Harbans Lall Gulati (c. 1896 – 13 June 1967) was an Indian-born physician living in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, who was a councillor for both the Conservative and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

parties. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he took a special interest in the effect of rationing on the health of the population and was an active campaigner for the extension of mobile canteen services to older people who could not queue for rations. He had a special interest in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

and worked as a general practitioner in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

, London for over four decades.

Early life

Gulati, known popularly as "Lall", was born around 1896 in Shaipur, near

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Punjab, India. His exact date of birth is uncertain. He was the tenth son of Dola Ram Gulati and he had one younger sister.

Career

In 1916, Gulati became a medical officer in the Indian Medical Service after completing his medical training in

. In 1919, he was in Amritsar at the time of the Amritsar massacre. In 1920, for reasons unknown, he worked his passage to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

where he arrived in Liverpool penniless and walked to London. His qualifications were not recognised in the UK and therefore he repeated his further education and medical training at Charing Cross Hospital. Friendless and without money, he did unskilled work at night to pay for his studies. Eventually qualifying with LRCP and MRCP in 1926, he entered

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

in the largely working-class district of Battersea in London. Gulati was an active member of the

St John Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People * John the Baptist (0s BC–30s AD), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John t ...

and

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

organisations. He campaigned to extend mobile canteen services to older people who could not queue for rations in post-war Britain. He was later, in addition, closely connected with the

Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacent ...

after passing the diploma in ophthalmic medicine and surgery in 1945.

Politics

In 1934, Gulati was elected a councillor for the Conservative Party. However, he resigned from the party in 1947 because of their lack of support for the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

He was a member of the Food Control Committee, where he was concerned about post-war rationing effects on the health of the population and he joined the Socialist Medical Association and the Labour Party, becoming a Labour member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

for Battersea South and later standing unsuccessfully for parliament. He was a magistrate and a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. As an active member of the committee of the Indian

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in London, he witnessed its replanning and building.

Family and personal

Gulati married Norah Louisa Knobel on 1 August 1931, at St Michael's Church, Battersea. They had two sons and two daughters, one of whom died at the age of four in 1938. His elder son also became a doctor, specializing in orthopedics. His younger son is a solicitor, and followed his father into local politics, becoming mayor of Reigate & Banstead in 1984. His granddaughter, Anita Gulati, attributed her grandfather's resilience partly to meditation, saying: "my grandfather used to close his consultation room door for 20 minutes to meditate".

Death and legacy

He died suddenly on 13 June 1967 at the age of 70. Following an interview with his son, Gulati's story was mentioned in Julian M. Simpson's ''

Migrant architects of the NHS; South Asian doctors and the reinvention of British general practice (1940s-1980s) ''Migrant Architects of the NHS: South Asian Doctors and the Reinvention of British General Practice (1940s–1980s)'', written by Julian M. Simpson, and published by Manchester University Press in 2018, is a book which combines archival researc ...

'', and used to show how imperial legacies and medical migration shaped the UK's healthcare in the first four decades following the founding of the NHS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulati, Harbans Lall 1896 births 1967 deaths Indian emigrants to England Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Labour Party (UK) councillors British general practitioners Physicians of Charing Cross Hospital Medical doctors from Punjab, India Conservative Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council British people of Punjabi descent Indian Medical Service officers YMCA leaders British India emigrants to the United Kingdom