Dr MS Valiathan is widely known as the first director of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram. Not many know of his education and contributions to society.
Marthanda Varma Sankaran Valiathan pursued his MBBS degree from the Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, after completing studies at the University College. After MBBS, he took his MS degree from the University of Liverpool. Dr Valiathan returned home after earning an FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons).
Dr Valiathan worked at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh for a brief period. Even while working at PGIMER, he continued his studies. Soon, he left the country for Johns Hopkins and a few other universities, for advanced studies in cardiac surgery.
As the first director of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), he shifted the establishment's focus to medical technological advancements. In a first in the country, he initiated the manufacturing of heart valves at SCTIMST, to make them cost-effective and affordable. They were till then imported at an exorbitant price.
His contributions to the Indian medical field are many. The manufacturing of blood bags and making them available throughout the country is an example.
After SCTIMST, he joined Manipal University as its first Vice-Chancellor. Soon, he started researching Ayurveda. He found merit in both Allopathy and Ayurveda, even as the practitioners of the two streams often locked horns over their effectiveness. Dr Valiathan was instrumental in making Ayurveda popular, and spreading awareness about it among professionals.
He made several suggestions to synergize Ayurveda and Allopathy. He used to say that 'Ayurveda is not only the mother of medicine but also of all life sciences in India.'
Among Dr Valiathan's efforts, his move to start the Kerala School of Mathematics in Kozhikode, and to coordinate various institutes under the State Science and Technology Council to give a fillip to scientific research, attracted me the most. He was also the Chairman of the Indian Academy of Sciences.
The Padmavibhushan and several other awards — domestic and international — he had won were the honours he brought to Kerala.
Dr Valiathan's life is a role model for students and professionals in their every endeavour. He contributed to society more than what he had earned.
(This is an article G Vijayaraghavan wrote on Dr MS Valiathan in the column, Vijayatheerangal, in Thozhilveedhi).