Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarkar , the foremost medical personality of eighteenth century.

  Mahendra  Lal Sarkar was born in 1833 in Howrah near Calcutta.He lost his parents at early age. He lost his father at the age of five years and  mother at the age of nine years.His mother shifted to his maternal uncle s house at Nebutala in Calcutta . Subsequently Mahendra lal was brought up by his maternal uncles .He was admitted as a free student in Hare school in 1840 .In 1849 he passed Junior scholarship examination and joined Hindu college where he studied up to 1854.
He was transferred to Calcutta Medical college where he was so esteemed by his professors in the second year of course that he was invited to deliver a series of lectures on optics to his fellow students.

He performed this task honourably .He had a brilliant career at that college, where besides winning several scholarships , he passed the final examination in 1860 with highest honours in medicine and surgery.He obtained his MD degree with special success.

Surprisingly Mahendra lal turned to Homeopathy. In the course of his career he treated several notable persons of those days.including the author Bankim Chandra Chaterjee , Ram Krishna Dev and Maharaja of Tripura.

The Indian Association for the cultivation of science was established in 1876 and  Sarkar was the first Secretary.Sarkar supported higher education for women in nineteenth century when higher education for women was rare . He died in 1904.