Jack Preger was born on the 25th of July 1930 in Manchester, UK and was
brought up in an orthodox Jewish family. In 1950, he began studying at
St-Edmont Hall, Oxford University, after a stay in a kibboutz. He obtained
a degree in economy and political science. As a young adult Preger
converted to Catholicism. In 1957, he got married and bought a farm in the
countryside. He and his wife had one son, Alun, in 1960. In 1964, when
cultivating his fields, Jack Preger felt the urge to study medicine and
wanted to become medical doctor. In 1965, he was admitted in the Royal
Surgery College in Dublin at the age of 35. To finance his studies, he sold
his farm. Two years later, he was divorced from his wife.
In 1972, Jack Preger was listening to the radio and heard an announcement
calling medical doctors to leave on a mission to Bangladesh. Having
recently completed his medical training, Dr. Jack Preger soon found
himself on board a plane heading for Dhaka. He worked with a local
non-government organization in a refugee camp. Five years later, he was
expelled after exposing a government-masterminded racket involving the
illegal export of babies for adoption. Upon returning home, Dr. Preger
remarried and had a daughter, Anna.
In 1979, undeterred, Dr. Preger set off again to begin his now legendary
work in Calcutta. He reached Calcutta and requested a work permit which
did not come. While he awaited his permit, he worked under the bridge of Howrah and in
the city's railway stations. The following year, Dr. Preger distributed
medicine and registered patients on record cards in Middleton Row, in a
room belonging to the presbytery Saint-Thomas. Doctor Preger was then put
on notice that he did not have the right to examine patients anymore.
Because of the dire state of health care in Calcultta at the time, and still
waiting for his work permit, Dr. Preger decided to continue practicing medicine without a
licence. As soon as the Saint-Thomas presbytery found out that he did not have a
license, he was asked to leave.
Later on, Dr. Preger organized a silent public demonstration to protest the increasing number
of missing children in Bangladesh. As a result, he was served a notice of expulsion from India.
After many attempts and a stay in prison, the suit between him and the
government started. It lasted 10 years, during which he was
authorized not to leave India. This "allowed" him to continue his medical work on
the sidewalks of Calcutta. Finally, in 1990 the suit ended with a withdrawal of the case.
By 1991, The Association of Indian Rights "Calcutta-Rescue" was registered, and Doctor
Preger was granted a resident's permit of India.
Today, still having no personal authorization to practice medicine, Dr. Preger is
tolerated as long as he keeps silent. On a stretch of pavement measuring
2 m x 30 m, he operates a very unique type of medical clinic. His patients are destitutes
and dispossessed, those who live and die on the streets. Yet, his clinic has
survived for over a decade, despite these conditions and official disapproval.
In 1993, for his continued perseverance and incredible selflessness, Dr. Preger was named
a Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.), by the Queen.
Other Links of interest
Calcutta Rescue
