Dr. Ayyathan Janaki Ammal (1881–1945) was the first female doctor in Kerala and also in Malabar region which was an administrative district of
Madras Presidency during
British rule in India
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. She was also the first female doctor from the Thiyya community and also hailed with the title as the first Malayali lady doctor and surgeon.
and the sister to
Ayyathan Gopalan
Rao Sahib Ayyathan Gopalan (3 March 1861 – 2 May 1948), popularly known as Darsarji and Darsar Sahib ("Darsar" means "doctor", derived from Latin word "docere" for doctor), was an Indian doctor, surgeon, professor, writer, philanthropist, s ...
. a
social reformer of Kerala, the founder of the
Sugunavardhini movement (1900), Depressed Classes Mission (1909) and the leader and propagandist of
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance.
It was one of t ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
.
Biography
She was born into "
Ayyathan" family (aristocratic Thiyya royal family of Malabar) at
Telicherry, the daughter of Ayyathan Chandhan and Kallat Chiruthammal.
She studied at the Telicherry Elementary School and moved to convent school, Calicut in 1897. She then joined
Madras Medical College
Madras Medical College (MMC) is a public medical college located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established on 2 February 1835, it is the second oldest medical college in India, established after Calcutta Medical College.
History
The Governm ...
in 1902 on scholarship and passed the
LMP examination (sub assistant surgeon) in 1907 with the highest rank and with honors. That same year she joined
government service
A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
at
Chenkelpet government hospital where her career started as an assistant surgeon and physician. She came back to Calicut to work at the Leprosy hospital where she worked for years before leaving back to Madras where she joined the
Trichy
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
government hospital.
Janaki Ammal was service-oriented and was a social activist. She had worked with the Sugunavardhini movement to uplift women and people from the downtrodden sections of society. Along with her brother Dr.Ayyathan Gopalan, she conducted free medical camps while working at Calicut together with Kallat Kausallya Ammal(wife of Dr.Gopalan) and
Dr.Alummoottil Cochoomani Mandhakini Bai(Ayathan Gopalan's daughter-in-law)
Janaki Ammal is considered a pioneer in fighting for women's rights in the Sugunavardhini movement.
She died in 1945.
[Ente ammayude ormadaykk (Biography of Kallat Chirutha Ammal) written by Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan in the 1930]
Bibliography
* "Appan oru ormapusthakam" (Malayalam), author Ayathan Alok.
* "Darsar, The untold story of an unsung hero" (English) written by Ayathan Alok.
* Kerala Charithram vol2 by P.S. Velayudhan
* ''Ente ammayude ormadaykk'' (1901) Biography of Kallat Chiruthammal, written by DR.Ayathan Gopalan.
* M.S.Nair, Manasu enna Daivam
* C.K.Moosath, The role of Kelappan in harijan activities
* M.P.Manmadhan, Kelappan Biography
* Maharshi Vaghbhatananda Gurudevar, by Swami Brahmavrithan
* Prof. Sreedharan Menon .A. (1967). ''A Survey of Kerala History''. Kottayam: Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society
ales Dept. National Book Stall.
* Prof.Sreedharamenon .A. (1987) ''Kerala History and its Makers'', Kottayam; National bookstall
*
Kurup, K. K. N. (1988), ''Modern Kerala: Studies in Social and Agrarian Relations'', Mittal Publications,
*
Kurup (1988), p. 94
* Mithavadi paper (1917)
*
Kurup, K. K. N. (September 1988). "Peasantry and the Anti-Imperialist Struggles in Kerala". ''Social Scientist''. 16 (9): 35–45.
doi:10.2307/3517171.
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
3517171.
* Biography of Brahmanada Sivayogi written by K Bheeman Nair ''Asathyathil ninnu sathyathilekku''(അസത്യത്തിൽ നിന്ന് സത്യത്തിലേക്ക്)
* ''Biography of Brahmananda Swami Sivayogy'' by A K Nair
* ''Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi'' by Pavana
* ''Journal of Indian history'', University of Kerela Press, 2001 p270
References
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Madras Medical College alumni
Indian social reformers
1881 births
20th-century Indian medical doctors
Medical doctors from Kerala
People from Thalassery
Malayali people
Activists from Kerala
Brahmos
20th-century Indian scholars
1945 deaths