If you rewind time to 1979 in Kolkata, you would surely encounter this British doctor, dedicatedly treating patients himself on the pavement without considering a single penny, as if they were his own.
Straight from the remote cliffs of Wales to the bustling lanes and bylanes of Bengal, Dr Jack Preger, commonly known as the ‘pavement doctor’ of Kolkata, was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Bengal’s Pride Awards on 17 July 2024, in the UK parliament. Furthermore, in 1993, he was awarded as a member of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth for ‘continued perseverance and incredible selflessness’. In 2017, he was named Asian Philanthropist of the Year at the Asian Awards in London, England, making him the first living non-Asian to receive an Asian Award.
Born in Manchester, England, on 25 July 1930, Preger initially worked as a farmer in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where he suddenly felt the urge to become a doctor.
“Three years after my wife left the farm, I sold it. Initially, I thought of becoming a vet and working in a developing country. I knew that this extraordinary out-of-the-blue thirst was equally outrageous and illogical, yet that didn’t stop me from seeking my dream,” Preger told The Statesman.
At Oxford, he studied development economics. But the existing Oxford qualifications lacked subjects required for acceptance in a medical college. Consequently, he enrolled himself as a mature student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, and earned a medical degree in 1972. Seven years later, after completing an internship in a hospital as a qualified physician, he answered an appeal for doctors to help with the refugee crisis in the newly-formed Bangladesh and then subsequently moved his occupation to Kolkata.
In Bangladesh, he initially worked in the Bihari camps. During his tenure at an NGO in the Netherlands (Terre des Hommes) in 1975, a colleague brought to his attention an illicit scheme involving the overseas adoption of children from Bangladesh. This racket preyed upon impoverished parents, defrauding them of their children. In 1977, two mothers, after losing their child due to the fraud, came to him for help. That’s when he knew he had to do something about it. After exposing the trafficking network, which had already trapped over 35 children, he was deported from Bangladesh to Kolkata in 1979. The Dhaka clinic that he set up for mothers and infants in 1975 was closed down. Yet, on a positive note, many of the children during their middle years have been reunited with their biological families using DNA testing. A further 100 are under investigation.
“Even during the medical relief work in Kolkata, I still tried my best to expose the Bangladesh trafficking. As a result, the government of Bangladesh asked Delhi to deport him from India. I was arrested, and the trial lasted eight and a half years,” said Preger.
Yet, at last, he was finally able to get his work registered with a non-profit organisation named Calcutta Rescue. The development of Calcutta Rescue was founded on the work of two distinguished Governing Council members, Loretto nun Sr Cyril Mooney, as the secretary of the organisation, and Wing Commander Shomir Choudhury.
“Here in Kolkata, I noticed that very rudimentary care was given for leprosy and tuberculosis patients in most of the government hospitals. At first, when I had no licence to practise medicine legally in India, I began treating the sick and injured where they lay—under bridges, on railway platforms, and in drainage pipes. Due to the constant need for movement, it became difficult to treat patients. Finally, I got a permanent place at the roadside outside of St Thomas’ Presbytery, in Middleton Row, Park Street. Here, I was at least allowed to store his medical supplies. This was how my journey began from Kolkata to the rest of Bengal,” he added.
On the pavements of Middleton Row, he proceeded to build a dismountable but functional clinic. This was not, as one might imagine, a first-aid post treating minor injuries. It was a fully fledged streetside medical centre handling a full spectrum of illness and disease, including cancer, tuberculosis, malaria, cardiac conditions, HIV/AIDS and all else. Minor surgery is done on site; major surgery is outsourced to hospitals, together with x-rays, lab tests and physiotherapy, among others. He set up another two clinics in Tala Park and Cossipore. The Tala Park clinic in Belgachia is now the largest fixed clinic, while the one in Cossipore has been closed. Additionally, he established educational projects at Tala Park and Sonagachi. The one in Sonagachi is now situated at Iswar Mill Lane.
Dr Preger further shed light on the medical landscape of Kolkata over time. “There has surely been an improvement in the state’s provisions for treatments after the annihilation of the left-wing government. Treatments now go beyond the previously limited and basic options. Yet the government can expand medical care and increase the number of doctors available to serve impoverished people, including pavement dwellers.”
“What is needed in the developing world is a medical service providing free treatment for the poor. Fulfilling this need should be the aim of the students of medicine,” added Preger.
Currently, his organisation, Calcutta Rescue, operates four fixed clinics in Kolkata. Beyond Kolkata, the organisation extends its projects, facilitating people with medical care and awareness. Malda has a clean drinking water project due to arsenic pollution, where 12 arsenic water filters are already plugged to extract fresh water. In Dakshineswar, a project concerning housing, clean water, and street medicine facilities, along with a waste management compost, has been ongoing since 2022. The organisation also conducts MPI surveys every year to track down the necessary requirements in Bengal.
Preger’s aura and his life’s odyssey exerted a profound influence on numerous individuals. One such persona is Benoît Lange, filmmaker and Swiss photojournalist who supported the former’s work by making a documentary titled Docteur Jack, chronicling the life of Dr Jack Preger. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Indian World Film Festival in Hyderabad and had its release in 2016 in Switzerland.