KAMALA SOHONIE : FIRST INDIAN WOMAN PHD IN SCIENCE*

Full text

128 SCIENCE AND CULTURE, MAY-JUNE, 2015
KAMALA SOHONIE : FIRST INDIAN WOMAN PHD IN SCIENCE*
DHRUBAJYOTI CHATTOPADHYAY**
ARTICLE
* Reprinted from Dream 2047, April 2014, Vol. 16, No. 7
** Education Officer, North Bengal Science Centre, (National
Council of Science Museums) Siliguri (West Bengal). Mainly
engaged for popularization of Science and to inculcate scientific
temperament among the students. e-mail : dckc.sc@gmail.com
Gender bias is common throughout the world,
especially in the field of science. But the situation
in India was probably the worst at the time
modern science education started in India, under British
rule. There were a few social reformers who advocated
for western science-based education for the women, but
most of the political leaders at that time were against it.
Even Mahatma Gandhi was against educating women. He
said, “Man and woman are of equal rank but they are not
identical. They are a peerless pair being supplementary to
one another; each helps the other, so that without the one
the existence of the other cannot be conceived, and
therefore it follows as a necessary corollary from these facts
that anything that will impair the status of either of them
will involve the equal ruin of them both. In framing any
scheme of women’s education this cardinal truth must be
constantly kept in mind.” He further said, “To introduce
English education in schools meant for women could only
lead to prolonging our helplessness.”
In spite of such adverse situation, there were a few
Indian women who had dared to join in the arena of science
and had established themselves. Most of them came from
learned and established society, yet they had to face a lot
of difficulties because they were women. Kamala Sohonie
was one of them and was the first Indian woman to be
awarded PhD from Cambridge University in Biochemistry.
Early life
Kamala was born and brought up in a well-educated
family of Bombay (now Mumbai). His father Narayan
Bhagavat and her uncle both had completed their graduation
with chemistry honours from Bombay Presidency College.
Her family members wanted to make her a scientist.
Naturally, Kamala was inspired by them to take up science
as her future carrier and guided by them seriously from
her very childhood. As a result she completed her B.Sc.
with Chemistry from the Bombay Presidency College with
the highest score. At that time Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore was a renowned scientific institution, headed by
Prof. C. V. Raman who was the first Asian Nobel laureate
in Physics. Most scientists and researchers wanted to join
IISc, as it had a well-equipped laboratory. Naturally,
Kamala wanted to join the institute because her dream was
to be a successful scientist.
Kamala in Raman’s Lab
Kamala’s true struggle began after Raman denied her
admission to IISc, though she had high marks in graduation,
Kamala Sohonie

VOL. 81, NOS. 5–6 129
only because she was a girl. In spite of her father’s requests
Raman refused to admit her. But Kamala was made up of
a different stuff. She asked Raman directly why girl
candidates would not be allowed in his institution and
challenged that she would complete the course with
distinction. First day Raman ignored her but after much
hesitation she was admitted, with a few conditions. The
conditions were:
i) She will not be allowed as a regular candidate.
ii) She has to work late night as per instruction of
her guide.
iii) She will not spoil the environment of the lab
Kamala was really hurt with that incidence. During a
felicitation function in 1997, at BARC, organised by Indian
Women Scientists’ Association (IWSA) she publicly said,
“Though Raman was a great scientist, he was very narrow-
minded. I can never forget the way he treated me just
because I was a woman. This was a great insult to me.
The bias against women was so bad at that time. What
can one expect if even a Nobel Laureate behaves in such
a manner?”
However, at IISc, she worked very hard under her
teacher, Shri Sreenivasayya. He was very strict, demanding
and at the same time eager to impart knowledge to
deserving students. Here she worked on proteins in milk,
pulses and legumes, which had important implications for
nutritional practices in India. In 1936, Kamala was the only
graduate student perhaps in the world working on pulse
proteins. She submitted her research to Bombay University
and received her MSc degree.
Kamala had successfully overcome her first battle. She
got scholarship for doing research at Cambridge University
in UK. She convinced Sir C.V. Raman through her devotion
and hard work that a woman is also capable for research
work. Next year onward, Raman’s door opened for girl
candidates too.
Kamala in Cambridge
At Cambridge University, Kamala first worked in the
laboratory of Dr. Derik Richter who offered her a spare
table to work during the day. When Dr. Richter left to work
elsewhere, Kamala continued her work under Dr. Robin
Hill, who was doing similar work, but on plant tissue.
While working on potatoes, she found that every cell
of plant tissue also contains the enzyme “cytochrome C”
and that cytochrome C is involved in oxidation of all plant
cells. This was an original discovery embracing the entire
plant kingdom. As suggested by Hopkins, Kamala sent a
short thesis describing her finding of cytochrome C in
respiration of plant tissue to Cambridge University for
her PhD degree. Her PhD degree was remarkable in many
ways. Her research and writing of the thesis was done in
less than 16 months since arriving at Cambridge. It
consisted only of 40 typewritten pages. Those of others
sometimes contained more than a thousand of pages. She
was the first Indian woman “on whom the title of PhD
degree in science was conferred”.
In this way Kamala spent joyful days at Cambridge,
where all the teachers and friends were highly cooperative,
and there was a good atmosphere for doing research. With
her PhD degree she got the prestige which she really
deserved.
Perhaps her Cambridge life was the golden period in
Kamala’s academic carrier. She got two scholarships. The
first one was for research work with the Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Fredrick Hopkins in the Sir William Dwan Institute
of Biochemistry at Cambridge University. Here she worked
in the areas of biological oxidation and reduction. The
second scholarship was a travelling fellowship of the
American Federation of University Women, when Kamala
came in close contact with eminent scientists in Europe.
Kamala During Her Professional Life
After her return to India in 1939 she joined Lady
Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, as professor and
became head of the newly opened Department of
Biochemistry. But most of the workers in the department
were male. So she could not find good working atmosphere
there.
Later she joined as Assistant Director of the Nutrition
Research Lab, Coonoor. There she conducted important
research on the effect of vitamins. She published a few
scientific papers in many journals. However, due to lack
of clear avenues for career advancement, she started
thinking of resigning. Around this time, she received a
proposal of marriage from M V. Sohonie, an actuary by
profession. She accepted the proposal and moved to
Mumbai in 1947.
The Government of Maharashtra invited applications
for the post of Professor of Biochemistry in the newly
opened Biochemistry Department at the (Royal) Institute
of Science, Bombay. Kamala applied and was selected.
During her tenure at the Institute of Science, she worked
with her students on nutritional aspects of neera (also called
sweet toddy or palm nectar), pulse and legume proteins as
well as dhan (paddy) atta. All the subjects of her research
were very much of relevance to Indian societal needs. In

130 SCIENCE AND CULTURE, MAY-JUNE, 2015
fact, her work on neera was started on a suggestion from
the then President Dr Rajendra Prasad. Further, she also
advised the administration of the Aarey Milk project on
improving the quality.
Research work conducted by her students showed that
introduction of neera in the diet of tribal malnourished
adolescent children and pregnant women caused significant
improvement in their overall health. Kamala Sohonie
received the Rashtrapati Award for this work.
Even at the Institute of Science, Bombay, she was
kept away from her rightful position as Director of the
Institute for four years. When finally she was given that
post, Dr Derik Richter, her first guide at Cambridge,
remarked that she “has made history by being the first lady
Kamala Sobonie at Cambridge University
Director of such a big science institute.”
Other Activities
Kamala Sohonie was the founder member
of Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI),
which was the earliest consumer’s organisation
in India, founded by nine women in 1966, and
became the first to conduct formal product
testing in 1977. CGSI followed various activities
included testing the purity of food products,
weights and measures used by shopkeepers and
consumer protection in other forms. CGSI
publishes a magazine, Keemat.
Kamala was also very popular science writer
too. She published a good number of books in
Marathi for the young students. Besides her
science articles, she wore several papers on
consumers rights and activities of the consumers.
Heroic End
Kamala Sohonie lived a full life. She was successful
in her career – as a research scientist, teacher, social
worker, science populariser and science writer. It was in
1998 when Dr Satyavati, the first woman DG of ICMR
and Chairperson of Indian Council of Medical Research,
learned of Kamala Sohonie and her work and decided to
make amends. She invited Kamala, who was then 84, to
felicitate her in an impressive ceremony in New Delhi.
Ironically, at this ceremony, Kamala Sohonie collapsed.
What better end could one wish for such a renowned
personality? 