'Patel was suspicious of 'white-skinned' doctors'

'Patel was suspicious of 'white-skinned' doctors'
RAJENDRA KHATRY

NAGPUR, MARCH 17: Had fate and his own firm resolve not intervened, he would have spent his life in obscurity as a petty businessman. But destiny had something else in store for him. Meet Dr Imam Kasim Mujawar, one of the oldest psychiatrists in the country who turned 90 on Wednesday.

Dr Mujawar's medical skills and dedication to duty was lavishly praised by none other than the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was one of his patients while serving a jail term during the freedom struggle.

Dr Mujawar was born on March 15, 1911 at Belgaum in the then Bombay Presidency. His father was a successful businessman. Traditionally, Mujawars were caretakers of the Khatalwali Durgah in Belgaum. Being the eldest of six children, it was expected that he would join the family profession, but much against the wishes of his elders, he expressed his firm desire to studymedicine.

Brilliant in studies, he won the special scholarship while in primary school, which continued during his high school education. He excelled in the Inter Science exam conducted by the Bombay University and was awarded the Dr John Mohommad trophy. He also won the prestigious Sir Cowasji Jehangir scholarship. He topped the merit list in surgery at the Grant Medical College in 1938.

However, fate intervened and he could not do his PhD in surgery. He was posted as Medical Officer (MO) at Malegaon in 1941 where using his surgical skills, he even performed emergency caesarean operations.

During the Quit India Movement in 1942, Mujawar was posted as Senior MO at Yerwada prison. It was here that he came in contact with Patel and other Congress leaders, imprisoned for their involvement in the freedom struggle.

Recounting those days he says, "Patel was lodged in a small cell which had a table, chair and a bench. Once when he complained of abdominal pain, I managed to give him some relief. From then on, he developed a personal rapport with me."

Patel loved cornflakes, but the jail authorities could not oblige. Dr Mujawar arranged for a packet with the help of a British Major whose wife he was treating. "This further strengthened our bond," recalls the doctor.

According to Mujawar, Patel had no faith in the `white-skinned' doctors, who he felt were out to "finish him off at the first opportunity".

Patel complained that they had diagnosed his abdominal pain as colon cancer. But he was not going to be afraid or get cowed down by whatever ill predictions the Britishers made about his health, Patel told Mujawar.

After independence, during a visit to Bombay, the Deputy Prime Minister spoke about his association with Dr Mujawar to a friend and expressed his desire to meet him again. "Even I was very keen to meet Patel, but never got the opportunity," says Mujawar regretfully.

It was while holding the post of Deputy Superintendent at the mental hospital in Yerwada, that the Indian government sent him to England for training in psychiatry and neurology. Later, he was posted as the Superintendent of Mental Hospital, Nagpur, in 1958. He also served as the visiting psychiatrist to the Government Medical College and Hospital.

Dr Mujawar was the first doctor in India to start the insulin coma treatment and also the first to do transorbital leucotomy. He was one of the founder members of the Indian Psychiatric Society and the founder president of the Central India Psychiatric Society. Since his retirement, he has been practicing at his private clinic along with his son Salim, who has followed in his footsteps.

A strict disciplinarian, Mujawar sticks to his daily routine of walking, reading newspapers, books on psychiatry, watching TV and attending to his patients. He has become a bit quiet after the death of his wife in 1993, but ask him about his profession and he is only too eager to open up.

Mujawar, who has seen a good part of both pre and post-independence India, is still guarded in his statements while comparing the two. "Some things are pleasant now, others not, but times have changed a great deal," he says. Of course, one thing he is quite sure of is that the Britishers were more honest and dedicated to their work.

Now that he has entered his nineties, what does he look forward to? "Well, I have to catch up with a lot of reading and writing," he says trudging back to his patients.