Meet Dr KS Charak
Dr Charak, head of surgery department of the Indian Spinal Institute has set an example for all the doctors of Jammu and the entire nation. Let’s find out more about the man and his mission:
Dr Charak has opened a charitable hostpital in his native village. This might not sound extraordinary, but what if we tell you that the man himself lives in rented accommodation and that the hospital has been built on his ancestral land!
With the money he spent on raising this hospital, he could easily afford himself a posh home; instead, he chose to do charity. His family has owned lands since the times of the kings. Most of Dr. Charak’s paternal ancestors and family members have served in the Indian Army.
His hospital is equipped with latest equipment required for latest treatment for the needy.
Dr Charak spent his childhood and completed his matric from village Naugran of tehsil Bishnah. Later, he obtained his basic medical qualification (MBBS) from Delhi University in 1972. In 1977, he acquired a specialization (MS) in surgery, again from Delhi University. He taught Anatomy for some nine months (1977-78) in Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi before proceeding to the UK in April 1978, where he qualified for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS). In May 1980, he returned to Delhi from the UK, and has mostly remained in Delhi since then. In 2002, Dr. Charak completed an additional WHO Fellowship in Onco-surgery.
Dr. Charak joined the ESI Corporation in March 1988 as a specialist and head of the department of surgery in the ESI Hospital, Jhilmil. In July 2007, he was transferred to another ESI hospital in Delhi, a 600-bed facility, to head the surgery department. He retired from ESI Corporation on October 31, 2012.
After retiring as HoD of the Indian Spinal Institute he came back to repay the debt of his motherland. Now he treats the needy and the poor, free-of-cost, with the help of other top doctors in his charitable hospital.
Dr. Charak says that he feels there is some more life left to achieve a little more, God-willing. Dr. Charak’s additional hobbies have included photography, chess and mountaineering. Chess and mountaineering consumed a lot of his time and energy at one time, but these have been now taken over by a more benevolent humanitarian work dedicated to the service of the ailing and the needy.
Another major aspect of Dr Charak’s life is his dedication towards astrology and has remained his hobby since childhood. On the way, he wrote many books and got some official qualifications and titles; there were also a couple of Lifetime Achievement Awards in the year 2012.