Vision of Naveen Patnaik to Make SCB Medical College to a State of the Art Medical Institute and Gandhi’s Vision that Indian doctors would be second to none

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik made a great and historic announcement today to transform SCB Medical College, Cuttack, to a top class medical institute of our country and transform it to a sought after College by students, doctors, patients and medical professionals interested in research and exploration in the field of medical science.

In 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi started his Dandi March to break salt law and bring independence for India, the famous medical journal of London, Lancet, published a piece wherein it was appealed to Gandhi to withdraw that historic March. It was argued that if Dandi March resulted in independence of India all British doctors would withdraw and in the absence of adequate opportunities for medical education in India enough Indian doctors would not be available and, therefore, the public health of the country would collapse.

Gandhi wrote back by observing that absence of adequate medical education in India could be attributed to British rule and once independence of India would be achieved quality medical education would be made available to the youth of India and the country would produce doctors who would be second to none in the world.
Indeed in twenty first century our doctors are second to none. In fact if today Indian doctors would withdraw from National Health Service of Britain the public health of that country would collapse.

The SCB Medical College which trained generations of medical students and produced doctors since independence of India in 1947 has played a great role in fulfilling the vision of Mahatma Gandhi. There was a time when Odia students had three seats reserved in Calcutta to pursue medical studies. It was during the time of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das and Utkalmani Gopbandhu Das. Both of them fought for facilities for medical education in Orissa of that time. And in twenty first century Odisha CM has made a historic announcement for making SCB a world class medical Institute.

Indeed a transformational vision by a Shri Naveen Patnaik who personifies high bench mark leadership qualities for ushering in an era marked by quantum jump in improving health care, governance, administration and all round progress of Odisha.