Sujata Chaudhuri (born 23 March 1901 - ?) was an Indian professor of medicine and first physician at Lady Hardinge Medical College,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India. On 1 December 1966, she was appointed emeritus scientist.

Early life and education

Sujata Chaudhuri was born on 23 March 1901 in

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

in 1901 to Hamanta Kumari Chaudhuri (née Roy) and Raj Chandra Chaudhuri. Her father was a magistrate. She studied at a convent school in Lahore and then undertook her medical studies at Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi.

Career

After qualification, Chaudhuri worked as a house physician at the

Lady Dufferin Hospital Lady Dufferin Hospital is a private women's hospital located in Karachi, Sindh. Donations Seth Edulji Dinshaw contributed a sum of Rs. 50,000/- for its establishment in 1898, which may be equal to $2 million-$3 million today. Jehangir Framroze ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. She then moved to work as assistant to the professor of medicine and as a clinical assistant at the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital between 1929 and 1936. From 1936 to 1950 she worked for the Women’s Medical Service of India, whilst also working as a lecturer in medicine and pharmacology at the Women’s Medical School in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

in 1936 and 1937. Chaudhuri became a professor of pharmacology and second physician at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in 1938 and in 1940 she was promoted to professor of medicine and first physician there. She worked in this role until 1951. In 1946 Chaudhuri was elected to membership of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

in London. During the Second World War and the Bengal famine, Chaudhuri organised medical welfare projects. In 1947, following the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, she played a role in supporting the rehabilitation of refugees in

West Punjab West Punjab (; ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. It was established from the western-half of British Punjab, following the independence of Pakistan. The province covered an area of 159,344 km sq (61523 sq mi), i ...

in the newly formed

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

. Between 1951 and 1960, Chaudhuri was responsible for organising rural medical services and family centres in the slums of Delhi and the surrounding villages. She also served as the President of the All India Women’s Reserve Medical Unit. In 1963, Chaudhuri was elected a Fellow of the

in London. She was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh.

Personal life

Outside medicine, she enjoyed golf, photography and music, in particular the violin. She was unmarried.

Selected publications

References

{{authority control 1901 births Date of death unknown 20th-century Indian medical doctors Members of the Royal College of Physicians Medical doctors from British India Year of death missing People from Sylhet