Indore's First Woman MBBS, Fondly Known as Doctor Dadi, Dies Aged 91

Indore: Fondly known as Doctor Dadi, Indore’s first-ever woman MBBS, Dr Bhakti Yadav passed away on Monday. She was 91.

Yadav was felicitated with a Padma Shri in 2017 for decades of selfless service to underprivileged women patients.

Doctor Dadi, for the last 68 years, has helped thousands of underprivileged children give birth in Madhya Pradesh. Her magic touch had patients coming in from places like Rajasthan and Gujarat as well.

Born on April 3, 1926 in Mahidpur town of Ujjain district, Dr Yadav completed her primary education in Garoth town. She then completed her school from Ahilya Ashram School in Indore, while staying with her uncle’s family.

The only woman in the 1948 MBBS batch at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College, Indore; Dr Bhakti Yadav became the first woman doctor in the city.

Refusing to take up a government job, she joined and headed Nandlal Bhandari Maternity Home, meant for underprivileged woman from textile mill workers’ families. She then went on to setting up her own Nursing Home – Vatsalya in Indore’s Pardeshipura area, which primarily houses textile mill workers.

Without charging a single penny, she helped hundreds of financially weak women from MP, Gujarat and Rajasthan, deliver babies. Despite her fragile health, due to Osteoporosis, she continued to serve her patients.