Dr.Sanjeev Narayani: Started first article first draft!

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Started first article first draft!

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{{Short description|Indian doctor; first female Surgeon General in world}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mary Poonen Lukose
| image = Mary Poonen Lukose.svg
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = A vector drawing of Mary Poonen Lukose
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1886|07|30}}
| birth_place = [[Aymanam]], [[Kottayam]], [[Travancore]], [[British Indian Empire]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1976|10|02|1886|08|02}}
| death_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Gynecologist, obstetrician
| yearsactive =
| known for = Medical service
| spouse = K. K. Lukose
| domesticpartner =
| children = Grace Lukose, K. P. Lukose
| parents = T. E. Poonen
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]<br>''Vaidyasasthrakusala''
}}

'''Mary Poonen Lukose''' (2 August 1886 - 2 October 1976) was an Indian gynecologist, obstetrician and the first female Surgeon General in India.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)">{{cite web | url=http://www.streeshakti.com/bookM.aspx?author=13 | title=Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976) | publisher=Stree Shakti | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> She was the founder of a ''Tuberculosis Sanatorium'' in [[Nagarcoil]] and the ''X-Ray and Radium Institute'', [[Thiruvananthapuram]], served as the head of the Health Department in the [[Travancore|Princely State of Travancore]] and was the first woman legislator of the [[Travancore|state]].<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> The [[Government of India]] awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian award of [[Padma Shri]] in 1975.<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2015 |access-date=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Mary Poonen was born to a rich [[Saint Thomas Anglicans|Anglican Syrian Christian]] family as the only child<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose - Robin Jeffrey">{{cite book |last1=Jeffrey |first1=Robin |title=Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became 'a Model' |date=27 July 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-12252-3 |pages=92–93, 98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ENC-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen bio">{{cite journal | url=https://hekint.org/2017/01/28/mary-poonen-lukose/ | title=Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose | author=K.S. Mohindra, PhD | journal=Hektoen International - A Journal of Medical Humanities | year=2015 | volume=VII | issue=2 | issn=2155-3017}}</ref> on 2 August 1886<ref name="The Doctors behind the Poonen Road, Secretariate, Trivandrum">{{cite web | url=http://www.doctorshangout.com/profiles/blogs/the-doctors-behind-the-poonen | title=The Doctors behind the Poonen Road, Secretariate, Trivandrum | publisher=Doctors' Hangout | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413180818/http://www.doctorshangout.com/profiles/blogs/the-doctors-behind-the-poonen | archive-date=13 April 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> in [[Aymanam]]—a small village later made famous by being the setting of the novel ''[[The God of Small Things]]''—<ref name="God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy">{{cite web | url=http://scribblesofsoul.com/god-of-small-things-by-arundhati-roy/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716213448/http://scribblesofsoul.com/god-of-small-things-by-arundhati-roy/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=16 July 2010 | title=God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy | publisher=Scribbles of Soul | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> in the princely state of [[Travancore]] (modern day [[Kerala]]), in the [[British Indian Empire]].<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)">{{cite journal | url=http://samyukta.info/archives/vol_2_2/article/k%20rajashekharan%20nair/a%20pioneer%20in%20medicine.htm | title=A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976) | author=Nair, K. Rajasekharan | journal=Samyukta - A Journal of Women's Studies | date=July 2002 | volume=II | issue=2 | pages=117–121 | access-date=15 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208153319/http://samyukta.info/archives/vol_2_2/article/k%20rajashekharan%20nair/a%20pioneer%20in%20medicine.htm | archive-date=8 December 2015 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> Her father, T. E. Poonen, was a medical doctor, the first medical graduate in Travancore and the Royal Physician of Travancore state.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="The Doctors behind the Poonen Road, Secretariate, Trivandrum" /> Her mother had health issues due to which Mary was brought up by British governesses. She completed her schooling at [[Holy Angel's Convent Trivandrum|Holy Angel's Convent High School, Thiruvananthapuram]] and topped the matriculation examination. However, she was denied admission for science subjects at the Maharajas College, Thiruvananthapuram (present day [[University College Thiruvananthapuram]]) for being a woman and had to pursue studies in history on which she graduated (BA) in 1909.

As Indian universities did not offer admission to women for medicine, she moved to London and secured MBBS from the London University.She continued in the UK to obtain MRCOG (gynecology and obstetrics) from [[Rotunda Hospital]], Dublin and underwent advanced training in pediatrics at the [[Great Ormond Street Hospital]].<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> Later she worked in various hospitals in the UK and simultaneously pursued music studies to pass the London Music Examination.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" />

== Medical career ==
Dr Mary Poonen returned to India in 1916, the year her father died.<ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen bio" /> She took up the post of an obstetrician at the ''Women and Children Hospital'', at Thycaud in [[Thiruvananthapuram]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/6950/12/12_chapter%205.pdf | title=The Changing Social Conception of Old Age | publisher=Shodhganga | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> and also worked as the superintendent of the hospital, replacing a westerner who had returned to her native place after marriage.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> Poonen's initial appointment was blocked as the role had traditionally been occupied by European staff, although this was overturned and she was paid on the same salary as European staff.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Frenz |first=Margret |date=2021 |title=To Be or Not To Be … a Global Citizen: Three doctors, three empires, and one subcontinent |journal=Modern Asian Studies |language=en |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=1185–1226 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X20000256 |issn=0026-749X|doi-access=free }}</ref> A year later, she married lawyer Kunnukuzhiyil Kurivilla Lukose (K. K. Lukose)<ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose">{{cite web | url=http://www.geni.com/people/Dr-Mary-Lukose/6000000027154730394 | title=Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose | publisher=Genie | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose - Robin Jeffrey" /> She went by the name Dr Mary Poonen Lukose following her marriage. During her tenure at Thycaud Hospital, she initiated a midwifery training program for the children of local midwives in order to win over their support and delivered her own first born child, Grace, at the hospital in 1918.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> She performed the first [[Caesarean section|Caesarian section]] in Travancore before 1920, often operating under the light of hurricane lamps.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Trailblazer – the story of Dr Mary Poonen Lukose |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/news/2019/07/17/trailblazer-dr-mary-poonen-lukose.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=OnManorama}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen International |url=https://hekint.org/2017/01/28/mary-poonen-lukose/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=hekint.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1922 she was nominated to the legislative assembly of Travancore,<ref name="Her-Self: Gender and Early Writings of Malayalee Women">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xyr6gXmva-gC&q=Dr.+Mary+Poonen+Lukose&pg=PA128 | title=Her-Self: Gender and Early Writings of Malayalee Women | publisher=Popular Prakashan | author=J. Devika | year=2005 | pages=181 | isbn=9788185604749}}</ref> known as ''Sree Chitra State Council'', becoming the first woman legislator in the state.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> Two years later, she was promoted as the ''Acting Surgeon General'' of the state of Travancore, making her the first woman to be appointed as the surgeon general in India.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="Evolution of Modern Medicine in Kerala">{{cite web | url=http://nmji.in/archives/Volume%2016-1%20Jan%20Feb%202003/book%20reviews/Evolution_of_Modern.htm | title=Evolution of Modern Medicine in Kerala | publisher=National Medical Journal of India | date=2003 | access-date=15 June 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208054506/http://nmji.in/archives/Volume%2016-1%20Jan%20Feb%202003/book%20reviews/Evolution_of_Modern.htm | archive-date=8 December 2015 }}</ref> She continued at the hospital till 1938 during which time she was nominated to the state assembly continuously till 1937.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> In 1938, she became the Surgeon General, in charge of 32 government hospitals, 40 government dispensaries and 20 private institutions.<ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen bio" /> She is considered to be the first woman appointed as a surgeon general in the world.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="The Doctors behind the Poonen Road, Secretariate, Trivandrum" /><ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="Then and Now">{{cite web | url=http://pazhayathu.blogspot.ae/2015/04/when-posting-of-woman-in-govt-service.html | title=Then and Now | publisher=Pazhayathu | work=Blog | date=20 May 2014 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> The first woman surgeon general in the US was appointed only in 1990.<ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen bio" />

Lukose was one of the founders of the Thiruvananthapuram chapter of the [[Young Women's Christian Association]] (YWCA) and became its founder president in 1918,<ref name="YWCA of Trivandrum">{{cite web | url=http://ywcatrivandrum.in/?page_id=229 | title=YWCA of Trivandrum | publisher=YWCA | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082317/http://ywcatrivandrum.in/?page_id=229 | url-status=dead }}</ref> a position she retained till 1968.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> She served as the Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides in India<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /><ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose - Hektoen bio" /> and was also a founder member of the [[Indian Medical Association]] and the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), which started as ''Obstetric and Gynaecological Society''.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> As the surgeon general of the state, she is reported to have founded the Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Nagarcoil, one of the first sanatoriums in India, which later grew to become the [[Kanyakumari Government Medical College]].<ref name="Welcome to Our Institution">{{cite web | url=http://www.kkmc.ac.in/ | title=Welcome to Our Institution | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015 | archive-date=9 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509202215/http://www.kkmc.ac.in/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> She also founded the ''X-Ray and Radium Institute'' in Thiruvananthapuram.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" />

== Personal life ==
In 1917 Mary Poonen married Kunnukuzhiyil Kurivilla Lukose (K. K. Lukose),<ref name="Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose" /> an [[Indian Orthodox]] Christian lawyer who would later become a judge of the High Court of Travancore.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose - Robin Jeffrey" /><ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> She nicknamed him Judgie.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-08 |title=The good doctor of Travancore |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/talking-point/opinion-the-good-doctor-of-travancore-111641444664607.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Mintlounge |language=en}}</ref> They had two children, the eldest, Dr Grace Lukose (1919-1954), a medical doctor and assistant Professor of Surgery at [[Lady Hardinge Medical College]], New Delhi, who died in her mid 30s in an accident, trying to free a relation whose hair had become entangled in an electric fan.<ref name="Lukose, Grace Mary (1918 - 1954)">{{cite web | url=http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E005273b.htm | title=Lukose, Grace Mary (1918 - 1954) | publisher=Lives Online | date=2015 | access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> The youngest, son K. P. Lukose, grew up to become a consul general, permanent representative of India to the United Nations and the Indian ambassador to Bulgaria.<ref name="The Doctors behind the Poonen Road, Secretariate, Trivandrum" /><ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> Her husband died in 1947 and her two children also preceded her in death. She died on 2 October 1976 at the age of 90.<ref name="A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" />

== Recognition and commemoration ==
She was a recipient of the title, Vaidyasasthrakusala, from [[Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma]], the last Maharaja of Travancore.<ref name="Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976)" /> The [[Government of India]] awarded her the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 1975.<ref name="Padma Shri" />

A biography ''Trailblazer – The Legendary Life and Times of Dr Mary Poonen Lukose, Surgeon General of Travancore'' edited by Leena Chandran was published in 2019.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title='Trailblazer,' autobiography on Dr Mary Poonen Lukose is a class apart |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/news/2020/01/22/trailblazer-autobiography-dr-mary-poonen-lukose-class-apart.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=OnManorama}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Kanyakumari Government Medical College]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal|India|Medicine}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Notes==
* Modern Kerala: Studies in Social and Agrarian Relations, K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86. K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86. mittal publications. 1988. pp. K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86. states that first women doctor and surgeon of Kerala is Dr. Ayathan Janaki Ammal, Ayathan Janaki is the first Malayali lady doctor and surgeon of Kerala, First female doctor and surgeon of Kerala, and also the first female doctor from thiyya community.(Dr. Ayathan Janaki Ammal). please refer modern Kerala and history of Kerala.
* {{Cite book|last1=Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan|first1=Malayalam Memoir (2013)|title=Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan, edited by V.R.Govindhanunni|last2=V.R.Govindhanunni, Kozhikode|publisher=Mathrubhumi books}}
* Gopalan, Kausallya (1932). Kausallya Gopalan (1932) Biography written by Vagbhatananda guru. published by Mathrubhumi Press, Calicut in 1932.
* Ente ammayude ormadaykk (1901) Biography of Kallat Chiruthammal. Calicut: DR.Ayathan Gopalan., Spectator press. 1901.
* Malabar Manual. william logan. 1951.

==Further reading==
* Modern Kerala: Studies in Social and Agrarian Relations, K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86. K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86. mittal publications. 1988. pp. K.K.N.Kurup. p. 86.
^ Malabar Manual. william logan. 1951.
* {{cite journal | title=A Pioneer Medicine-Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-1976) | author=Nair, K. Rajasekharan | journal=Samyukta - A Journal of Women's Studies |date=July 2002 | volume=II | issue=2 | pages=117–121}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Medicine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukose, Mary Poonen}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine]]
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kottayam district]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Indian gynaecologists]]
[[Category:Indian women gynaecologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:Indian women surgeons]]
[[Category:University College Thiruvananthapuram alumni]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:Medical doctors from Kerala]]
[[Category:Women scientists from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women medical doctors]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian surgeons]]

Mary Poonen Lukose - Revision history

Dr.Sanjeev Narayani: Started first article first draft!