A. V. Baliga

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A. V. Baliga (1904–1964) was an Indian physician, educationist, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He helped found several colleges and hospitals in India and was active in public life.

He was born on 26 April 1904 in Kallianpur, British India. His early schooling was in Kallianpur, and because there was no high school there, he moved to Udupi for his education. In 1920, following Gandhi’s call to leave British-run schools, Baliga left school but was not readmitted. He joined the National School in Udupi, which was connected to Gujarat Vidyapith, and passed his matriculation there. The British authorities did not recognize this matriculation, so he could not join MBBS. Instead, he started the L.C.P.S. course at National Medical College, Bombay, financing his studies by giving private lessons. He finished first in his class, which drew the attention of G. V. Deshmukh of KEM Hospital, who made him house surgeon and physician.

Baliga went to the United Kingdom on a fellowship and had to pass the London matriculation to obtain LRCP, MRCS, and FRCS. He returned to India in 1933 and became an assistant honorary surgeon at KEM Hospital, Bombay, while also running a private practice. From then until 1964, he rose to high status as a surgeon both in India and abroad.

He helped establish several institutions. He played a key role in the Kanara College of Arts and Sciences in Kumta, which is now named Dr. A. V. Baliga College. He also helped start M. G. M. College in Udupi, Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, and an orthopedic children’s hospital in Haji Ali, Bombay. He was a founding member of the Association of Surgeons of India.

After India gained independence, Baliga was involved in the Goa liberation movement and helped shape India’s political relations with the Soviet Union. After the 1962 war with China, he undertook an unofficial diplomatic mission to China. He believed in a free, honest press and helped publish Patriot, a daily, and Link, a magazine to express independent views.

Nehru, India’s first prime minister, praised Baliga as a brilliant surgeon and a good man devoted to worthy causes. Baliga died in 1964 in Kallianpur.