Heroes in Medicine (page 2)

Hemchand Manjhi

A traditional herbal practitioner in Narayanpur who has offered low-cost care to villagers for five decades, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Mann Ki Baat #109
Chhattisgarh

Himmatrao Bawaskar

A Mahad physician whose research showed how to treat scorpion stings with the drug prazosin, published in The Lancet, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.

Padma Shri 2022
Maharashtra

Ishwar Chander Verma

A paediatrician who set up India's first medical genetics centre, at AIIMS in 1968, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023. He died in 2024.

Padma Shri 2023
Mann Ki Baat #97
Delhi

J N Pande

An AIIMS professor who brought bronchoscopy to India and set up its first medical ICU, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2021.

Padma Shri 2021 (posthumous)
Delhi

Jose Chacko Periappuram

A Kochi heart surgeon who performed Kerala's first heart transplant and more than 20,000 open-heart operations, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.

Padma Bhushan 2025
Kerala

Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy

A Chennai gastroenterologist who built the department at Stanley Medical College, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2026.

Padma Bhushan 2026
Tamil Nadu

Kamlakar Tripathi

A BHU professor of medicine and nephrologist who treated patients for decades and still sees the poor free of charge, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.

Padma Shri 2022
Uttar Pradesh

Kewal Krishan Thakral

An Ayurvedic surgeon known for popularising the kshar sutra procedure and a former Director of Ayurveda in Uttar Pradesh, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Uttar Pradesh

Krishna Mohan Pathi

An orthopaedic surgeon who turned a stretch of jungle in Ganjam into a free hospital for nearby villages, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.

Padma Shri 2021
Odisha

Lata Desai

A paediatrician who co-founded SEWA Rural in Jhagadia in 1980 to bring health care to tribal Gujarat, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.

Padma Shri 2022
Gujarat

Manohar Krishna Dole

An Ayurveda doctor who founded a rural eye hospital that has given free cataract surgery to over 1.75 lakh people, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Maharashtra

Manoranjan Sahu

A professor of Ayurvedic surgery at BHU who was founding director of the All India Institute of Ayurveda in New Delhi, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Uttar Pradesh

Munishwar Chander Dawar

A Jabalpur doctor and 1971 war veteran who charged patients Rs 2 from 1972, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023. He died in 2025.

Padma Shri 2023
Madhya Pradesh

Nalini Parthasarathi

A Puducherry paediatrician who founded the territory's Haemophilia Society and has cared for patients for 30 years, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Puducherry

Narendra Prasad Misra

A Bhopal physician and medical college dean who led the medical response to the 1984 gas disaster, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2022.

Padma Shri 2022 (posthumous)
Madhya Pradesh

Neerja Bhatla

An AIIMS gynaecologist who has led India's work to prevent cervical cancer with affordable screening and HPV vaccines, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Delhi

P. Vijay Anand Reddy

A Hyderabad oncologist at Apollo Cancer Centres who started the CURE Foundation to help poor cancer patients, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Telangana

Padma Gurmet

The first director of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa in Leh, who works to revive Ladakh's amchi medicine, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Ladakh

Prema Dhanraj

A plastic surgeon who led CMC Vellore's plastic surgery department and founded Agni Raksha for burn survivors, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Karnataka

Punniamurthy Natesan

A veterinary scientist who studies traditional herbal remedies for livestock and has trained over a lakh farmers, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Tamil Nadu

Radha Krishan Dhiman

A liver specialist whose hepatitis C model in Punjab led to a national programme, now director of SGPGIMS, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Uttar Pradesh

Radhe Shyam Pareek

An Agra homeopathic physician who runs free dispensaries and a mission hospital serving 40 villages, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Uttar Pradesh

Rajendra Prasad

A Lucknow chest physician who set up the first DOTS TB centre in an Indian medical college, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Uttar Pradesh

Ramchandra and Suneeta Godbole

A couple who have spent over 30 years bringing health care to tribal villages in Bastar, honoured together with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Chhattisgarh