Dr Daljit Singh passes away at 83

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 27

Acclaimed ophthalmologist Dr Daljit Singh passed away this morning after remaining in deep coma for seven days. He was 83. Known for introducing intraocular lens implants in India in 1976 and hence revolutionising the eye care treatment, Dr Singh had received Padam Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 1987.

Obituary: A visionary eye surgeon

A recipient of Dr BC Roy Award, Dr Singh is credited with isolating three new genes that cause congenital cataract. The project was completed in collaboration with Guru Nanak Dev University. He also invented “plasma scalpel” for glaucoma and cataract surgery.

Dr Singh served as an honorary surgeon to President Giani Zail Singh. Despite the achievements, Dr Singh continued to stay in the holy city and made efforts to promote Amritsar on international ophthalmology map.

Hundreds of patients from outside of Punjab, especially from J&K, visited Dr Daljit Eye Hospital every day. Dr Singh had been running free OPD services for the underprivileged at his hospital for the past 32 years every Thursday. He would also be known for cost-effective eye care treatment, which he made possible by manufacturing lenses in country after procuring a machine from the US.

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A humane and caring person, Dr Singh remained forthright, no matter how powerful or influential the adversary. And due to this trait, Dr Singh wasn’t too successful in politics. He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on Aam Aadmi Party ticket against Capt Amarinder Singh and Arun Jaitley. However, he parted ways with AAP soon.

Having written over a dozen of books on ophthalmology, Dr Singh also penned two poetry and three anthologies of essays: “Sach di Bhal Vich” (In search of truth), “Dooja Passa”(The other side) and “Badi di Jarh” (The root of evil) to educate rural masses about national and international issues.