The Creator of the
Indian's first test-tube baby,
Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay, who got his dues 27 years after his death.
Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay created history when he became the first physician in India (and second in the world after British physicians Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards) to perform the In vitro fertilization resulting in a test tube baby "
Durga" (
Kanupriya Agarwal) on October 3, 1978.
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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