Lord Sydenham, presiding at a meeting of the Women’s Indian Study Association [in London], contended that no man should take office in India without a knowledge of the essential facts and such knowledge should be in the forefront of training for civil service. No regiment should go to India without officers and men going through a full course of lectures on modes of life in India. He instanced the Bombay High School for girls as an example of the growing important movement in India in favour of education which would broaden women’s outlook and give them a fuller share in national life. One of the greatest needs was for women doctors. It was not for Government to force changes in social conditions, but it had to meet demands from the people which would bring about complete emancipation of women. Lord Sydenham emphasised that the change should be gradual. Any sudden break-up of Indian social conditions should be avoided. Miss Boyd, Secretary in England for Women’s University Settlement of Bombay, also emphasised the great need for Indian girls to follow the profession of medicine.
