Know your AIIMS:
AIIMS was created to be the premier medical institute in India by the central government in 1956.
It has been ranked repeatedly at the top in its field in annual surveys (starting in 1997) published by India Today.
It ranked first in Asia in the medical colleges and institution survey (MCIS) conducted by WHO for 2006-07.
It earned the First Priority Hospitals (FPH) standard by Time Magazine.
As per Forbes (Germany), most European nations recommend AIIMS for medical tourism in Asia.
The hospital has been able to maintain high standards of quality while seeing large numbers of patients (3.5 million in 2006) at very low cost to patients.
MBBS at AIIMS has a batch size of 50. (33 Gen, 11 SC/ST, 1 phy handicap, and 5 international students nominated by Government of India). Around 75000 students appear for its entrance test every year.
Main courses offered by the institute are: MBBS, MD/MS, DM/MCh, BSc courses in Nursing, Paramedical and medical specialties, MSc, MBiotech, PhD in many specialties, etc.
Recently Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital’s construction has been completed. It specializes in medical, radiation and surgical oncology.
Know your Dr. P. Venugopal
Director of AIIMS since year 2003.
Dr. Venugopal has been associated with AIIMS for 48 years. He joined the institute in 1959 as an undergraduate, did his post-graduation from AIIMS and has been associated with it ever since. He joined AIIMS as a faculty member in 1970.
He performed the first Heart Transplant surgery In India in 1994.
It was after this pioneering surgery by him, that the Govt. of India passed an act allowing transplant of hearts of Brain Dead patients (mostly accident cases) to needy Cardiac Patients. Hundreds have benefited by that Act.
He is one of the topmost cardiac experts in India.
He has received several international awards in his field.
He has conducted over 50,000 open heart surgeries.
He was decorated with Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his achievements.
After the events of being sacked by the board headed by health minister, Dr. Venugopal said, “I am looking forward to maintaining the autonomy and dignity of the institute for which I have always fought,” adding he could ignore the “personal humiliation” meted out to him.
Know your Dr. A. Ramadoss
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
He is President of AIIMS.
Member of Rajya Sabha (elected in 2004).
He was a student of Madras Medical College and did his MBBS from there.
He belongs to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founded by his father Dr S. Ramadoss.
Got Dr. Rajashekharan (a close relative of his) elected as chairman of the selection committee at AIIMS.
Some of his contributions to India are:
Urged film and sports stars to not endorse soft drinks
Publicly contested UN figures on AIDS in India
Advocated statutory warnings for smoking on screen
Publicly contested UN figures on AIDS in India
Advocated statutory warnings for smoking on screen
He is nicknamed “the minister for Venugopal affairs”; and “a bull in a china shop” infamously.
The war between the veterans
The tussle between the AIIMS director Dr. Venugopal and Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss is almost two years old. The AIIMS director and the Health Minister did not get along from the very beginning as Venugopal was seen as a BJP-appointee. Problems began with Ramadosss stay at the AIIMS guest house when he became Health Minister.
In May 2006, when the protests against proposed 27% reservations in central universities gained momentum all over the country, many students from AIIMS joined the protests. They staged a strike and all medical services were shut but parallel OPDs were started after the strike had been carried out for a long time. The strike continued till 31 May 2006 when the doctors called off their strike after the Supreme Court of India orders. Union health minister Dr. Ramadoss accused Dr. Venugopal for supporting the protesting students.
On 5th of July, 2006, a day before the birthday of Dr. Venugopal, AIIMS governing body met over an ‘extra ordinary meeting’ in the morning. As president of AIIMS, health minister Ramadoss presided over the meeting. Dr. Venugopal was member-secretary body and he too had come for the meeting. But he was asked to wait outside of the meeting room by Dr. Ramadoss. Dr. Venugopal waited outside the room for over one hour. Then he was called in and handed over his termination letter. Points to be noted here are:
Decision or discussion over the fate of the director of AIIMS was not in the agenda of the meeting.
There was no consensus in the 15 member board on sacking the Director, but no voting was carried out.
Three members, including BJP’s VK Malhotra were vocal in their opposition to the decision, but were not heard.
There was no consensus in the 15 member board on sacking the Director, but no voting was carried out.
Three members, including BJP’s VK Malhotra were vocal in their opposition to the decision, but were not heard.
The despotic manner in which Dr. Ramadoss carried out this episode invited wide criticism from the press. But most of the newspapers in my memory wrote some sort of obituary for Dr. Venugopal, as if he was a dead man. The TOI made a mockery of him, under title “Ramadoss’s birthday gift to Venugopal: Sack letter”.
The day after, Dr. Venugopal filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging the decision to sack him. Senior counsel Arun Jaitley (BJP) appeared for Venugopal in the court. The attitude of the government here is noticeable. The Centre told the court that it was willing to withdraw the resolution seeking termination of services of director Venugopal provided he relinquished his office on his own. It showed that the government was very sure that court will not try to interfere in its decision to sack the director, and they would continue running the country as their farmland! But, on July 7, the Delhi High Court stayed the sacking orders. It was a victory of one man standing against the clout of a despotic minister backed by the government of India.
It should be noted that the Mandal-II protests were a success not only in AIIMS, but also in IIT Delhi and many other institutes. The increased reservations were to put large pressures on the limited infrastructure and education facilities, therefore many industry leaders and experts criticized this law. Some members of national knowledge commission, a think tank set up by the government of India had resigned in protest against the dictatorial attitude of the government. Also, AIIMS has a history of coming out to the causes of the national importance. During the Emergency, AIIMS Students Union was among the first organizations in the country to go on strike, and was banned by the government. Protests were held all over India, but one man the union health minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss made sure that he uses the issue to gain control over the institute. The war instigated by Dr. Ramadoss not only attacked the AIIMS director and the autonomy of the institute but also spoiled the educational environment in an institution of higher learning.
Those who supported Dr. Venugopal:
1) The BJP: It was the NDA government which had appointed Dr. Venugopal as the director of AIIMS in 2003. Therefore it was natural that the BJP came to his support and called him one of the greatest doctors of India. BJP spokesperson Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad said, This public humiliation is completely unwarranted. The government should not interfere in the functioning of AIIMS. (But after a while, like all other issues that BJP took up, gradually the party became less vocal on the issue and afterwards became totally silent. Loss of a strong opposition is not because of the weakness of the BJP or NDA, it is because of the ruthless manner in which the Congress party goes after its adversaries until they become silent.)
2) The TDP: There were some attempts by the party to make this issue an issue of pride of people from Andhra Pradesh. Deccan Herand News reported on July 6, 2006 that the TDP had sought the intervention of President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reinstate ousted AIIMS Director P. Venugopal to the post and demanded the removal of Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss in this connection. Party spokesman M V Mysoora Reddy said, “His unceremonial removal is a great insult to all Telugu-speaking people and Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh”.
Some comments from other netizens
Just four of these comments would assure you that the Indian electorate is very much learned about the issue. Public understands what is Truth and what is Thorhat!
“If IIMs can have autonomy and Mr. Narayan Murthy can get vocal about mere decrease in fee or reservation, why a different set of rules for Dr. Venugopal and AIIMS?”
“Health minister Dr. Ramadoss studied at Madras Medical College (possibly on a quota seat) … He appointed his sisters father-in-law as a member of the AIIMS committee and he is son-in-law of the Tamilnadu congress president….. If he had ever practiced medicine, then he would have known what Dr. Venugopal has done for Indian Medicine and would have not been so vengeful…”
“Coming from a rich background riding the caste politics from Vanniyar community, this minister has no qualifications to be a politician, except that he is the son of an influential casteist politician, from a small region in TN.”
“He (Dr. A. Ramadoss) wouldn't have survived in private sector if he had behaved like that.”
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