Rukhmabai

Rukhmabai (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India (the first being Dr. Kadambini Ganguly who started practicing in 1886) as well as being involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888. The case raised significant public debate across several topics, which most prominently included law vs tradition, social reform vs conservatism and feminism in both British-ruled India and England. This ultimately contributed to the Age of Consent Act in 1891.

Early life Rukhmabai was born to Janardhan Pandurang and Jayantibai in a Marathi family. Janardhan Pandurang died when Rukhmabai was between two and six years old. After her husband's demise, Jayantibai married the widower Sakharam Arjun, an eminent physician and social activist in Bombay. Remarriage of widows was permitted among the Suthar (carpenter) community - the caste to which Rukhmabai's mother belonged.

Two and a half years later, 11-year-old Rukhmabai was married to the 19-year-old Dadaji Bhikaji, a cousin of her stepfather. It was agreed that, deviating from the contemporary social norms, Dadaji would stay with Rukhmabai's family as a gharjawai and be fully provided for by them. The expectation was for him to acquire education in due course and "become a good man". Six months into the marriage, Rukhmabai having reached puberty, the traditional event of Garbhadhan was held, signalling the time for ritual consummation of marriage. But Dr Sakharam Arjun, being an eminent physician of reformist tendencies, did not permit early consummation.

"Restitution of conjugal rights" case by Bhikaji In March 1884, Bhikaji sent a legal notice to Sakharam Arjun via his lawyers Chalk and Walker, asking him to desist from preventing Rukhmabai from joining him. Eventually Sakharam Arjun sought legal help and via lawyers Payne-Gilbert, and Sayani provided grounds for Rukhmabai's refusal to join Bhikaji.

In 1885, the case of Bhikaji seeking "restitution of conjugal rights" titled "Bhikaji vs. Rukhmabai, 1885" came up for hearing and the judgement was passed by Justice Robert Hill Pinhey. Pinhey stated that English precedents on restitution did not apply to the case as the English law applied to consenting adults. He also found fault with the English law cases and found no precedent in Hindu law. He declared that Rukhmabai had been wed in her "helpless infancy" and that he could not compel a young lady. Justice Pinhey retired soon after. In 1886, the case was brought up for retrial. Rukhmabai's counsels included J.D. Inverarity Jr. and Kashinath Trimbak Telang. The case drew criticisms from various sections of the society, in some cases claims that the law did not respect the sanctity of Hindu customs. Specifically, criticism of Justice Pinhey's decision came from the Native Opinion, an Anglo-Marathi weekly run by Vishwanath Narayan Mandlik (1833–89) who supported Bhikaji. A Pune weekly run by Balgangadhar Tilak, the Mahratta, wrote that Justice Pinhey did not understand the spirit of Hindu laws and that he sought reforms by "violent means". In the meantime, a series of articles appearing before and during the trial, in the Times of India penned under the pseudonym a Hindu Lady also caused public reactions. Later on it was revealed that the author was none other than Rukhmabai. The public debate revolved around multiple points of contention - Hindu versus English Law, reform from the inside versus outside and whether ancient customs deserved respect or not. The first appeal against the case was made on 18 March 1886 and was upheld by Chief Justice Sir Charles Sargent and Justice L.H. Bayley. On 4 March 1887, Justice Farran, using interpretations of Hindu laws, ordered Rukhmabai to "go live with her husband or face six months of imprisonment". Rukhmabai responded that she would rather face imprisonment than obey the verdict. This resulted in further upheaval and social debate. Balgangadhar Tilak wrote in the Kesari that Rukhmabai's defiance was the result of an English education and declared that Hinduism was in danger.

Dissolution of Marriage After the series of court cases which resulted in the affirmation of the marriage, she appealed to Queen Victoria.

It has been claimed that Queen Victoria overruled the court and dissolved the marriage. and Rukhmabai went on to become a widely revered feminist and medical practitioner.

Influence on Age of Consent Act, 1891

The case generated a great deal of debate both within India and England. It drew written commentaries from reformers like Behramji Malabar and Balgangadhar Tilak, journalistic opinion pieces from prominent names like Rudyard Kipling, and broader feminist discussions in British women's magazines.

Ultimately, the publicity and debate generated by this case helped influence the enactment of the "Age of Consent Act" in 1891, which changed the age of consent from 10 to 12 years across British India. Other supporters included Shivajirao Holkar who donated 500 Rupees for "demonstrating courage to intervene against traditions", suffrage activists like Eva McLaren and Walter McLaren, the Countess of Dufferin's Fund for Supplying Medical Aid to the Women of India, Adelaide Manning and others who helped establish "The Rukhmabai Defence Committee" to help gather fund towards supporting her cause of continuing education. In 1889, Rukhmabai set sail to study medicine in England.

In 1894, she received her Doctor of Medicine from the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) having also studied at the Royal Free Hospital. Doctors Kadambini Ganguly and Anandi Gopal Joshi were the first Indian women to have received medical degrees in 1886. But only Ganguly went on to practice medicine, making Rukhmabai the second woman to both receive a medical degree and practice medicine.

In 1895, she returned to India and worked as the Chief Medical Officer at the Women's Hospital in Surat. In 1918, she turned down the offer of a role in the Woman's Medical Service, opting instead to work at the Zenana (Woman's) State Hospital in Rajkot until her retirement in 1929. She established the Red Cross Society at Rajkot. Rukhmabai chose to settle in Bombay after her retirement.

Death Rukhmabai died, aged 90, from lung cancer on 25 September 1955.

In popular culture In 2008, the specifics of the legal case between Rukhmabai and her husband were published as a book titled Enslaved Daughters: Colonialism, Law and Women's Rights by author Sudhir Chandra. Rukhmabai by Sudhir Chandra explores the life and times of a child bride turned rebel-doctor. Published by Pan Macmillan India in 2024, the book is a biography based on decades of research.

Recognition 19?? - A hospital in Surat was named after her there is no evidence that she ever used the surname of her father, step-father or of Dadaji. She signed herself as "Rukhmabai" in her medical writings and her registration with the Registrar of the General Medical Council also only uses "Rukhmabai".