Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi
Karnataka Rajyotsava award (1966) | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Qualifications
Modi was an Ayurvedic Eye surgeon who performed a record half-a-million (more than five-lakh) eye surgeries. He travelled to remote villages and towns of India to hold mass eye camps. He was known for his dexterity as a surgeon and diagnostic acumen.He Studied DAM from Kankanwadi Ayurvedic College Belagavi, Karnataka.[2]
Early life and education
He was born in
Career
He was the pioneer of mass
"Between his first camp held in 1943 at Pattan in Gujarat until his death in 2005, Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi examined over 10 million people and conducted over 7.8 lakh cataract surgeries with funds from philanthropists and donors." In 1980, Dr. Modi set up the M.C. Modi Charitable Eye Hospital in Mahalakshmipuram: initially functioning as camp-based eye hospital, it treated thousands of poor and needy patients with eye ailments over the years, and is now a super-speciality eye hospital. Today, the hospital is headed by his son, Amarnath Modi.[4]
"In an assembly line fashion, Modi operates 40 patients an hour, attending to four patients at a time. Ambidextrous, he performs delicate eye surgeries with his left hand. He does cataract operations, squint corrections and cornea transplants. Earlier, Modi used to perform 600 to 700 operations a day in his camps. But now in Karnataka, he operates on 200 to 300 patients every day."[3]
Modi was a nominated member of the Karnataka Legislative Council for a term in the 1990s.[6]
Modi set out to hold eye camps in the then Bombay State, which included parts of Karnataka. He travelled to remote villages and towns to hold camps, often with very little financial or medical support. He mobilised support from local voluntary organisations and people. He also received assistance from India and abroad for his mission. Those operated upon were being given spectacles free of cost.[6]
Awards
- Padma Shri in 1956[7]
- Padma Bhushan in 1968[7]
The government of India has awarded him with its highest awards of the
Modi appeared in the
References
- ^ "Gifting sight to the poor". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Dr Mc modi-one-man-crusade-against-blindness-in-karnataka". www.indiatoday.in. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d Pratap, Anita (15 May 1988). "A visionary's zeal". India Today. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ a b Murali, T (26 September 2012). "Gifting sight to the poor". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Man with a vision". Deccan Herald. 20 December 2005. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Eye surgeon Modi dead". The Hindu. 12 November 2005. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.