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Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Nilratan Sircar
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
M.D.
D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
(1 October 1861 – 18 May 1943) was an Indian doctor, educationist, philanthropist and swadeshi entrepreneur. He was awarded honorary DCL by
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
&
LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
by
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
. He was a renowned figure in promoting Science and Technology education in contemporary India.


Early life

Son of Nandalal Sircar, a native of
Jaynagar Jaynagar Majilpur () is a town and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated in the southern suburbs of Kolkata. As an urban setup in the vicinity of Kolkata, the town is within the ar ...
, he was born in the house of his maternal uncle in Netra village of
South 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. It is the largest district of West Bengal by ...
district, on 1 October 1861. His father came from an impoverished family in
Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...
and later settled in Jaynagar. However, as his mother often suffered from ill health, Sircar and his siblings spent much of their growing years with their maternal family in Netra village and subsequently moved there. His mother died while he was still a child from what was later believed to be cancer. Sircar was reported to have shared with grandchildren that it was this early loss of his mother to an unknown disease that led him to study medicine, as he wanted to know the cause of her death.


Education

Sircar passed the entrance examination for Chatra Nandalal Institution in Hooghly and matriculated there. Despite the family's modest means, Sircar moved to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
to pursue his career in medicine. His efforts caught the attention of an Englishman who sponsored his study at the Campbell Medical College in the formative years from where he obtained vernacular diploma in medicine in 1879. Later, he went on to win a scholarship, and earned the M.B. degree in 1888. The following year he earned his M.A., and in 1890 he obtained the M.D. degrees from the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...
.


Family life

In 1888, Sircar married Nirmala, daughter of Girishchandra Mazumdar of Barisal, a scholar and a
Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpa ...
missionary, and became a member of the Brahmo Samaj. The couple went on to have six children, five daughters and one son.


Medical career

Dr Sircar soon grew a large practice and was, for many years, a leading Indian consulting physician, travelling far and wide to treat some of his patients, who included the ruling heads of state in neighbouring countries.


Educational endeavours

Aside from his contribution to the field of medicine, Dr Sircar also contributed greatly to the causes of education, commerce, and politics during his lifetime. He was directly or indirectly involved in the foundation and administration of various national institutes of science in Bengal:


Bose Institute

Sir Nilratan Sircar was the Chairman of the first Governing Body of Bose Institute, which is Asia's first modern interdisciplinary research centre.


Carmichael Medical College

Sir Nilratan Sircar became the president of Medical Education Society of Bengal in 1922 and remained in the position until 1941. The society was formed for better management of the Carmichael Medical College.


Science College of the University of Calcutta

He was one of the enthusiastic founding fathers of the Science College of University of Calcutta.


Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science

Along with other pioneers of Bengal, Sircar was deeply involved in the formation of Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. and he remained the President of the
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in basic sciences under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, situated at the heart of ...
from 1939 to 1941.


University of Calcutta

Sircar's keen interests in academia saw him being closely associated with the University of Calcutta. He was elected Fellow in 1893 and was responsible for the expansion of post graduate science teaching facilities and research in medical education as well as the introduction of students' health examination and welfare work. He served as the President of the University of Calcutta's Council for Post Graduate Teaching Arts from 1924 to 1929, the President of the Post Graduate teaching in Science from 1924 to 1942 and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta from 1919 to 1921. In 1920 he travelled to England to represent the University of Calcutta at the Empire Universities Conference in London.


Other institutes

Sircar was also closely associated with the Jadavpur Tuberculosis Hospital and Chittarajan Seva Sadan.


Academic clubs and societies

Sircar served as the President of the Calcutta Medical Club and was for many years remained the Editor-In-Chief of its Journal. He was also one of the founders of the Physiological Society of India established in 1934. During the anti-partition movement in Bengal, Sircar became involved in establishing the National Council of Education. In 1906, Taraknath Pandit and Dr Sircar launched the Society for the Promotion of Technical Education which established the Bengal Technical Institute.


Political life

This was also a time of great enormous political turmoil in the Indian subcontinent. The Independence movement was slowly but surely gaining momentum and here too, Sircar was at the helm of affairs. He was closely associated with several leading luminaries of that time, including
Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
,
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
,
Jagdish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (;, ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a biologist, physicist, botanist and an early writer of science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contribution ...
,
Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Neh ...
,
Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (Friend of the Nation), was an Indian people, Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian independence movement and founder-lead ...
and
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...
. He was a member of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
between 1890 and 1919, Sircar also served as a member of the Bengal Legislative Congress under the reform scheme.


Promotion of national trade

His enthusiastic support for the
Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...
saw him set up the National Soap Factory and the National Tannery at
Beliaghata Beliaghata, also known as Beleghata, is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages sur ...
in 1905. He was the Director of the Boot and Equipment Factory for period of time and encouraged his manager B.M.Das to organise the Bengal Tanning Institute.


Death

He died in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
on 18 May 1943 aged 81. An obituary published in the British Medical Journal on 5 June 1943 stated,


Awards and recognition

On 26 June 1918, Dr. Sircar received a
knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
for his contributions to medical education.The London Gazette, 2 August 1918
/ref> Sircar was awarded the honorary DCL and LLD degrees by the universities of
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
respectively. In 1940, the University of Calcutta conferred on him the
D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree. After his death, his alma mater, the Campbell Medical School was renamed Nilratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital. In 1931, the
Calcutta Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...
felicitated him as "an eminent physician of this great city (who) has taken active part in the public life of the country for over half a century and has rendered invaluable service in various spheres of public activity.”


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sircar, Nilratan Indian medical academics Indian academics Indian medical doctors 19th-century Indian medical doctors 20th-century Indian medical doctors University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Brahmos Knights Bachelor Indian Knights Bachelor 1861 births 1943 deaths Indian educators Educationists from India Indian philanthropists Indian social entrepreneurs 19th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian educators Bengali educators Bengali scientists People from Jaynagar Majilpur Medical doctors from West Bengal West Bengal politicians