Khushwant Lal Wig (1904–1986) was an Indian physician, medical academic, writer and the director of the All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi. He was a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

and a recipient of Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian award in the medical category. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1964, for his contributions to the Medical science.

Biography

Kushwant Lal Wig was born on 30 September 1904 to Mohan Lal Wig and Dhan Devi Chib in a rich family of Gujranwala, in the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

of the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and did his schooling at the local Mission High School, after which he studied at the Government College and, later, at Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, Lahore, from where he secured his graduate degree. After obtaining his graduate degree in medicine from King Edward Medical College, present-day King Edward Medical University, of the

Punjab University, Lahore The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

, he did his residency at

Mayo Hospital Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospitals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical institutions in South Asia, is attached to Mayo Hospital. Mayo Hospital is locat ...

, Lahore and proceeded to London to complete his post graduate studies (MRCP) at the Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in 1931. Returning to India, he joined his alma mater, King Edward Medical College, and Mayo Hospital, as an assistant professor at the department of medicine in 1941, continuing there till 1946. After the Indian independence in 1947, he moved to Amritsar to join the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (later-day

Government Medical College, Amritsar Government Medical College, formerly known as Glancy Medical College, was established in 1864 in Lahore, British India and located to Amritsar, India in 1920. History In, 1947 India became a separate nation and was partitioned into India and P ...

) as the professor of medicine. While working at V. J. Hospital, he also served as a member of faculty at Punjab University until 1958 when he moved to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi as a professor of medicine and, later, as the director of the institution till his superannuation in 1969. Wig served as an examiner at several universities including

Punjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern e ...

and the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

and sat on the boards of universities of Lucknow and Delhi. Associating with the

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

, he served as a member of the sub-committee attending to clinical trials and was the president of the annual conference of the Indian Association of Chest Diseases in 1961. He published around 55 medical articles and headed the board of editors of the Punjab Medical Journal. After getting elected as a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in 1950, he worked as the governor of the North India chapter of ACCP for a period. He was a recipient of the Dr. B. C. Roy Award from the

Medical Council of India The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by National Medical Commission. The Council grante ...

and a founder fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The

elected him as their Fellow in 1961 before the Government of India honoured him with the civilian honour of the

in 1964. In 1962, he also served as the honorary physician to the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

. Wig, who was honoured by the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

with honorary doctorate (DSc), died on 8 June 1986, at Bern, Switzerland, survived by his wife Shanta Puri and their son and two daughters. The All India institute of Medical Sciences named their Centre for Medical Education as ''K. L. Wig Centre for Medical Education and Technology'', in honour of its former director and the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

instituted an annual oration under the name, ''Dr. K. L. Wig Oration''. The story of his life has been documented in his autobiography, ''Memoirs of a Medical Man''.

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Biography

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Further reading