Letter from HM Dasgupta

When I established the “Golden Hospital” (Formerly known as Bengali Nursing home) several years ago in Palwal district, it was not my intention to set about changing the world. At that time, I was a simple doctor with limited means who was running a small clinic on a tight budget while working to provide for my family. At the same time, my hope in the process was to make a small difference in my community.

My work centered on all kinds of internal medicine which included diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from simple proactive health care to complex illness. I later expanded my scope of practice to tackle community disease control and women’s reproductive health. When resources became available, we organized free health camps and offered free treatment and surgeries to the unprivileged community. Sooner, Dr. Dasgupta realized that in addition to treating patients, there were also several community issues that affected them as well as the community. Achieving success, we aimed to then use our experience to attempt the near impossible – CHANGE THE WORLD – as lofty as this goal may sound.

This is how the seeds of the Hiranmoy Dasgupta Foundation were planted. I formed a team and was able to establish this not-for profit organization in 2011 for the local community. It apparent what had ailed our community and it was more a fundamental other than disease and ill-health, but was also socio-economic inequality. At the time we founded the Hiranmoy Dasgupta Foundation, the per capita income of the richest district of Haryana was 8.6 times than that of its poorest district, Palwal. Palwal fares poorly across all three indicators of human development, health, education and per capita income. It faces a significant infrastructure deficit, including schools, colleges, hospitals and roads, as well as rising disparity, leading to unbalanced development. Women’s empowerment is a constant malice, leading to lower literacy rates among women and a lack of integration within the productive workforce, both of which pales in comparison to the horrors of gender-selective foeticide.

The Hiranmoy Dasgupta Foundation works to restore humanity to the pockets of inequality in our community. We work in areas such as healthcare, education and women empowerment to help the underprivileged break free of the shackles of poverty and support them towards building sustainable livelihoods and a secure future.

Women empowerment is a theme that runs across all areas of our work. Unfortunately, women in Haryana remain as socially and economically vulnerable as ever, if not more so. Between 2011 and 2015, 259% increase in kidnappings and 382% increase in molestation cases were registered. 32% of women reported spousal violence, compared to 27.3% in 2005. On the economic front, only 23.66% of Haryana’s workforce consists of women today.
Almost all of our healthcare and education initiatives are designed for women to be the primary beneficiaries. What we see is that programs such as hygiene awareness, women’s healthcare, financial literacy livelihood, and career skills training tend to have a more influential carry over effect in the greater community when targeted towards women. This has encouraged us to supplement our programs specifically designed for women, such as maternal and reproductive healthcare, with social interventions that empower women to be the key actors of transformative change we aspire to.
I have always believed in the value of human spirit because the love shared between fellow humans is the only force that has the potential to change the world. Hiranmoy Dasgupta Foundation might not be able to change the world, but I am convinced that if we are able to expel the twin darkness of inequality and poverty, then we can help reclaim faith in humanity for those who have been deprived of this light. This is the light that will illuminate a better tomorrow for us all.