Mary Scott

Mary Harriet Hepburn-Scott (1887 – 1964) was a Scottish missionary and educator who pioneered women's education in Sikkim. Despite her lack of formal medical training, she became the leading medical, educational and religious missionary in Gangtok, educating an entire generation of Sikkimese physicians and significantly improving health outcomes, despite Christian missionaries historically not being allowed in Gangtok for political and religious reasons. Scott also founded Gangtok's first girls school, the Paljor Namgyal Girls' School, which still exists today and has been credited with greatly improving the overall state of women's education in Sikkim both historically and currently. Additionally, Scott has been recognized for almost-single-handedly creating the largest period of growth in Christianity in Sikkim, which still significantly impacts Sikkim's religious demographics. Early life and Kalimpong Mary Scott was born in 1877 to the 8th Lord Polwarth. Little is known of her aristocratic upbringing, other than that she received no formal medical education. In 1905, she travelled to Kalimpong to work as a Christian missionary with the Church of Scotland mission. Despite her lack of formal medical education, she was one of the first women to win the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for her work during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918–1919. She was also awarded an honorary degree in theology from a Scottish university for her relative success in converting the Lepcha people of Sikkim to Christianity despite the failure of numerous earlier attempts at conversion., despite her lack of medical training, she acquired a reputation for good works and reliability, and for serving the general population of Sikkim as well as its Christian population. Scott was also considered a highly competent administrator, and proved highly adept at navigating Gangtok's politics despite the heavy suspicion she attracted due to her religion, aristocratic background and gender. Despite receiving substantial state support and repeatedly being offered a salary, Scott refused any personal payment and supported herself by selling paintings she made in her spare time. Scott also acquired a reputation for humility, refusing to write letters to Scotland because she feared it would make herself appear less part of the community, especially in light of her aristocratic background and her status as a religious missionary.