This article was first written for the first ever Dow Medical College site created in 1994 (read more on this elsewhere on this blog) and subsequently edited with the help of Dr. Shafi Quraishy and Dr. Iqbal Memon on the 50th Anniversary of Dow in 1995. Since then various forms and edited version were used in DOGANA, DOGANE and DUHS sites.
History of Dow
Dow Medical College is situated in Karachi, the most heavily populated city in the country but was first established in Hyderabad, Pakistan as a small college. The Indian Medical Council introduced a uniform standard of medical education before independence and either abolished or raised many medical schools to a university level. Through the untiring efforts of Dr. Holmisted, the Medical School at Hyderabad was granted a status of a Degree College in 1941 by the government of Sind. In the same year the government of Sind appointed a committee to implement this decision and to explore the feasibility of moving this medical school from Hyderabad to Karachi.
The Committee in 1943 worked on plans for Dow Medical College and consisted of, Dr. Hermends R. Wadhwani, the then Minister of Public Health; Col. J. E. Gray, the then Inspector General of civil hospitals; and Mr. Abhichand, the then Executive Engineer, and Major (Later Lt. Col.) Aziz K. M. Khan continued this project during the absence of Col. Gray. Governor Maudie of Sind in Hyderabad inaugurated the college in 1945. Amongst the first group of forty-five admitted students was a Muslim girl named Ms. Fahmida Shaikh.
The University of Bombay granted the College a temporary affiliation in 1944, which was later withdrawn on the recommendation of the three member committee comprised of Dr. Molgonkar, Dr. Yodh and Col. Jalal M. Shah. The Committee recommended moving the institution to Karachi and later the affiliation to University of Bombay was restored during the years 1945 and 1946. The new building’s foundation stone was laid in Karachi by Sir Hugh Dow, the Governor of Sind (after whom the medical college was named) on December 10, 1945.
The DOW Medical College was transferred from Hyderabad to Karachi on December 31, 1945. Dow Medical College occupied its new premises in the November of 1946. In December of 1946, the University of Bombay’s team of inspectors recommended to continue its affiliation to the College for the pre-clinical years and a conditional affiliation was set-up for the clinical subjects.
When Pakistan gained its independence from the British Empire in 1947, Dow Medical College came under the University of Sind’s jurisdiction. A new Committee was appointed by the University of Sind. It visited the institution on December 22nd 1947 and recommended full affiliation. It remained under the control of the Government of Sind until the central government took over it on July 8, 1951. The “Pakistan Medical and Dental Council” gave its recognition to the College in 1953. On March 7, 1962, it came under the jurisdiction of West Pakistan Government. With the dissolution of “One Unit”, the Sind Government assumed its control over the College again on June 30, 1970. The Student Union was formally established in 1951. Prior to this, the Student Union activities were largely run by the college staff. Mr. Sarwer and Mr. Sulaiman Karatela drafted the Constitution of the Student Union of Dow Medical College. The elections were held and Mr. Rehman Ali Hashmi was elected the first President of the Student Union. During this tenure, the Principal and the General Body of Students approved the constitution. The role of the Student Union had been vital in the shaping of Dow’s activities. It provided a venue for cultural, political and creative activities in the Arts and Literature on a National Level. The “DMC Annual Mushairas” and Annual functions were keenly awaited by the entire city every year.
The Student Union published it’s first magazine in 1950 which was later named “DOWLITE” in 1951. In 1957, it started an Urdu magazine named “NAMUD-E-SAHER”. The Student Union also established a “Lending Library” in 1952, initially with only a handful of books, which later grew to be a big source of books for the students. The College Mosque was built in 1961. In 1968 Arag Auditorium was built with the efforts of Surgeon A. Rahim.The Main Auditorium, the new Medical Library and the Common Room Building were established in 1973. The Main Auditorium was later named after Prof. Khawaja Moin. The last major addition to Dow Medical College was the“Hygiene Block” Building in 1981. More recently a major project for the modernisation of the College has begun. The whole library system is being renovated with the addition of the latest audio-visual equipment, computers and multimedia learning resources for the medical students. Also Medline search will be available and students will have access to the Internet…
Source of above information:
1. The Principal, Dow Medical College, Professor M. Shafi Quraishy
2. Article by Dr. Mushtaq A. Khan, published recently in DOGANA directory.
3. History of DMC an article in 6th annual convocation magazine: 1980.
More detailed account of Dow history is found in the Dow history project.
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