Kolkata/IBNS, Feb. 2 -- Founded in 1835, Medical College, Kolkata-originally established as Medical College, Bengal-is not only the oldest medical college in India but also the first institution in Asia to impart systematic education in Western medicine.

Situated on College Street, the intellectual spine of the city, the institution emerged at a time when colonial Calcutta was battling repeated public health emergencies, from malaria and cholera to kala azar and devastating waves of fever, making modern, evidence-based healthcare an urgent civic necessity rather than an abstract ideal.

That long and layered history came alive last Wednesday during a heritage walk across the historic campus of Calcutta Medical College, marking the instit...