Kamala Sohonie

Kamala Sohonie (born September 14, 1912 in Indore , Madhya Pradesh ; died June 28, 1998 in New Delhi ) was an eminent Indian biochemist who became the first Indian woman to receive a doctorate in a scientific discipline in 1939 . Her work at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore paved the way for acceptance that women could be accepted into the institution for the first time in its history.

Kamala Sohonie's research focused primarily on the effects of vitamins and the nutritional values of legumes , rice, and other foods that are regularly consumed by some of India's poorest people. Her work on the nutritional benefits of the palm extract called "Neera" was inspired by the suggestion of then President Rajendra Prasad . Kamala Sohonie received the Rashtrapati Award for this work.

life and work

Family and education

Kamala Sohonie, nee Bhagvat, was born in Indore , Madhya Pradesh , India in 1912 . Her father Narayanarao Bhagvat and also her uncle Madhavrao Bhagvat were chemists and alumni of the Tata Institute of Sciences, which later became the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Kamala followed the family tradition and received her Bachelor of Science in 1933 in chemistry as a major and physics as a minor at Bombay University .

Kamala then applied for a research grant from the Indian Institute of Science, but her application was rejected by then director and Nobel Prize winner CV Raman on the grounds that women were not competent enough to do research. Kamala responded to the rejection with a " satyagraha " in front of Raman's office and persuaded him to grant her admission. He made three conditions:

1. She will not be admitted as a regular candidate and is on probation for the first year. This will also be known across campus until she has successfully completed her work.
2. She has to work late at night, according to her research director's instructions.
3. It must not spoil the laboratory atmosphere (it should not be a "distraction" for the male researchers).

Although admittedly humiliated by these rules, Kamala agreed to the terms and became the first woman to be admitted to the institute in 1933. She later said, “Although Raman was a great scientist, he was very narrow-minded. I can never forget how he treated me just because I was a woman. Even then, Raman didn't accept me as a regular student. That was a big insult to me. The bias towards women was so bad back then. What can you expect if even a Nobel Prize winner behaves like this? "

Scientific career

Kamala's mentor at IISc was Sri Srinivasayya. During her time at the institute, she worked on proteins in milk, pulses and legumes , a topic that was of particular importance in the Indian context. Her commitment and her enthusiasm for research influenced Professor Raman's decision to admit women to the institute with distinction one year after completing their master’s degree in 1936.

After graduating, she was invited to Cambridge University , UK , to work under Derek Richter in the Frederick G. Hopkins Laboratory. She became a student at Newnham College and matriculated in 1938 to study science. When the judge left, she was working at Robin Hill studying plant tissue. While working on potatoes, she discovered the enzyme cytochrome c , which plays an essential role in the electron transport chain and thus the process by which energy is generated for organisms. Cytochrome c can be found in all plant and animal cells. Her work on this topic was completed in 14 months and comprised 40 pages, which meant a departure from the mostly much longer doctoral submissions.

After completing her doctorate, Kamala returned to India in 1939. As a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi , she wanted to return to her country and contribute to the struggle for independence . She was hired as Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry at Lady Hardinge Medical College , New Delhi . She later worked at the Nutrition Research Laboratory in Coonoor as Assistant Director, focusing on the effects of vitamins.

In 1947 she married MV Sohonie, an actuary , and moved to Mumbai. As a professor at the Royal Institute of Science in the Department of Biochemistry, she worked on the nutritional aspects of legumes. Her appointment as director of the institute is believed to have been delayed by four years due to the existing gender disadvantage in the scientific community. During this time, Kamala and her students conducted important research on foods that are mainly consumed by financially disadvantaged groups in India. Kamala also began work on “Neera”, which was obtained from the inflorescences of various types of palm, on the suggestion of the then Indian President Rajendra Prasad. She found significant amounts of vitamin A , vitamin C, and iron in the drink, and that these ingredients can survive the addition of neera to jaggery , unrefined palm sugar, and molasses . Later studies showed that including neera in the diets of malnourished teenage children and pregnant women from tribal communities as an inexpensive dietary supplement resulted in significant health improvements. She received the Rashtrapati Award for her work in this area .

Kamala was an active member of the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI). She was elected President of the CGSI for the period 1982 to 1983 and also wrote articles on consumer safety for the organizational magazine Keemat. She died in 1998, shortly after a breakdown during an award ceremony organized by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi.

supporting documents

1. ↑ ^{a b c} How Kamala Sohonie Defied Gender Bias & Became the First Indian Woman PhD in Science . In: The Better India , March 10, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2018. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Kamala Sohonie - Woman, Who Established the Nutritive Value of the Plants, Consumed by Poor People. indianbotanists.com, March 7, 2015; accessed on December 7, 2019.
3. ↑ Aravind Gupta: Kamala Sohonie . Indian National Science Academy. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
4. ↑ Kamala Sohonie . Streeshakti. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Kamala Sohonie: First Indian Woman To Get A PhD In Science | #IndianWomenInHistory . In: Feminism in India , December 25, 2017. 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Kamala Sohonie - Woman, Who Established the Nutritive Value of the Plants, Consumed by Poor People . In: indianbotanists.com . March 7, 2015. Accessed December 8, 2019.