48 years of dedication ! So what ?
“He doesnt have to go around lobbying telling everyone he is going to quit. Let him just quit” – Dr Anbumani Ramadoss (PMK)
Is this what Tamil culture has taught you ? If not for his outstanding scholarship and international repute, atleast show some respect for his age. Atleast show some respect that he has performed the first heart transplant in India and has saved thousands of patients who came to him as a last resort.
A hero for many
He has trained hundreds of students – and unlike our politicians did not run overseas for his own heart operation. He asked one of his students to perform it for him.
HALE AND HEARTY: P. Venugopal, director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, with his student and `doctor’, A.K. Bisnoi, in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt Source The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/01/30/stories/2005013010710300.htm
Harassing the top surgeon in India in the name of social justice
- Has been associated with AIIMS for 48 YEARS ! ( 11 years before this minister was even born !)
- Joined AIIMS in 1959 as an undergraduate, did his post graduate from AIIMS, and has been with it ever since. I bet many of his colleagues left for much greener pastures abroad and are probably owning multimillion dollar houses in countries like USA and UK.
- He received the gold medal for the best undergraduate from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Completed PG in AIIMS with yet another gold medal, trained under legendary heart surgeon Denton Cooley in Texas
- Established the first open heart surgery program in India at AIIMS in 1974. Over the years had personally trained and mentored hundreds of doctors in open heart surgery
- Easily the most recognized and topmost cardiac surgeon in India
- The renowned surgeon is really doing top work with stem cells (cellular cardioplasty).
- Performed the first heart transplant in India.
- He has conducted over 50,000 open heart surgeries patients in a government hospital – AIIMS.
- He was decorated with Padma Bhushan in 1998 (Indias third highest civilian award)
- Cardio Thoracic and Neuro Sciences Centre (CVTS) is the pride of AIIMS. He is instrumental in founding it and making it one of the best in the world. He is hands on, dedicated day and night to his profession
- He could have flown overseas or joined any private hospital for CRORES. His name alone is enough to enhance the value of any hospital many times. Instead he stuck to serve common people in a government institution.
- AIIMS (especially the CVTS) is a miracle due to his efforts. He created a world class institution under the aegis of the government. Working and winding his way though various obstacles.
- The famous super speciality hospital in Puttaparthi was created under his supervision. This hospital has saved thousands and thousands of lives – including the hopelessly poor. Nobody has the credentials to talk to Prof Venugopal about medical service to the needy.
- Even though some persons have problems with his adminstration, nobody, not a single person talks disrespectfully about him.
Some links:
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/archive_full_story.php?content_id=10739
http://www.healthlibrary.com/news/2004/6-11-dec04/news17.html
Anyway, since merit and scholarship are just creations of the upper-class to suppress downtrodden people, his achievements and dedication mean nothing. Any person from the MBC caste if given the opportunities (which means given the Directorship of AIIMS) can easily become Prof Venugopal. So replacing him is not a problem – as is replacing all the others who will quit along with him. This is the logic being followed here.
This disrespect is part of the script. In TN (and many other states), achievers like Nobel Laureates CV Raman, Chandrasekhar, and scholars like Ramanujan are all but forgotten. Only film stars of yesteryears and politicians are respected there. They will stop at nothing, if tomorrow any IIT director raises any objections – they will be harassed and shown the door too. Past accomplishments, dedication, scholarship, means nothing.
Reality Check India 
dayanidhi maran,anbumani,chidambaram are ganging up with thugs like ajit jogi.if not nipped in the bud,all these rascals will …,can’t find a word,for what they will do.
can u tell me in which part of india are academicians remembered? Crowds throng at courts and prisons to catch a glimpse of dubious bollywood actors convicted with drugs, arms and wildlife killing. Should I conclude that to be a reflection of north indian culture?
u seem to be moving towards regionalism and personal attacks. Referrence to tamil culture and the last part was as needless as karan thapar delving into PC’s college.
For the rest, there are many allegations against Dr. Venugopal and I am sure you know them. So needless to give links.
1. I made the reference to Tamil culture because his party (PMK) has started a “Tamil Culture Protection Movement” in TN. Actress Kushboo, Suhasini have been harassed to no end by this group on this count. Brand new highway signs were defaced, companies were threatened, movie stars were threatened to change their titles, and so forth.
2. I did not attack his family, or reputation, or qualifications. What constitutes a personal attack in your book ?
We dont have to celebrate academicians, atleast we should not humiliate them. Dr Venugopal has been with AIIMS for 48 years (11 years before Anbumani was even born). He has seen it built brick-by-brick. When he says something – he deserves a bit of respect.
1)You do blame TN for “forgetting academicians and remembering film stars and dravidian leaders”. And thats what i find irrelevant. You have a problem with anbumani, stick to him. Not TN.
2)About venugopal, I absolutely dont dispute about his contribution or credentials. And I do beleive that speaking disrespectfully is bad, no matter who the person is. But at the same time, we can’t continue to hold someone on a high ground for going out of the way to support an unethical strike by medicos. Did the govt support the NBA’s hunger strike with water and power?
Whatever be the reason, medicos should never resort to strike during working hours. While even PoWs are entitled to medical access, the poors were subject to untold miseries due to the strike.
Btw, I think we should have a study on the deaths, damage and profiteering of pvt hospitals caused by the striking medicos. What say?
Yes, lets have a study on the deaths, damage and profiteering of pvt hospitals.
In parallel. We should have a study of the entire OBC quota system. What are the criteria for classification as an OBC ? If there are criteria, then has each OBC group been evaluated against those criteria ? If the 11-Mandal criteria was applied to all OBCs, where is the data ? Which OBC group is benefiting the most and which is benefiting the least ? What is the correlation between caste and disadvantage ?
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I am not against any individual, I am against the entire politics of entitlement that the OBC quota actually is.
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Striking is not a pleasant thing for anyone. Sometimes though, that is the only option left to you. The government could have ended the strike looong back – if they had just agreed to set up a commission to get data. Read my blog for more.
No. Doctors don’t have the option. And more so when they have been educated with public money.
And don’t quote the “only-option-left-to-you” mantra. Even naxals tell the same thing.
You still have not substantiated your need to make a sweeping remark against a state, TN. I seriously felt that it was going political while all along this blog has been an excellent intellectual exercise.
Lets examine everything. Right from tax breaks to land acquired from weaker sections to the investment in higher institutes of learning to their social and economic contribution to rampant unethical commercialization of healthcare by those govt educated doctors to infinity. And I think we should have a new ministry for making studies, whose clearance should be made mandatory for every govt policy, be it FDI or reservations.
Can you answer this question.
How do you expect the doctors to get pay for work they did not do
How can we claim pay when we have not worked
If so then we need not have various kinds of leave such as Casual leave, Compensatory Leave, Permission Leave, Earned Leave, Unearned Leave, Maternity Leave, Study Leave, Leave on Medical Grounds etc
If I want to take leave, then I can go on a strike demanding that there should be no seperate hostel for Ladies (in the name of equality) and hence go for my personal work When the work is over, I can come back and join…
Wonderful !!!
What caught my attention in the following words
dignity of the institute being eroded.
Now if you look back
The dignity of institute was not eroded because of institute quotas
The dignity of institute was not eroded when the question papers were leaked in 2002
The dignity of institute was not eroded when the guys could not give a question paper with 300 proper questions (with 30 to 35 questions missing in fwe question papers) in 2004
The dignity of institute was not eroded when patients were refused treatment for 2 weeks
The dignity of institute was not eroded when AIIMS posted an irresponsible notice (http://www.nellaimedicos.com/blog/bruno/2006/02/irresponsibleagain.html )
In all those occasions this director did not feel that he should resign. Not that I am suggesting that he should be a Lal Bahadur Shastri to take moral responsibility, but what I am saying is that the present scenario does not in anyway erode the dignity of the institute
But now the gentleman (who did not come to press at anytime in the past during the question leaks) says that the dignity is eroded !!!
If some one says that he will pay GOVERNMENT MONEY FOR WORK NOT DONE and threatens to resign if not permitted to do so, it is better he resigns
By the way why did not the director resign, but instead just proceeded on leave
குலைக்கிரதெல்லாம் கடிக்காது
Did you see the complete list of Castes under ST/SC/MBC/DC and BC i have given in my blog ??
Dr. Bruno,
I noticed that you posted this on several blogs. I do not think Dr. Venugopal threatened to resign over the pay issue. There was a problem with the appointment of a Dean and Dr. Ramadoss overriding this decision.
Of course, we know that Dr. Ramadoss wants to make AIIMS very unwelcome for anyone who opposes quotas. This tactic succeeded in TN, we will be curious to see how it works out in New Delhi.
No. Doctors don’t have the option. And more so when they have been educated with public money.
Beg to disagree. Every worker has an implicit right to strike in a socialist economy. Most strikes in India are actively encouraged by political parties. Only when it came to the Docs taking a stand, suddenly the politicians started crying foul.
What public money? Who pays taxes? The government is not a milk giving cow. It does not generate any money.
u seem to be moving towards regionalism and personal attacks. Referrence to tamil culture and the last part was as needless as karan thapar delving into PC’s college.
Who are we kidding here? Discrimination in the name of caste is now officially sanctioned and constitutionally guaranteed. Stop being so sensitive about your community. If entitlement benefits are acceptable, expect more scrutiny, yes, in very casteist terms.
>> I think we should have a new ministry for making studies, whose clearance should be made mandatory for every govt policy, be it FDI or reservations. >>
I think you are being too flippant.
Quotas are totally different from other areas such as PDS system, FDI investments, land deals etc.
For one it has victims, one group of our children are going to sacrifice their education to help the disadvantaged. It is therefore essential to monitor the system and make sure it reaches the exact target groups. If there is no study, it is grossly unfair to both the “forward” classes as well as the most backward of the OBCs.
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Perhaps you are right, this is a not necessarily a TN phenomenon, so I will fix it.
Bruno-
I never mentioned anything about the dignity of AIIMS in this post, so all your points are misplaced.
All I said was in this environment, even a leading surgeon, the most recognized face of AIIMS, is talked to with disrespect.
Remember he has been with AIIMS 11 years before the minister was even born. When he talks, show some respect. That is the point I was making.
Dr Bruno,
I have the list of OBC/ST/SC/DNC/MBC castes. It is available on the government website.
What we want is a study of what is the profile of the beneficiaries ? Is it reaching the right people ? If there is a cornering by a small section.
@barbarian
Who pays taxes?
Everyone of us. Indirect taxation is collected from virtually everyone. In fact, till 1990s indirect taxes formed bulk of India’s tax revenues. Something highly undemocratic. Well, it is different story that most of the rich and higly educated evade taxes.
The fundamental principle of governance lies in the greatest good of the greatest number.
And yes, even socialist countries do not allow strikes in essential services like health, security etc. So doctors, army, police are no supposed to strike.
@reality
I am not being flippant. Be it PDS, FDI or reservations. They are just different tools to ensure that the maximum number of citizens get maximum benefit.
You talk about one group sacrificing for other. It happens in every poilicy. FDI causes numerous SSIs to shut down. Dams and industries cause displacement of many who are given peanuts as compensation. When the sacrificers were the poor and mute, no noise is raised, no study demanded, and if someone protests (they are not life-saving docs on strike, but poor oustees) they are shot.
But when the better-offs are called for sacrifices, we need surveys, studies, strikes and even pay for striking period.
And do you think, the issue would subside if survey is conducted? It would continue. They would then question the timing, the sample size, the selection of sample, the statistical methods used, etc
As I said before, you can and should have a survey to ensure effective implementation but not to oppose the introduction.
Survey first, next identify OBCs based on data, then implement. Not the other way around.
When data for SC/STs are available as late as 2001 ? Why not for OBCs ?
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/20/stories/2006062016930200.htm
podhumaa?? what exactly does this achieve??
Setting aside the debate as to whether doctors have a right to strike or not, IT IS VERY SURE THAT DOCTORS HAVE NO RIGHT TO ASK PAY FOR WORK NOT DONE.
And if some one threatens to resign for this issue, he is always welcome to go. Full Stop.
AIIMS (or for that any institute) will do better with persons who give pay only for work done
//The fundamental principle of governance lies in the greatest good of the greatest number//
Well said…
Even this is said in Ramayana, when Ramar (resuming his throne after the Lanka War) kills “a person” doing penance. Why he kills ????
Read Ramayana and you will know the answer
[…] The UPA government seems to be helpless and directionless. They really need to check the Dravidian influence on the centre. Like I said in my previous post on the subject, disrespect for scholarship, disrespect for institutions, are all fair game for these politicians. Read here https://realitycheck.wordpress.com/2006/06/17/48-years-of-dedication/ […]
Try to understand the reality.
If you just read the papers you will know why we need quotas
Just because you “think” and do not see the facts, you are ignorant
//I do not think Dr. Venugopal threatened to resign over the pay issue//
Please see the
http://indiaenews.com/2006-06/11545-aiims-director-threatens-resign.htm
Please DO NOT POST WRONG FACTS
I wonder as to what a person this venugopal is
One day he says ” I want to resign”
Next day he goes to court “Re instate me”
So he is told a LIE
And you want such a LIAR to continue as director just because he supports the fanatic anti “caste based quota” campaign
If Venugopal had volunteered to resign over Institutional Quota and NRI seats saying that seats in AIIMS are limited and that in order to give importance to merit, he wants to resign, I would have adored him,
But this guy NEVER SAID A WORD AGAINST QUOTA
All the years he was supporting Quota (NRI and sponsored)
But all of the sudden he is again quota (caste based)
You all know where his real colours lie
ANd such racists with forked tongues should be better sacked
bruno shut ur mouth and remind ur self that how the former greatest president ‘s daughter used caste for a seat.shame ! shame! damn shame that the person with highest post in india being treated as backward.remeber there are thousands of people lke that exploiting in the same way and more how one can expect to be intellectual by getting most competetive seat for free.and you are right institutional quotas and sponsered quotas also do the same thing so there are should not be any quota just give chance to everyone and see that basic needs like food,shelter,books,etc be fulfilled should not be a hurdle to achive their endeavors chahe vo bc/sc ya oc(pseudo oc) lekin no freeeeeeeee
[…] Posted in Uncategorized by realitycheck on the November 30, 2007 Dr Venugopal’s remarkable career at AIIMS is about to end shortly. President Pratibha Patil signed the bill into law today. It is […]
heartening to read about the contributions of a dedicated surgeon, in a public sector teaching hospital.the nation is proud of his courage to fight unscruplous politicians. may the almighty bless the humanity by enriching the human race with many more such jewells.
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