After coming out of jail, I had a bitter experience with political leaders who only proved to be the birds of the same feather on the issue of the closing down of the capitation-fee-based medical colleges. All politicians, be they of the Janata Party, the Congress, or even the Communists, had the same color. Providing admission to their children or wards without capitation-fee obliged many of them. A large number of students admitted to such colleges were wards of influential guardians. They fought their battle like life and death. Even a personality like J. P. could not support providing justice to the students of the Govt. medical colleges, say, few extra marks for their PMT examination’s superiority in merit. Instead, the capitation fee was abolished but the colleges were taken over by the Govt. benefiting the students and teachers of private medical colleges.
I had disillusionment from the politics in the jail itself, even senior workers of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) did not come out in our support (though later on, they led unsuccessfully such agitation in Karnataka) as they had workers in non-governmental medical colleges as well. While we were in jail, none of them came to see us.
I had written a letter to Ma. M. G. Deoji, the then Organizer of the Bihar (including Jharkhand) State of the RSS in deep sorrow that had I been at Delhi or Patna, or Arun Jaitley / Sushil Kumar Modi was involved, such negligence would not have happened. It has been my old notion that we are capitalists at least in one sense that we listen to voices prevailing in the capitals only. Deoji has been working in Bihar (including Jharkhand) since 1940 and I think although a Marathi, he has traveled to every nook and corner of Bihar (including Jharkhand), more than any Bihari or Jharkhandi. He has known me since my childhood. He told me that since it was a student’s problem, he had referred my letter to Govindacharya of the ABVP.
On the day of Kunwar Singh Victory Day (23rd April) in 1976, I had seen Deoji on the nearby road passing through my college and he informed me that Dr. Shrikant Shiledar and Dr. (Mrs.) Shilpa Shiledar had left for Nagpur as the Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra Hospital, Lohardaga had also been sealed by the Govt. due to its connections with the RSS.
In that background, I was thinking in those days about what could be done for the medical community. Only after five days of the withdrawal of the agitation, did Govindacharya visit Darbhanga on the 8th August 1977, for a program of ABVP on Rabindra Smriti Divas (though it is actually on the 7th August). After the program in the Town Hall, Darbhanga while seeing him off at Darbhanga station, for the Pahleja Ghat train (to go to Patna in those days a steamer has to be taken to cross the Ganga there ) on 8th August 1977, night, around 9 PM I could get a few minutes to explain to him the distinctive problems of medicos and suggested that if something like the Medical Chhatra Parishad was formed we could sort out our problems instead of fighting amongst ourselves and we
Fig.17 -A photo of my diary in Maithili of 8.8.1977, in the center of which mentioned Medical Chhatra Parishad which was the seed of the NMO.
could also provide a platform for wider social service so as to help the Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, with medical manpower. He told me to write down these ideas and to send them to him so that they could discuss in the Central Committee Meeting to be held at Bombay, probably on 25th August 1977.
I was thinking over the proposal and on the weekend, I went to my ancestral village, Samaul (in the Madhubani district). On Sunday, the 14th of August 1977, suddenly I woke up after a post-lunch nap and it came to my mind that now it would be too late if I did not send my ideas for discussion and scribbled on paper, the manifesto entitled “ सेवा ही धर्मः Seva Hi Dharmah (Service is Religion)”, in Hindi(given below ), with the aims and the organizational nature of the proposed medical organization.(A) इतिहास के पन्नों से। सेवा ही धर्मः।
स्वास्थ्य जीवन की एक महती आवश्यकता है, जो रोटी, कपड़ा, और मकान के सवाल का ही उपफल है। अन्य महत्वपूर्ण समस्याओं की तरह यह सार्वदेशिक ही नहीं अपितु सार्वभौमिक भी है। विज्ञान के अधुनातन विकास ने इस समस्या को घटाया ही नहीं, अपितु बढ़ाया भी है। महानगरों की अट्टालिकाएँ ही गन्दी बस्तियों के उद्गम स्रोत हैं। कारखानों की चिमनियाँ ही वायुमंडल के प्रदूषण के कारण हैं। जल-प्रदूषण से मनुष्य ही नहीं, वरन् जल-जन्तुओं पर भी विषम संकट आ गया है। विज्ञान के बहुआयामीय विकास के क्रम में आज एक चिकित्सक के हाथों में भी अनेक ब्रह्मास्त्र आ गये हैं। पर जीवन की विभिन्न सामाजिक एवं आर्थिक विषमताओं की तरह यहाँ भी दो मानव के बीच गहरी खाई है, जो दिन पर दिन बढ़ती ही जा रही है। एक ओर जहाँ चिकित्सा-विज्ञान हृदय-प्रतिरोपण और ‘डायलिसिस’ जैसी अत्याधुनिक चिकित्सा कुछ लोगों को दे रहा है, वहाँ बहुलांश को ‘सल्फाडायजिन’ की एक गोली भी नसीब नहीं हो पाती है। समस्या और भी जटिल हो जाती है जबकि हम अपनी नजरों को उन इलाकों तक ले जाने का कष्ट करते हैं - जहाँ अभी भी प्रगति के नाम पर बैलगाड़ी के पहिये भी मुश्किल से ही चल पाते हैं। यदि हम अपने ही देश की बात लें और उन करोड़ों हरिजनों, गन्दी बस्तियों में रहने वाले मजदूरों की बातें भी छोड़ दें, जिनके पास अस्पताल की कल्पना मात्र भी है, तो भी छोटानागपुर, नागा प्रदेश, बस्तर, अंडमान एवं कार-निकोबार एवं लक्षद्वीप जैसे दूर-दराज के इलाकों में रहने वाले उन करोड़ों गिरिवासी एवं वनवासी बन्धुओं के बारें में सोचें तो लगेगा कि वे आज भी जादू-मन्तर एवं टोने-टोटके के युग में ही रह रहे हैं, अभी तक ‘अलकेमी’ का युग भी उनके लिये नहीं आया है या नहीं आने दिया गया है। विज्ञान मुट्ठी भर लोगों का क्रीत-दास बन गया है एवं इसका प्रवेश इन क्षेत्रों में निषिद्ध-सा हो गया है।
निश्चय ही यह एक राजनैतिक, सामाजिक एवं आर्थिक समस्या है, पर सबके साथ-साथ हम चिकित्सकों के भी कुछ नैतिक दायित्व इनसे बंधे हैं। चाहे यह सत्य हो या मिथ्या पर चरक एवं सुश्रुत की भूमि पर चिकित्सकों की तुलना ‘शायलाॅक’ से भी की जा रही है।
अतः आवश्यकता है कि हम खुले दिल से विचार करें और एक ऐसी स्वयंसेवी संस्था का निर्माण करें, जिसके सदस्य चिकित्सक एवं छात्र दोनों ही हों, क्योंकि आज के छात्र ही कल के चिकित्सक होने वाले हैं। एक प्रजातान्त्रिक देश में स्वयंसेवी संस्थाओं का राष्ट्रनिर्माण के कार्य में बहुत बड़ा महत्व होता है। सरकार से ही सब कुछ की अपेक्षा रखना, प्रगति को लोगों के पास पहुँचने देने से रोकना ही है।
यह सत्य है कि हमारी व्यावसायिक समस्याएं भी दिनानुदिन जटिल होती जा रही हंै, फिर भी यह स्पष्ट करना उचित होगा कि दधीचि के इस देश में हम इसकी बात न कर अपना अल्पतम सहयोग सेवा-भावना को ध्यान में रखते हुये ही करेंगे।
आयुर्वेद का एक ग्रन्थकार कहता है - “शिष्य ! तुम जो भी औषधि निर्माण करो, उसका चतुर्थ भाग ‘धन्वन्तरि भाग’ के रूप में निकाल कर दीनों की सेवा में लगाओ।“ आज के युग मे यह एक बहुत बड़ी बात होगी, पर यदि हममें ‘प्रत्येक छात्र एक पैसा प्रतिदिन और चिकित्सक दस पैसा प्रतिदिन’ इस पुनीत कार्य के लिये अर्पित कर सकें तो हमें विश्वास है कि चिकित्सा-विज्ञान की विद्युत-प्रतिभा से यदि इन दूरस्थ इलाकों को न आलोकित कर पाऐं तो कम-से -कम टाॅर्च की एक बैटरी का प्रकाश निश्चय ही अपने ही इन बन्धुओं तक पहुँचाने में समर्थ होंगे।
(यह प्रस्तावना मैंने 14. 8.1977 को अपने पैतृक गाँव समौल, मधुबनी, मिथिला में लिखी थी। उन दिनों मैं एम0 बी0 बी0 एस0,चतुर्थ वर्ष का छात्र दरभंगा चिकित्सा महाविद्यालय, लहेरियासराय में था। इस प्रस्तावना एवं संगठन के उद्देश्य एवं स्वरूप के आधार पर मुम्बई में 25. 8.1977 एवं दरभंगा में 3.10.1977 को प्रारंभिक चर्चाओं के बाद वाराणसी में 5.11.1977 को ‘नेशनल मेडिकोज आॅरगेनाजेशन’ की स्थापना देश भर के मेडिकोज ने की।)
Later on, in January 1978, I chose the following shloka of Rantideva to be the motto of the nmo, part of which प्राणिनाम् आर्तिनाशनम् ~ is visible in the insignia of the NMO:
"न त्वहं कामये राज्यम् न स्वर्गं नापुनर्भवम्।
कामये दुःखतप्तानाम् प्राणिनाम् आर्तिनाशनम्।। "
I do not desire the kingdom, nor the Heaven, nor even the freedom from the rebirth, my desire is the total freedom of the ailing living creatures from sufferings and diseases)- Rantideva as described in the Upanishad, said thus when he was asked by the gods to ask any vara (divine promise) for anything he desired. Gods were pleased after Rantideva donated his all worldly things; even food and water instead of saving his own life to the gods who had come to examine him successively as a Brahmin, a hungry, and a thirsty).
I posted the draft to him on 19th August and copies of the same to Ma. Eknath Ranade, Kanyakumari and Ma. Bala Saheb Deoras, Nagpur on 20th August. I had been very much impressed by Eknathji’s address at Ranchi on 28.4.1973 and was willing to have his guidance for the proposed organization since he had been widely acclaimed as the founder of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Though he could not guide us, I, as ‘Eklavya’, worked on the few principles he had enunciated at Ranchi:
‘नाक्षरं मंत्ररहितं न मूलम् अनौषधम्।
अयोग्यः पुरूषः नास्ति, योजकः तत्र दुर्लभम्।।’
(There is no letter which cannot be used in a mantra, no vegetable which cannot be used as a medicine, no man is worthless, what is needed is a good organizer).
I referred to Ma. Eknath Ranade with this shloka when I had the occasion to introduce the NMO, in the First Conference at Patna on 30.3.1980.
The Central Meeting of the ABVP at Bombay approved the ideas outlined in my dispatch to them. On October 3, 1977, in the Bihar (including Jharkhand ) State Conference of the ABVP at Darbhanga, the assembled medicos (from Darbhanga. Patna, and Muzaffarpur) had a meeting in the presence of Govindacharya, where I again pushed my ideas. Later Govindji told me to come to join the 23rd National Conference of the ABVP at Varanasi scheduled from Nov. 4 to 6, if I was serious with my ideas. I was also nominated as a member of the Bihar* State Executive Committee of the ABVP, though I was not even its primary member. The local Divisional Organizer of the RSS, Jiveshwar Mishra consented and withdrew his proposal for me to work as Nagar Bauddhik Pramukh.
I also thought that it was important to work and therefore I left for Varanasi, forgoing extra classes of Pathology and Histopathology while the final examination was also at hand. On the way, to Patna, I heard the historic appreciation by J. P. for the RSS while he was addressing its training camp.
In technical terms, I had gone abroad (Nepal’s Biratnagar, only a few km from Forbesganj) and outside the state (coastal Jagannathpuri) but Varanasi was the biggest city I had seen so far. People say it is on the Trishul of Lord Shiva. I think Kashi is the religious-center capital of the motherland, spread and bounded triangularly from the points of Kashmir, Kamrup, and Kanyakumari.
I also witnessed for the first time such a huge gathering of youth, visited the shrines and places of Varanasi, and even talked for the first time with some French tourists speaking in their language. But, I did not know that God had ordained me to come to Kashi where he was to use me as a paper or a pen to write a new chapter in the medical history of the land, in the city of the legendary Dhanwantari Himself.
But it was not so easy. I met Govindji and asked him what he had planned. He in reply said that as he was too busy in the management, Mahesh Sharma (General Secretary), the program in charge of the conference, should be contacted and he alone could convene a meeting of the medicos. My friend from Muzaffarpur, Om Prakash Singh, was an old ABVP activist and he could procure permission for the meeting and its announcement in that large tent township.
I was also told that a senior worker, Laxmi Kant Bhala would be in the meeting who later asked me to address the meeting myself due to his busy schedule. Initially, the organizing secretary of the ABVP, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Chandreshwarji had assured me that in case nobody came up; he would be joining our meeting.
I thought, only an announcement might not work and so I should meet medicos personally from tent to tent. Ajay Jindal of Amritsar took a keen interest in canvassing with me. Later, I learned, the medicos of Amritsar had also such ideas already in their minds for such a separate organization.
On the morning of the 5th Nov., there was the address by Prof. Rajendra Singh, in a nearby shakha. Ma. Bhau Rao was also present there. I knew them personally. After the shakha was over, I told Ma. Bhau Rao about the proposed organization and requested him to come to our meeting in the afternoon. He was happy to know about the intention of a service-oriented medical organization but expressed his inability to attend the meeting owing to some prior engagements.
He, however, assured me that he would be meeting us in the future and suggested to I speak to Ma. Madan Das, the National Organizing Secretary of the ABVP. I did not know at that time the significance of this post (I had come for the first time in any such conference and as such was not well-versed with it). Moreover, I was thinking that I had already talked to the National President, Bal Apte, and General Secretary, Mahesh Sharma. I could hear Ma. Madan Das in the concluding session only. I was pleased to listen to his appeal for starting the change from ‘I’. Subsequently, we were quite friendly.
I had already brought a few blank un-ruled copybooks for the use of the organization. Since the time allotted to us for our meeting was only 30 minutes, I told Ashok Kr. Shrivastava of Patna, to cut papers in small pieces for identity slips. He wrote: name, class, college, roll no, address for correspondence, and permanent address, putting blanks therein to be filled up by the attending medicos.
I requested Dr. Kripa Shankar, a pediatrician of Varanasi (who had passed from the Darbhanga Medical College) and who was in charge of the dispensary for that conference, to preside over that meeting (though before and after the meeting we had no contact). Identity slips were distributed (5 min.); the preface and aims of the proposed organization were put up by me (10 min.); the medicos were asked to submit the names they suggested for the organization (5 min.); active members’ names for the executive committee were asked (5 min.); a few queries and the address of the president (10 min); totaling 30 minutes. No Sooner had the time elapsed I received a slip from Mahavir Dutt Giri that the press conference was to be held there and so I should finish in time.
This is the history of those 30 minutes. Those who were present there themselves were probably unaware of the fact that they were creating history. Since the time was short, I could not reply to the last question from a friend from Bihar whom I had asked to talk in the tent as he was from my state. After coming to Darbhanga, I wrote to him, in the care of the address of a known boy (since the medicos of Ranchi had not deposited their identity slips). Later, in 1981, he became the Secretary of the NMO but it took much time to convince my batchmate Mrityunjoyji. Such things were inevitable in such a short meeting.
The names of the members attending the meeting institution/place-wise were:
Varanasi - Dr. P. N. Gupta, Dr. Kripa Shankar;
DMC,Darbhanga -- Dhanakar Thakur;
ANMMC, Gaya -- Sunil Kr. Singh;
PMC, Dhanbad -- Gopal Krishna Nair;
SKMC, Muzaffarpur -- Om Prakash Singh;
NMC, Patna -- Arun Kr. Singh;
PMC, Patna -- Ashok Kr. Shrivastava;
RMC, Ranchi -- Dr. Shanti Prakash, Mrityunjoy Kr.;
BSMC, Bankura -- Subhash Sarkar(became MOS,GOI in 2021), Badal Asru Ghata;
GMC, Guwahati -- Nayan Jyoti Das, Lohit Baishya, Uday Kr. Sharma;
Pt. BDSPGIMS, Rohtak -- Bhim Sain Sharma, Sushil Saini;
GMC, Amritsar-- Ajay Jindal, Ashwani Sharma, Bharat;
GMC, Bhopal -- Kuldeep Saxena, Rajendra Agrawal;
GRMC, Gwalior -- Dr. Vishwas Sapre, Dr. Ravindra Arora, Vinod Gupta;
BJMC, Ahmadabad-- Manilal O. Chhotaliya;
MPSMC, Jamnagar -- Bhaumik V. Upadhyay, Bhavna I. Mehta ;
GMC, Nagpur -- Dhananjay V. Chati;
OMC, Hyderabad - M. Pulla Reddy, P. Raghava Reddy,
J. Nag Manohar, N.G. Nirmala , Deepika Siri, N.G. Geetha;
BMC, Bangalore -- Ram Das Mallya;
G. D. C. & H. (Govt. Dental College & Hospital), Hyderabad -- A. Surendar.
So, apart from Varanasi, we were from 18 medical colleges and one dental college. Actual attendance was a few more than 37 as enumerated above and I am unable to recollect them.
There were some medicos from Ayurveda and Homeopathy as well and in fact, we took them initially in the organization, but the very next day, they demanded equal representation in all bodies and I found myself not in a position to satisfy them and later on with the advice of Chandreshwarji, I dropped the idea of one single organization for all pathys.
I had already mentioned in my first draft that we should have separate organizations in Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Agriculture, and Veterinary and Engineering; to this later, I liked to add Accountancy and Management. I also advised some of the inquisitive engineering students who were observing our meeting to organize themselves like us and some of them started the National Engineering Organisation (NEO) also at Silchar also but that could not be pursued. After a long gap at Bangalore I started the National software engineering Organisation (NSWEO) on 22.7.2007, on which I was shown the way out at the Yadava Smriti, Bangalore which became my cause of the exit from the RSS bit much later on 23.3.2017, I reinitiated NEO at the Darbhanga Engineering College Hostel. Incidentally in 2021 the daughter of the Principal, DEC doing MD(Community Medicine) at the Rohilkhand Medical College & Hospital, Bareilly asked me whether I belonged to Bihar and then I could talk to her father Dr.Achintya who organized my meeting at the DEC on 24.3.2021 on the ‘Sustainable Development” where I pleaded for adopting one block by each engineering college for it; though Dr.Achintya expired of the Covid on 5.6.2021, on behalf of the Nationalist Engineering Organisation(NEO) I published a book in his memory (Dr.Achintya: An Unforgettable Engineering Teacher) and I hope the NEO will also dedicate itself to the development of the nation. I tried for the Ayush, Agriculture (meeting at Bangalore on 22.2.2018), and Veterinary organization also apart from an organization for the Paramedics(meeting at Bareilly on 22.8.2019) and Para-engineering at different times but have not been successful so far
Then at Varanasi on 5.11.1977, we had the problem of finally selecting a name for the organization. I had talks with Maheshji also who had told me to have an attractive name, maybe in English. I along with Om Prakash Singh and Ravindra Keshari (a very senior worker of the ABVP, Bihar (including Jharkhand) went through the collected slips of the proposed names the next morning. There were many, both in Hindi and in English.
We decided in favor of English, (as was suggested to me by Mahesh Sharma, General Secretary, ABVP, and Ravindra Keshari who said that ABVP for long was known in Tamil Nādu as All India Students Council. AISC, and also due to the non-availability of a single word in Hindi substituting the word medicos as in English which meant to include a medical practitioner plus a medical student and more so for the simplicity in the use of the word medico to facilitate the working of a newly formed organization).
Our final issue was to find out the best name from amongst the three: National Medicos Association/Organisation/Council.
As ‘Association’ was simulating the IMA and ‘Council’ with the MCI, we opted for NATIONAL MEDICOS ORGANISATION (NMO).
Thus, the NMO was born as an Indian edition of the WHO to cater to the needs and welfare of the one-seventh global human population, attractive, phonetically simulating even the WHO and stimulating the medicos to its spirits.
Much later from the slips received, I noticed that though Dr. Shanti Prakash of Ranchi suggested ‘National Medicos Association’, it was a permutation and combination taking ‘Organisation’ from some other medico’s ‘All India Medical Organisation.’ (My own suggested name was Akhil Bhartiya Chikitsak Mahapariwar or All India Medical Grand Family). I still feel the final choice of the NMO was the best one could think of.
I had a wish that the NMO should work for our nation like the Red Cross. Not only it has proved so but also surprisingly in 1989, I learned that the Indian Red Cross itself was also born on 5th November (in 1920).
Then, there was a committee to be formed. Seeing the largest number from Hyderabad, I told Om Prakash to name Pulla Reddy as the General Secretary and also to have our office at Hyderabad but he insisted that since it was a new work, I must act as the General Secretary. I was apprehensive that people might think I was working for the name (and it happened so later) but on his insistence, I had to agree. Had he or anyone else agreed, it would have been easier for me either to roll the cart or as per his guess, the chapter would have been closed. After the whole thing was drafted, I had a talk with Mahesh Sharma who was amazed to find such progress and asked me to give him some cyclostyled copies of the press release, which he later distributed in the afternoon press conference.
The press release mentioned the objectives of the NMO and its Executive Committee. It was mentioned that the NMO would mobilize medicos on a common national platform to serve the poor, particularly in the rural areas. The objectives of the NMO would be to develop national character among medicos, create a sense of devotion towards the nation and humanity, and also create fraternity amongst the students of different systems of medicine.
It was also envisaged that it would extend active co-operation to the ABVP and other patriotic and like-minded organizations in different fields of constructive work.
It would share the responsibility of delivering primary healthcare services in the villages, concentrating on the One College, One Village program in keeping pace with the Gram Vikash Programme of the ABVP
The news was flashed by the national dailies all over the country. When I reached my ancestral village, my uncle had brought a copy of The Indian Nation, of Patna. On the 14th of November’s issue, it had a big coverage, most aptly captioned, Medicos Body to Serve Poor Formed.
MEDICOS BODY TO SERVE POOR FORMED
The decision to mobilise medicos on a common platform to serve the poor, particularly in the rural areas was taken at a conference of medical students and doctors held on the occasion of the 23rd national conference of Vidyarthi Parishad.
A large number of medical students and doctors who had assembled here as delegates and observers to the ABVP conference resolved to name the new organisation as National Medicos Organisation. The objectives of the new organisation would be to develop national character, create a sense of devotion to the nation and humanity, and create fraternity among students of different systems of medicine.
The conference resolved to extend active co-operation to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and other patriotic and like-minded organisations in different fields of constructive work.
The National Medicos Organisation will share the responsibility of delivering primary health care services in the villages. The conference resolved and said that its units will concentrate on a “One College, one village” basis in keeping pace with the Gram Vikas Programme of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
Following were elected office-bearers and members of the central executive committee of the NMO:
President- Dr. Kripa Shankar, General Secretary- Mr. Dhanakar Thakur. Secretaries- Mr. Ajay Jindal (North Zone); Mr. M. Pulla Reddy (South Zone); Dr. Vishwas Sapre (West Zone); Mr. Om Prakash Singh (East Zone); Office Secretary- Miss Deepika, Treasurer- Mr. A. Surendar, Members: .............................................
(The Indian Nation, Patna, Nov. 14, 1977)
When I returned to Darbhanga, friends were congratulating me but I was in a deeply perplexed mood as to how to shoulder the new responsibility? I drafted the first circular; showed it to many; got it cyclostyled and posted them to all the founding members.
Now when I look at this circular, I am amazed to read my own ideas. I had asked for the suggestions for the draft of the membership form, the place for the Central Office and its first national conference; issue and contents of the monthly bulletin, and also sent to them the guidelines for forming various college and state units, One College, One Village Programme and appointing project-in-charges of the same besides collecting donations and for financing tours; a fixed share of which was to be borne by each personally and did also mention that the correspondence would be the ‘blood’ of the NMO and if possible to send postal stamps for reply. Sending news-cuttings was requested and a proposal for issuing identity letters for fraternity promotional tours of medicos was suggested.
Being from a remote corner of the country, I wished to see that finest day of my life when I could hand over my responsibility to some other able member at the first National Conference.
Much water would have flown in the Ganga through the famous ghats of Varanasi, many promises would have been made by the persons at the helm of the upheaval of the second independence, a revolution, brought by ballots and more so by the illiterates who liberated even the literates by giving mandate against the National Emergency. And, by others and others... Only people can judge what had been done and what should have been done.
But as far as the NMO is concerned, its roots have gone deep and the NMO has taken its pledge to every word of it and it has been pure and dedicated to humanity, so divine like the divinity and purity of mother Ganga in every drop of its water.
In concluding this chapter, I humbly wish to suggest that nobody should assume that someone is a founder of this divine organization. Divinity is neither born nor is dead at any time. As I have pointed out already; I was playing merely the role of a paper or a pen of Him and for this, I was grateful to Him and the medicos who had given me this opportunity to learn and serve.
Tolstoy in War and Peace says,’ It is not the leader who makes society or brings change, it is the society which, in a particular set-up of environment brings about a change in itself and so somebody comes up as a leader on the surface.’
When I later toured, many medicos, seniors, and juniors, all over the country (from Punjab to A.P.) told me that they too had such ideas in their minds and they were happy to know that such an organization existed. And, this was the environment, which prompted me to work. Hence, Subhash Tetarway, the Office Secretary of our great organization, the NMO, subsequently honored me as its first life member.
Aims and Objects of the NMO
(as drafted by me in 1980 when Padmabhushan Dr.Dukhan Ram, the inaugurator of the first NMO Conference at Patna 1980, asked me for a copy of it, and later in 1987 with these aims it was registered under the Societies Registration Act,1860 as Reg, No.21/1987-88)
(a) To create a nationwide organisation of the medicos on a democratic basis, irrespective of caste, colour, creed, and sex for the ‘positive health’ of the nation.
(b) To work for the all-around welfare and development of the medical profession.
(c) To utilise their energy and dissemination of the medical knowledge for solving the various health problems of the down-trodden people of the nation, particularly for the rural and tribal people with the help of central and state governments, educational, professional, and voluntary organisations.
(d) To work for satisfying the basic needs of the medicos and to guide and help them in solving their various problems arising from time to time.
(e) To develop national character and discipline among the medicos.
(f) To promote constructive activities in social and cultural spheres and utilize medicos’ energies in the various nation-building activities.
(g) To promote a progressive outlook among them along with a love for the cultural heritage of the land.
(h) To develop harmony and homogeneity among the various components of the society by reviving a sense of tolerance and brotherhood.
(i) To seek the cooperation and goodwill of doctors, educationists, educational and health authorities in the work of the NMO.
(j) To promote better teacher-student relationships in medical colleges and institutes.
(k) To promote the academic environment in medical colleges and institutes*. (* and to establish such model institutions., added in 2007)
(l) To form a common platform on the basis of a common mode of work for all the members of the medical community, viz., students, doctors, and educationists for the reorganisation of medical education in the comprehensive context of national reconstruction.