Effort To Save Assam Medical College's Heritage Building

The first building to house the Assam Medical College has been recognized as a heritage building.

Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh district of Assam was the first medical college to be established in Northeast India, initiated by a British surgeon back in 1900. It was initially named Berry White Medical School after founder, John Berry White. It was named Assam Medical College much later. The 119-year old building that used to house the medical college stood dilapidated for years, but steps are now being taken to preserve this heritage building.

The First Medical College

During the British hegemony in India, Dr White was commissioned as an assistant surgeon under the East India Company and was posted in Upper Assam as a medical officer, where he arrived in 1858. He served as a civil surgeon in Upper Assam in the 1870s after retiring from the British Army as a Brigadier, and drew up plans to set up a medical school in Dibrugarh. He donated his personal savings of 50,000 to set up the medical institution. But it was only after his death in 1896, that the Berry White Medical School (BWMS), now known as the Assam Medical College, was completed with help from his admirers.