Facing social bureaucratic negligence and insult instead of recognition from the West Bengal government and refusal of the Government of India to allow him to attend international conferences, he committed suicide in his Calcutta residence in 1981.
His feat has been given belated recognition as the Indian physician who in 1986 was "officially" regarded as being the first doctor to perform in-vitro fertilization in India.
In Getting Official Stamp : (from 1967 to 2008)
1967-1977 : Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay worked on methods of in-vitro Fertilisation (IVF) using innovative techniques.
1978, October : India's first test tube baby Durga (Kanupriya Agarwal) was born.
1978, December : An enquiry by the West Bengal govt denounced his claim.
1980 : Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay was denied passport to go to Kyoto to present his paper on IVF. He was then transfered to eye hospital, where he suffered a heart attack.
1981 : Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay Committed suicide on June 19.
1981 : His described methods of cryopreservation used in US by Howard Jones.
1996 : T.C. Anand Kumar, leader of the group which produced the first document test tube baby in country in Mumbai 1986, gains access to the notes of Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay.
1997 : T.C. Anand Kumar, takes a year to study them and writes first paper on Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay achivements.
2002 : Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) apoints a 12 member commitee to draft a bill on Assisted Reproductive Technique.
2003 : Commitee accepts Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay's claim and History is rewritten.
2004 : IVF specialist across the country challenge the document. A review follows among debates.
2005 : ICMR upholds the claim, honours India's first test tube baby Durga (Kanupriya Agarwal) in first public meeting in Bangalore.
April 2008 : Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay's achievement finds official stamp of approval.
Getting official stamp for Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay's made "Durga" (Kanupriya Agarwal) to reborn. She was brought to life by Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay just 67 days after the world's first test-tube baby, Marie Louise Brown, was born.
"I certainly do not want to be a poster girl of the IVF industry, which undermined Dr Mukhopadhyay's achievement for 30 years," says Kanupriya, breaking her silence for the first time. "I am not a trophy but I am proud to be the living example of work of a genius."
Kanupriya says her parents suffered humiliation as she was growing up in Kolkata, her birthplace. But they never passed it on to her. "My parents did a wonderful job of keeping all the pressure away and helping me grow as a mature, reasonable individual," she says. "It was not easy for them, they were made to feel like accomplices of Dr Mukhopadhyay in his misdeed. There were insinuations of the worst kind"
An MBA from Symbiosis, Pune and working for a private firm, Kanupriya lives in Gurgaon. She says the recognition for Dr Mukhopadhyay came as a relief to her parents. Looking at the brighter side, she says: "I feel truth has prevailed."
Even though Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay was belatedly honoured at a public meeting in Bangalore, it failed to bring any cheer to his wife. Namita Mukhopadhyay's has been paralysed and battling with ignominy and neglect ever since her husband committed suicide on June 19, 1981. Namita is confined to her bed now.
"We decided not to start a family as he (Subhas) wanted to complete his research. He was a very emotional person and dedicated himself to his work. But he never got any support either from the government or from his peers," says Namita.
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Author : Samir Bhoir
Article Source : The Untold Story Behind India's First Test Tube Baby
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8 comments:
Hi, r u sure the photo that u used in this post is of Dr. Shubhash Mukhopadhaya? What it seems to me is a photo of poet Shubhash Mukhopadhaya; he is a renowned poet of Bengal. Please cross check this.
Hi, thanks for your comment on my blog, but i would like to inform you that the blog which i write are genuine, and i always provide correct verified information. the photo is of Indian's first test-tube baby creator Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay
thank you for your info on durga and dr subhash mukhopadhyay
Good inspiring information Samir....The best we can get from this story is stand by what you think is right...
Unfortunately, Dr. Subhash opted for an easier way out...It would have been a living testimony for the world and best for his better half had he survived the odds...
Thanks for posting this information. I have seen the movie based on his life, and it was heart wrenching to even see a cinematic depiction of the real trauma he must have undergone.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
He was my teacher while I was in the 1st year in R G Kar Medical College, Kolkata. I was shocked to hear the news of suicide of this saint-like man who had not only been denied his due during his lifetime but had also been utterly ridiculed and humiliated by his brainless and heartless colleagues. So happy I am to know that his honour has finally been restored,I cannot express in words. Thank you Samir for propagating this news. At the same time, I would request you to take up the case of another Indian scientist Dr. Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty who was the first man to create and patent a living organism but is still denied the Nobel Prize.
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