Between 1966 and 1969, Indian politics was a storm in motion. Indira Gandhi—once dismissed by Ram Manohar Lohia as a “goongi gudiya” (dumb doll)—defied expectations. Not only did she win the 1967 general election, but she also consolidated power and emerged as a formidable Prime Minister. The Congress party soon split: the old guard became …
MGIMS
The Birth of a Dream: How MGIMS Sevagram came into Being
In May 1964, after Prime Minister Nehru died, Lal Bahadur Shastri assumed office. One day, during an informal conversation, Shastriji shared a concern with Union Health Minister Dr. Sushila Nayar: “We produce thousands of doctors every year, yet our villages remain without care. These doctors are trained in cities. And stay there. Why can’t we …
Why I remember Dr Sandeep Kumar Dey Today
Last Thursday, a plane crashed in Ahmedabad. In just a moment, 274 lives were lost—people on board and on the ground. As the news scrolled across my screen, something stirred deep inside me. A long-healed scar began to ache again. In that moment, I was transported back 25 years—to another plane crash, another tragedy, another …
Two Tragedies
Yesterday’s Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad, where 241 lives were lost within moments of takeoff, has left the nation grieving. For many of us, the news brought a wave of shock and sorrow. For some, it also stirred the memory of another flight, another heartbreak, from a time long past. In January 1966, 𝗟𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁 Mahajan …
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦
When Gandhiji was assassinated in January 1948, the world Dr. Sushila Nayar had built her life around collapsed. She was just 33. In the chaos that followed, she threw herself into relief work—rescuing abducted women from the violence of riot-torn Punjab. Something inside her had broken. She had lost Bapu. And with him, the compass …
More than Books: A Tribute to MGIMS Library and Dr. R.V. Agrawal
Bhupendra Nath Das—widely known as B.N. Das and one of the earliest members of the MGIMS library team—called me this morning. Now in his early 80s, his voice quivered with emotion as he reminisced about Dr. R.V. Agrawal’s role in establishing the MGIMS library. B.N. Das, then a 24-year-old from Calcutta, would later retire from …
A Vist, A Downpour and a Suitcase Full of Yesterdays
Exactly a week ago, I landed in Indore to visit my elder sister. But my heart tugged in another direction—toward someone I had to see. Dr. Karunakar Trivedi. That morning, I dialed his number. His voice, gentle and warm, hadn’t changed with time. He welcomed me without pause. By noon, I was standing before Trivedi …
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
“Enough is enough,” thundered Dr. Sushila Nayar, her voice cutting through the hall.“No more free PG seats for MGIMS boys and girls. If they want postgraduate degrees, they must first serve two years in the villages.” She meant it. In 1969, Dr. Nayar had built MGIMS on a dream: to raise doctors who would live …
April 22. One Year.
22nd April. One Year. Exactly a year ago, in the quiet hours of the morning, Dhirubhai left us. He was 86. It still feels unreal. Time slows when I think of him. When Dr. Sushila Nayar invited him in 1982 to take charge of MGIMS, he hesitated. “I couldn’t even pronounce the names of half …
Dr. K.N. Ingley
(December 9, 1931 – April 19, 2025)Dr. Keshao Narayan Ingley—known to all as Dr. K.N. Ingley—was born on December 9, 1931, in the dusty heartland of Buldhana. As the eldest of five siblings, he learned early what it meant to lead, to share, and to wait his turn. The home was always full—voices echoing through …