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Harbhajan Singh Rissam

Harbhajan Singh Rissam (1951–2013) was an Indian interventional cardiologist, philanthropist [1] and writer, known for his medical service and his novel based on medical profession.[2] He was the director of cardiac clinical services at Max Healthcare, Delhi and his maiden novel, The Scalpel - Game Beneath,[3] the first book of a proposed trilogy published in 2010, is a medical thriller on the medicine mafia.[4] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to medical science.[5]

Harbhajan Singh Rissam
Born10 August 1951
Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Died17 October 2013
Jammu, India
Resting placeShastri Nagar Cremation Ground, Jammu , J&K
32°41′22″N 74°51′11″E / 32.68944°N 74.85306°E / 32.68944; 74.85306
Occupation(s)Interventional cardiologist
Writer
Known forCardiology
Medi-fiction
SpouseBalbir Kaur Rissam
ParentRanjeet Kaur
AwardsPadma Shri

Biography

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Harbhajan Singh Rissam, born in 1951 in Jammu in a Kashmiri Sikh family,[6] in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, did his early schooling at Central Basic School, Jammu after which he graduated in science from Government Gandhi Memorial Science College.[7] When his family fled from Poonch, he moved with them to Punjab and secured his medical degree from Government Medical College, Amritsar with gold medal before completing his MD in cardiology at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.[8] Starting his career at the Government Gandhi Memorial Science College[9] and after a stint in Saudi Arabia, he returned to India to join Apollo Hospital, Delhi as an interventional cardiologist but, later, moved to Max Healthcare, Delhi as the director of cardiac clinical services.[1] In between, he was also associated with Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Sri Nagar, Fortis Healthcare and Batra Hospital, New Delhi.[7] He published over 100 medical papers in various national and international journals and presented papers at medical conferences including the conference on Conquering Heart Disease in the Himalayan Region of the Cardiac Society of Nepal, held in November 2010.[10] He served as a member of the board of governors of the Medical Council of India, the apex body for medical education in India.[11][12] He was appointed as a member of Medical Council of India Board of Governors on 14 May 2011 after its reconstitution by Union Health Ministry.[13] He was also a member of the Asia Pacific Vascular Society[14] and the Cardiological Society of India.[15]

Rissam, who had a penchant for writing, published his first short story, Moscow Street, when he was thirteen.[16] In 2006, he took a long break from work and stayed in Paris for three months where he wrote a novel and in 2010, he published it under the title The Scalpel - Game Beneath, which was a medical thriller on the mafia activities associated with medical tourism and organ trade. The novel, considered by many as an attempt at whistle-blowing, was reported to be the first insider account by a practising doctor in India[9] and the first medical thriller by an Indian author.[17] He planned two more novels based on happenings at a medical institute, to complete a trilogy of medical thrillers, but they were never published.[18] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 2006.[5]

Rissam was married to Balbir Kaur, a medical doctor, and the couple had a son, Harbir Singh Rissam and a daughter, Harmeet Kaur.[7] He is survived by his mother Ranjeet Kaur, Brother Jujhar Singh Rissam, Nephews Satwant Singh Rissam & Sandeep Singh Rissam.[19] His younger nephew Sandeep Singh Rissam is an Engineer by qualification & was working with him in his philanthropy and social works like organizing Blood Donation awareness and other projects .[20] He died on 17 October 2013, succumbing to an infection for which he had been hospitalized at Max Healthcare, Delhi. He was cremated at a cremation ground in Shastri Nagar, Jammu, the next day.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Two great doctors". Greater Kashmir. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Bigger the hospital, the more the corruption". Indian Express. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  3. ^ H. S. Rissam (2010). The Scalpel: Game Beneath. Rupa & Company. ISBN 978-81-291-1602-4.
  4. ^ "Written by heart". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  6. ^ Vaishali Tanwar (2016). "A Doctor with Scalpel and Pen". Uday India. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d "Dr HS Rissam passes away". Kashmir Times. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  8. ^ Kushwant Singh (8 May 2010). "Zafar and the Mutiny". Sunday Extra feature. The Tribune. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b Aparna Banerji (10 March 2013). "Medical field and the art of veiled whistle blowing". JallandharTribune. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  10. ^ Abhilasha Subba (16 November 2010). "Harbhajan Singh Rissam Dr. Scalpel Wields His Pen". The Himalayan. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  11. ^ Express News Service (9 July 2011). "Take heart from Mediterranean diet, wine". Indian Express. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Special meeting of ethics committee" (PDF). Medical Council of India. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Dr K K Talwar appointed new chairman of MCI Board of Governors | India Medical Times". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  14. ^ "APVIC Feedback". Asia Pacific Vascular Society. 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  15. ^ K. Sarat Chandra (December 2013). "Obituary". Indian Heart Journal. 65 (6): 702. doi:10.1016/j.ihj.2013.12.001. PMC 3905262.
  16. ^ "Writing with the scalpel". Deccan Herald. 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  17. ^ Parthasarathy, Anusha (8 April 2012). "Visible scars". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  18. ^ Yogesh Vajpeyi (24 July 2011). "Diagnosis by fiction, prognosis by plotline". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  19. ^ http://epaper.dailyexcelsior.com/epaperpdf/2013/oct/13oct20/page2.pdf Archived 8 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  20. ^ "PASJ frames body of volunteers for blood donation - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir". www.earlytimes.in. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
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Further reading

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  • Cookie Maini (21 March 2010). "Racy medical thriller". The Scalpel: Game Beneath - Review. The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
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