Doctor, Poet, Visionary

Daljit Singh was one of those rare personalities who, despite possessing strong views, had no adversaries in life. He enjoyed the respect of the broadest possible spectrum of social life, from the President of India to the most ordinary man on the street, and from rightist political streams to extreme leftist ones as well. Born on 11 October 1934 in Amritsar, he lived most of his life in the city, until he breathed his last on 27 December 2017.

His father, Sahib Singh, was a respected scholar of Gurbani, and his interpretations are considered most authentic in academic and religious circles. The compassionate humanism of Gurbani which was nurtured at home, turned Singh into a doctor who served humanity in the best of terms. After becoming an ophthalmo­logist, he served for 23 years in government medical colleges at Amritsar and Patiala, before opening the Dr Daljit Singh Eye Hospital at Amritsar, which has treated many patients over the years. Singh was a pioneer in the surgery of cataract extraction and intraocular lens (IOL) implants. The first IOL implant surgery in India was carried out by Singh in 1976. He continued with this technique even when most eye surgeons shifted to outer lenses. He was specialist doctor to the former President of India, Giani Zail Singh, and earned many awards, including the Dr B C Roy award in 1994. He was awarded the Padma Shri earlier, in 1987.