Bidhan Chandra Roy

Bidhan Chandra Roy was born on 1 July 1882 to a Bengali Kayastha family in Bankipore in Patna, where his father, Prakash Chandra Roy coming from a wealthy family of Satkhira, Khulna district, Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh), was serving as an excise inspector. His mother, Aghorkamini Devi, was religious and a devoted social worker. Roy was the youngest of five siblings, with 2 sisters (Susharbashini and Sarojini) and 2 brothers(Subodh and Sadhan). His parents were ardent Brahmo Samajists.

Prakash Chandra was a descendant of the family of Maharaja Pradapaditya, the rebel Hindu king of Jessore, but did not inherit much wealth from his ancestors. He earned a moderate salary for most part of Roy's childhood, but he and Aghorkamini supported the education and upbringing of both their own children and a number of other poor children, mostly orphans.

Roy left Patna in June 1901 to study at the Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata. While at medical school, he came upon an inscription which read, "Whatever thy hands findeth to do, do it with thy might." These words became a lifelong source of inspiration for him.

Intending to enroll at St Bartholomew's Hospital to complete further studies in medicine, Roy left for Britain in February 1909 with ₹1,200. The then dean of St. Bartholomew's Hospital was reluctant to accept an Asian student and rejected his application. Roy submitted several additional applications until the dean, after 30 admission requests, admitted him.

Upon returning to India, Roy joined the Provincial Health Service. In addition to a private practice, he served as a nurse when necessary. He taught at the Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and later at the Campbell Medical School (now NRS Medical College) and the Carmichael Medical College (now R. G. Kar Medical College). He served as the first president of Cardiological Society of India from 1948 to 1950.

Roy believed that swaraj (the call to action for India's freedom) would remain a dream unless the people were healthy and strong in mind and body. He made contributions to the organisation of medical education. He played an important role in the establishment of the Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, Victoria Institution (College), and Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital. In 1926, the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children was opened by Roy.

Roy was also Mahatma Gandhi's personal doctor and friend.

In 1925, Roy ran for elections from the Barrackpore constituency as an independent candidate for the Bengal Legislative Council and defeated the "Grand Old Man of Bengal", Surendranath Banerjee. Though an independent, he voted with the Swaraj Party (the Parliamentary wing of the Congress party in the 1920s). As early as 1925, Roy tabled a resolution recommending a study of the causes of pollution in Hooghly and suggested measures to prevent pollution in the future.

Roy was elected to the All India Congress Committee in 1928. Roy conducted Civil Disobedience in Bengal in 1929 and prompted Pandit Motilal Nehru to nominate him as a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in 1930. The CWC was declared an unlawful assembly and Roy along with other members of the committee were arrested on 26 August 1930 and detained at Alipore Central Jail.

During the Dandi March in 1931, many members of the Calcutta Corporation were imprisoned. Congress requested Roy to remain out of prison and discharge the duties of the Corporation. He served as the Alderman of the Corporation from 1930 to 1931 and as the Mayor of Calcutta from 1931 to 1933. Under him, the Corporation expanded schemes for free education, free medical aid, improved roads and lighting, and water supply. He set up a framework for dispensing grant-in-aid to hospitals and charitable dispensaries.

In 1942, Rangoon fell to the Japanese bombing and caused an exodus from Calcutta fearing a Japanese invasion. Roy, then serving as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, acquired air-raid shelters for schools and college students to have their classes in, and provided relief for students, teachers and employees alike.