The daughter of Brahmo reformer Braja Kishore Basu, she was born on 18 July 1861 at Bhagalpur, Bihar in British India. The family was from Chandsi, in Barisal which is now in Bangladesh. Her father was headmaster of Bhagalpur School. He and Abhay Charan Mallick started the movement for women's emancipation at Bhagalpur, establishing the women's organisation Bhagalpur Mahila Samiti in 1863, the first in India. Kadambini's father wanted to uprise Kadambini's knowledge. Her mother loved her so much but at first she was not agree to send kadambini to kolkata for learning. Kadambini started her education at Banga Mahila Vidyalaya and while at Bethune School in 1878 became the first woman to pass the University of Calcuttaentrance examination. It was partly in recognition of her efforts that Bethune College first introduced FA, and then graduation courses in 1883. She and Chandramukhi Basu became the first graduates from Bethune College, and in the process became the first female graduates in the country and in the entire British Empire.Kadambini was a little timid from the beginning. Kadambini once saved his life by washing his head during the fever of Dwarkanath polio-infected son Satish. Mahendra Lal Sarkar, the then famous doctor, also praised her intelligence for this.While in Bhagalpur, Kadambini spoke pure Bengali. He was never seen using Bengali in any letter. Kadambini, however, did not know cooking very well. Here he learned some Bengali cooking techniques from his companions. Dwarkanath's first wife passed away when Kadambini came to this country from Bhagalpur.
Personal life
As the mother of eight children, she had to devote considerable time to her household affairs. She was deft in needlework. The noted American historian David Kopf has written, "Ganguli's wife, Kadambini, was appropriately enough the most accomplished and liberated Brahmo woman of her time. From all accounts, their relationship was most unusual in being founded on mutual love, sensitivity and intelligence… Mrs. Ganguli's case was hardly typical even among the more emancipated Brahmo and Christian women in contemporary Bengali society. Her ability to rise above circumstances and to realize her potential as a human being made her a prize attraction to Sadharan Brahmos dedicated ideologically to the liberation of Bengal's women." She was heavily criticised by the then conservative society opposing women liberation. After returning to India and campaigning for women's rights ceaselessly, she was indirectly called a 'whore' in the magazine 'Bangabashi', but that could not deter her determination. She took the case up to the court and eventually won with a jail sentence of 6 months meted out to the editor Mahesh Pal.
