Jack Preger

Jack Preger (born 25 July 1930 in Manchester,England) is a British doctor who has been offering medical treatment to the poor in the Indian city of Kolkata for more than 25 years. He established the relief agency Calcutta Rescue.

Preger graduated from Oxford University with a post-graduate degree in economics and political science. He worked for a few years as a farmer, before selling his farm and deciding to become a doctor instead. In 1965, he was admitted into the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin at the age of 35.

Work in Bangladesh
In 1972, when he had just finished his internship, he answered a call over the radio for doctors to help the people of then newly-independent Bangladesh. He was soon in Dhaka, where he worked, under squalid conditions, in refugee camps filled with Urdu-speaking people who intended to return to Pakistan. In 1975, he set up a 90-bed clinic in Dhaka and two farms on the outskirts of the city.

However, his work in Dhaka came to an abrupt end when he discovered that Dutch non-government organisation Terre des Hommes was operating a child-smuggling racket, and exposed it despite the Bangladesh government warning him not to. He was deported to Singapore in 1979.

Work in Kolkata
After being deported from Bangladesh, he went to India the same year and worked in Kolkata for six months under Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa testified that, I have seen the work of Dr Jack Preger in Bangladesh and what I saw was very good for the people and the children. I do hope he will be able to give that same service to the needy here in Calcutta also.

However, Preger thought that he would be able to do more if he operated independently, and started a clinic for the poor below the flyover connecting the Howrah bridge. He also requested a work permit, which ultimately was not given.

Today, Calcutta Rescue operates four clinics, three schools and two vocational centres. It employs 150 locally-hired staff. Preger has also been acknowledged for his work in treating AIDS patients in the city.

Intervention by the government
In 1980, the Foreigners' Registration Office (FRO) of the West Bengal government noted that Preger had accepted a donation from a missionary organization based in the United States, and demanded that he declare himself as a missionary worker, in addition to being a doctor. He resolved this only after explaining to New Delhi officials, and was permitted to stay in Kolkata without a visa. In 1981, the FRO charged him with entering India without a missionary visa, but he was released on bail. The FRO dropped the charge in 1989 after intervention by the then high commissioner of New Zealand to India, Sir Edmund Hillary.

After Preger registered Calcutta Rescue as a charity in 1991, he started two more clinics in Kolkata and donations came in from eight European countries. He also obtained a resident's permit. However, the government refused to grant him the clearance needed to accept foreign donations. Preger then sued the government in Kolkata's courts. Eventually the courts struck down the government's rejection, and Preger was allowed to accept 1.5 million rupees per month in donations.

As of 1999, Preger has to apply for a re-entry visa from the FRO before he leaves India for any reason. Most of these applications have required legal intervention to succeed. On February 23 that year, the FRO suddenly asked Preger to leave India within seven days. The Calcutta High Court intervened by ordering the government to speedily grant him a return visa.

Awards
In 1993, Preger was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his "continued perseverance and incredible selflessness".