Sudha G Tilak

Jamini Sen, a Bengali physician from colonial India, became in 1912 the first woman admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, although female Fellows initially had restricted privileges. After qualifying in Calcutta, she served as physician to Nepal's royal household, studied in Britain and Berlin, and returned to India to work in Agra, Shimla and Puri through unrest, epidemics and maternal-health crises. Her career challenged racial barriers in India and sexism in Britain, while her personal life included adopting and later losing a daughter. A biography by her great-niece Deepta Roy Chakraverti and the unveiling of Sen's portrait in Glasgow in 2024 have helped restore her legacy.