“No man or woman should depend upon another for maintenance and necessaries. Family discord and social degradation will never end till each depends upon herself.”
Anandi Gopal Joshi
A portrait photo of Dr. Anandibai Joshee, M.D., Class of 1886 at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania
Of all the women whom I have written about till now, the one string of familiarity that binds them all together is the fact that they were all empowered self-made women, who made a name for themselves in an otherwise male-dominated world. Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian-origin World War II spy; Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – Independent India’s first Female Health Minister; Durga Devi Vohra – a woman who fought for India’s independence alongside Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Chandrashekhar Azad; and Jahanara Begum – a royal princess and able administrator who took care the vast Mughal Empire at a time when tragedy had struck her family. All of these women have either been forgotten or slowly have been erased from the pages of our history. And so, I bring to you a story of yet another woman who broke through the barriers of a patriarchal society and became a beacon of hope for all other women who had dreams that needed to be fulfilled.
Here’s remembering the courageous Anandi Gopal Joshi, on her 156 birth anniversary…
Anandibai’s father
Born on 31st March, 1865 as ‘Yamuna’ in Kalyan (Mumbai), Anandi Gopal Joshi was raised in a family of former landlords who were experiencing financial troubles. This situation forced her to get married at a very young and early age of 9. Her husband, Gopal Rao Joshi, gave her the name ‘Anandi’, post marriage, according to the customs back then. However, Anandibai did not lead a conventional married life like other girls her age. Her husband, Gopal Rao was a widower and 25-years-old, at the time. He was an extremely progressive man and well ahead of his time. Before he married Anandibai, he laid down a condition, that he would only marry her if she agreed to educate herself post marriage. Only when Anandibai’s parents agreed, very reluctantly, did they get married. He made sure that his wife studied, every single day. The only downside was that Gopal Rao was prone to fits of rage. Whenever he found that she wasn’t studying or whiling away her time cooking and taking care of the house, he would routinely reprimand and beat her, “flinging chairs and books” at her, according to the letters she wrote to him from the US.
The only available picture of – Gopalrao Joshi
Once, when he walked into the kitchen and saw her cooking instead of studying, he threw a fit of rage. Gopal Rao himself was a very well-educated man. He could read and speak in English, and defied all the Hindu norms which bound a woman only to the house. This is why society saw him as an ‘eccentric’ person and a man of extremely ‘unusual behaviour’. Gopal Rao Joshi was dead-set on making Anandibai learn fluent English. Since the revolt of 1857, British rule in India had solidified and Gopal Rao knew that they were not going away anytime soon. Which is why, he knew the importance that English Language held. He had a son from his earlier marriage whom Anandibai readily accepted as her own. He faced a lot of problems and judgements from the society for his forward thinking. Widowed women were treated as untouchables at the time and were not allowed to work or touch anything in the house. Gopal Rao’s mother-in-law, from his previous marriage, who was also a widower, was pushed by him to break the norms and work in the house, so that Anandibai could focus on her studies.
Anandibai Joshi after joining Medical College in America
Couples like Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai, Justice M.G. Ranade and his wife Ramabai were role models for Anandi and Gopal Rao. When Anandibai was 14-years-old, she gave birth to a son. Tragedy struck and he died within 10 days. This loss proved to be very difficult for the young mother to bear. When realisation struck Anandibai faced a bitter truth – her infant son was so sick that died, and nobody in the house could identify any symptoms. She vowed to become a doctor, on the grounds that even if she couldn’t save her own son, she could help others in need. She also realised that females were uncomfortable, as she experienced it herself, going to male doctors. Gopal Rao tried to raise funds to educate his wife, and managed to get a transfer in Bombay where she could attend a Christian Missionary school. However, they faced a lot of trouble from the society at the time because Hindu children attending a Christian school was considered a taboo at the time. Gopal Rao soon realised that Anandibai had no future in India if she really wanted to become a doctor. Forget a degree in medicine, girls could not even attend normal school without being shunned by the society.
Anandi’s letter seeking scholarship/fee waiver in the college.
So, he attempted to make ends meet so that both of them could go to the United States where Anandibai could pursue a degree a medicine. Although he initially hoped that both of them could go to America, he soon realised that they only had enough money for Anandibai to go. Gopal Rao would have to wait for some time and then join her later America. Anandibai herself vehemently opposed the decision at first, but later agreed to go to the United States, all alone. In a move that was unimaginable for its time, the couple made the decision to let Anandibai go all alone to the States to become a doctor. The only concern was the housing – where would she stay? Theodicia Carpenter from New Jersey, had read about the couple’s attempts to come to the US in the local Princeton Missionary Review publication, and offered them support. In the two years (1881 to 1883) preceding the year she left for America, Anandibai and Mrs. Carpenter exchanged a number of letters. Here, she explained her entire journey and the reason why she wanted to become a doctor. Along with this, she also elaborated on the Indian culture, her life in India recipes for Indian food, the importance of cow dung to maintain a house and Indian philosophy.
Left – Theodocia Eighmie Carpenter; Right – Dr. Rachel Bodley
Finally, in 1883 Anandi Gopal Joshi set sail for America on a steamer called ‘The City of Calcutta’. Before she departed, Anandibai made a speech in English assuring everyone that she was going to the States for a reason – to become a doctor. She assured the public that she would not abandon her faith during her stay there – she would leave and return as a Hindu. Mrs. Carpenter who received her in America, continued to be a huge source of support to her. Anandibai got accepted by the Women’s Medical College in Pennsylvania, and also won a scholarship. During her stay in the States, Anandibai tried her best to reconcile her tradition Maharashtrian lifestyle with her new life in America. She continued to dress in a sari and ate only vegetarian food. Mrs. Carpenter kept most of her correspondence with Anandibai safe, as she was aware that her stay in America was a historical one. All of these letters reveal a great deal about Anandibai’s thoughts. Happiness for her, was an affirmation of her faith in God. She hated being dependent on anyone else, and was against slavery. Irresponsible behaviour made her unhappy. She loved reading and in one letter even revealed that she could read and speak in 7 languages – Marathi, her native tongue, Hindoosthani (Hindi), Bengali, Gujarati, Canari, Sanskrit and English. She had an excellent command over English and received many complements for the same. It is also said that the strain of mastering English was so great that it temporarily made her forget Marathi. The letters she addressed to her husband were always in devanagari or modi script.
Women’s Medical College and Hospital, Philadelphia
However, there were two problems. First, her husband, Gopal Rao, although extremely supportive, was fickle. He would suddenly show a lot of anger towards her in his letters. Whenever Anandibai told him about her achievements and asked for encouragement, he would often find faults in her and criticized her. All of this deeply hurt Anandibai. Secondly, her health was weak even at the time of travelling to the States. Dean Bodley of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania looked after Anandibai personally when she was too ill to live on her own. Despite all of these obstacles, on 11th March 1886, Anandi Gopal Joshi graduated and became the first Indian woman to ever be qualified as a doctor. The subject of dissertation was ‘Obstetrics among Hindu Aryans’. Gopal Rao too was extremely proud of is young wife. Anandibai had already been offered a position as a doctor at the Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur as the physician in charge of the female ward. She was extremely keen to get back home and start practicing medicine.
Left – Anandibai Joshi from India; Center – Kei Okami from Japan; Right – Tabat M. Islambooly from Ottoman Syria, students from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.
All three were the first woman from their respective countries to obtain a degree in Western medicine.
Gopal Rao had joined Anandibai in America prior to her graduation. They were all set to sail back to India in October 1886. However, the joy of finally becoming a doctor, was marred by a dark cloud. It turned out that Anandibai’s gradual decline in health was due to tuberculosis, a disease that was uncurable at the time. This was the tragedy of her medical triumph. In the course of her pursuit to save others, Anandibai’s own health had failed her. The long journey back home only added to the troubles. However, the couple was astonished to see that all the harsh criticism inflicted upon them for years together, had melted into a sea of happiness for the young doctor. In fact, even Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. The Philadelphia Post wrote,
“Little Mrs. Joshee who graduated with high honours in her class, received quite an ovation.”
Queen Victoria in the Philadelphia Post
Proudly framed in the college archives, Queen Victoria’s reply to Anandi Joshi’s achievement
The next year itself, on 26 February 1887, tuberculosis took her life and Anandibai Joshi passed away at the young age of 21 years. She was just a month short of tuning 22. Her last words are supposedly
“I did all that I could.”
Anandibai’s last words
After her cremation according to Hindu rites, Gopal Rao sent Anandibai’s ashes to her ‘American family’ rather than immersing them in a holy river as was the usual practice. These ashes are buried in Mrs. Carpenter’s family lot in a cemetery in New York State. Her tombstone reads –
“First Brahmin woman to leave India to obtain an education.”
The engraving on Anandibai’s tombstone
Dr. Anandibai Joshi’s tombstone in New York
People often get confused between her and Kadambini Ganguly as to who was the first female Indian doctor. Anandibai completed her education abroad, while Kadambini Ganguly completed hers in India itself. Thus, Anandibai was the first female doctor who got her degree in western medicine from the United States, while Kadambini Ganguly was the first female doctor to practice medicine.
In a span of just 21 years Anandibai achieved more than people do in a lifetime. A crater on Venus has been named in her honour. The 34.3 km-diameter crater on Venus named ‘Joshee’ lies at latitude 5.5° N and longitude 288.8° E.
This was the life of Dr. Anandi Gopal Joshi. A woman who became an inspiration for women across the world. She fought all odds along with her husband, and managed to get a degree in medicine, something that no woman before her had done.
A photo of Anandi Gopal Joshi with her signature on it.
To read about more such women, click on the link below:
Women of the Past: Rediscovered – Itihaas to History
Sources and Media:
A Marathi movie was released in 2019 – ‘Anandi Gopal’, and is now available on Zee5.
Dr Anandibai Joshi’s biopic – Scroll.in
Anandi Gopal Joshi – Google Arts & Culture
A Beacon of Hope – The Struggles and Success of Dr. Anandibai Joshi – Heritage India
Why is a Crater on Venus Named After India’s Dr Anandibai Joshi? – The Quint
Fascinating read; Anandibai’s life story was poignant and inspiring in equal measure. Thanks for writing this!
Thank you for reading this! ?
Through every blog of yours, we’re getting enlightened with new / unheard personalities. Keep up the good work.
Well stay tuned for more! ?