detective character Kiriti Roy. Some of his ...

, Bengali novelist *

Ratna De Dr Ratna De Nag (born 6 September 1948) is an Indian politician who has been serving as Minister of State for Environment Science, Technology and Bio-Technology in the Government of West Bengal. She was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha and 16th ...

, Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly *

References

External links