He gave life a new meaning. Ironically, Dr Subhas Mukherejee, the man behind India's first test-tube baby and the world's second, took his own life on June 19, 1981. It was the only child the 50-year-old research scientist could call his own.

Carrying the torch forward: Dr Brij Saxena in front of Dr Subhas Mukherejee's photograph; (below) former student, Dr Dastidar

Sixteen years after his death, 700 doctors from 18 countries assembled in Calcutta, his home city, in November 15, to pay homage. Dr Mukherjee's achievement was in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). They claim that he was hounded out of his laboratory, shunted to a medical college department where he was a fish out of water denied chances of attending scientific conferences abroad. For the same work, his classmate at Edinburgh University, Dr R.G Edwards, and Dr Patrick Stiptoe won international recognition.

"His work was authentic and scientifically valid," said Dr Brij Saxena, director and professor of the division of reproductive endocrinology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, who came to Calcutta for the international meet.The Edwards-Stiptoe test-tube baby Louise Brown was born in July 1978, while the Mukherjee baby, Durga, was born three months later on October 3. Edwards and Mukherjee were not aware that they were engaged in similar research work and that they had achieved a breakthrough almost simultaneously.

"Durga is now a young lady," said Namita, the late doctor's wife. "She comes to see me often. She is medium built and quite attractive." The 19-year-old has passed the plus II Delhi Board Examination with 85 per cent. "Durga knows all the details of her birth as well as the cause of my husband's death," added Namita. "I can feel the presence of my husband through her."

Durga's name has been changed, for obvious reasons. Her father Prabhat Agarwal, a Calcutta-based businessman married Bela and the couple remained issueless for 16 years. When they met Subhas Mukherjee in 1977, Bela was 31. Dr Mukherjee had registered their case as "primary infertility due to diseased tubes".In a signed report, 'Transfer of In-vitro Fertilised frozen thawed human embryo', submitted to the West Bengal government, Subhas Mukherjee, along with his associates, Dr Sunit Mukherjee and S.K. Bhattacharya, stated:

Pain without gain: Namita Mukherjee, the widow

"On the day of transfer the embryos, after thawing, were incubated for at least 1 hour at 37�C. Mrs Agarwal had a delayed period on January 3, 1978. One January, 18, 19 and 20, three embryos suspended in cervical fluid were transferred into the uterus near the fundus per Os using a micro syringe attached with a transparent plastic tube. On February 14, 1978, Mrs Agarwal missed her periods with clinical symptoms of pregnancy and immunological test for pregnancy was positive. She delivered a healthy female baby weighing 3 kg 350 grams on October 3, 11:44 a.m., by a lower segment cesarean section."

Subhas Mukherjee's achievement instantly made headlines but what he encountered was scepticism laced with anger in professional circles.

Paying tribute to his guru: Dr Sunit Mukheerjee

Born in 1931, Subhas Mukherjee took his MBBS degree from National Medical College, Calcutta, in 1955. A brilliant student, he bagged the Hemangini scholarship and the college medal in obstretics and gynaecology. He took his Ph.D. in 'Bio-chemical Changes in Normal and Abnormal Pregnancy' from Calcutta University in 1958. He joined the West Bengal health services and married Namita Devi, a school teacher, soon after. He went to the United Kingdom under the Colombo Plan and until 1967 was at the Clinical Endocrinology Research Institute, where Dr Edwards was his fellow student.

When Mukherjee came back to West Bengal he received help to found an animal house at NRS Medical College, where his research work could be conducted. "Everybody, particularly leading gynecologists, recognised his genius," said Sunit. "But bureaucrats are bureaucrats, even if they are doctors professionally. To deny him any scope for research work, he was transferred to a medical college at Bankura, a remote town, 200 km away from Calcutta where there was practically no research facility."

At the time of Durga's birth, he was in Bankura and he had to shuttle to Calcutta for his research."Our flat actually became his laboratory," said Namita, who is now bed-ridden. "The fridge was stocked with innumerable ampoules needed for his research." Namita, 61, remembers vividly the rainy day her husband committed suicide.

How Subhas was driven to death has been described by T.C. Anand Kumar, chairman of the Reproduction Health Clinic & Research Centre, Bangalore. Kumar assisted the birth of Harsha, India's first scientifically documented test-tube baby on August 6, 1986.

In his article published in Current Sciences in April this year Kumar wrote that Subhas was invited by the Primate Research Centre of Kyoto University, Japan in January 1979 to attend a workshop to discuss his work. Authorities denied him permission and directed him not to leave the country without clearance from the government.

Subhas sank into depression, then to death. All he left his wife after was a house that was not even fully paid for. Namita paid the rest of the loan with her meagre earnings as a teacher. Ironically, the researcher of reproductive biology had no children."He refused to be a parent because of his research work," said Namita. "He believed that a baby at any stage would distract his attention from his research."

Sunit said, "He was for a low-cost, safe and simple technology for family planning. The test-tube baby technology invented by him was the outcome of his broader research work on family planning." Sunit, with the help of Namita, has founded a research centre on reproductive biology, in the name of his mentor. "We don't have funds," he said. "Those who saw him in action help us with small donations. The research centre that we are running won't last beyond Namita's life time."

However Dr Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar and his doctor wife Kakoli, internationally-known IVF specialists, who are Subhas's disciples are determined to perpetuate his memory. They were behind the recently held international conference on 'Advances in Reproductive Medicine' where the 700 scientists met. "We are grateful to the delegates for having come forward to honour Dr Mukherjee's memory," said Dastidar. "We hope that our countrymen and government won't lag behind in restoring his rightful glory."