A Life of Change: The Autobiography of a Doctor

After graduating in medicine from the Grant Medical College Noshir H. Antia (1922—2007), joined the Army Medical Corps during the Second World War. After the war he went to England to study surgery. On his return, he pioneered plastic surgery in India. His interest in biomedical research and the social aspects of medicine grew while working at the J.J. Hospital in Bombay, and led him to establish the Foundation for Research in Community Health (FRCH) and the Foundation for Medical Research (FMR). He received numerous awards including the Padma Shri in recognition of his efforts in diverse fields

From a modest beginning in Hubli, Noshir H. Antia became a pioneer of plastic surgery in modern India and established one of the earliest burns units in the country at the J.J. Hospital in Bombay. Soon, he realized that ‘health’ could not be the domain of medical science alone, but needed to be framed by the social, cultural and economic perspectives of the common people. He and his team began training women volunteers in Mandwa and Malshiras—an experiment that became the blueprint for the Community Health Workers’ Scheme.

Combining scientific temper with social vision, he set up the two complimentary organizations, the Foundation for Research in Community Health (FRCH) and the Foundation for Medical Research (FMR). In this candid and critical account, Antia is unsparing of the medical profession and laments the emergence of the ‘health industry’ at the cost of ‘health for all’.

ISBN: 9780143104261
Published by: Penguin Books India