Doors of the future are open to those who know how to push them.
A satyagrahi’s firm stands for truth!
Dr. Kamala Sohonie was a pioneer in Biochemistry and a powerful force for women in STEM. Her legendary battle with a Nobel Laureate C.V Raman paved a way for Indian women to study at the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc).
Born in eminent family of chemists Sohonie completed her undergraduate top in her class from Bombay University. However, her admission to IISc in 1993 was rejected by Nobel Laureate and then director C.V Raman because he deemed any woman as ‘unfit’ for the institute. “I am not going to take any girls in my institute”, responded C.V Raman.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha, Sohonie held her personal satyagraha and went on one woman sit-in front of Prof C.V Raman’s office resolute in her belief that her rejection was unjust (and biased).
Side Note: Satyagraha was Indian movement developed Mahatma Gandhi, a nation wide non-violence resistance and civil disobedience movement against colonial British Rule. Gandhi described satyagraha as: Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force.
C.V Raman eventually relented and granted admission by imposing 3 conditions:
1. She’ll be on probation for first year and not a regular candidate
2. She’’ have to work late as per instructions of her researchers
3. She won’t spoil lab environment (or “distract” male researchers)
22 year old Sohonie accepted it all but was deeply hurt by the incident, years later Sohonie recalled in her biography, “Though Raman was a great scientist, he was very narrow-minded. I can never forget the way he treated me just because I was a woman. Even then, Raman didn’t admit me as a regular student. This was a great insult to me. The bias against women was so bad at that time. What can one expect if even a Nobel Laureate behaves in such a way?”.
She found her guide in M. Sreenivasaisah one of the pioneers in microbiological research in India and poured her heart and soul into her research working on protein found in legumes, milk and pulses. She published her research in 1936 earning her MSc with distinction. Sohonie received full scholarship to complete PhD from Cambridge University (UK).
It was after Sohonie’s success that C.V Raman opened IISc to women from 1937 onward.
Nationalist at heart, Sohonie returned to India after her PhD and continued to have illustrious career in research in biochemistry. Her studies laid groundwork for including neera/palm nectar (distributed by then government) as a cheap dietary supplement for malnourished adolescent children and pregnant women from tribal communities. She was awarded the Rashtrapati Award for her work.
Key takeaways:
- Life isn’t always fair, don’t let it discourage you and don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo for what you believe is wrong.
- Believe that not every person is rigid, most are like Prof C.V Raman whose belief system may change over time. You don’t have change a belief in one day, it’ll take time you just have to find the key to that door.
“Doors of the future are open to those who know how to push them.” — Coluche
Reference:
https://info.umkc.edu/unews/celebrating-women-in-stem-dr-kamala-sohonie/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Sohonie
https://www.facebook.com/thebetterindia/posts/10158066866684594/
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/history-daily/the-first-lady-of-indian-science/
