Medicine And Ali Jan Sound Synonymous In The Kashmiri Context Writes Dr Javid Iqbal
Some called him Luqman, the age old medical legend. Many considered him the finest physician Kashmir has ever had; the ones who worked with him conceded the highest pedestal in the profession to him without dissent. The ones taught by him - I have had the privilege to be one of them - remember him for the lessons that remain imprinted in memory, four to five decades from the date his grace descended on the lecture halls of GMC. The tale and the trail of the legendary physician live on, and it is highly unlikely to fade away in foreseeable future! Prof (Dr) Ali Jan was born in an age of rapidly changing times. The period itself is significant, a period of transition, a period of change, and a period of high drama, as centuries without much of a change yielded to rapidly changing times. European renaissance had taken the occident to heights of glory, though some moral questions remained in the West. The orient, the East might have retained its chastity; quest for moral perfection, however, deprived it of material comforts, and it did not translate into taking educational strides. Western education was erroneously taken to be a polluting influence, hence resented. In such a scenario, to qualify for lower grades in any academic stream was a quality, few could attain. To attain the highest grade in the highly rated profession of medicine, few could dream of! It was given to the selected few to aim for and attain it. SMHS Hospital! Old hands much before GMC came into being in 1959 related with relish the tales of earlier years…of early fifties when Fazl-ur-Rehman the surgeon wielded his scalpel deftly and Dr. Jan solved medical mysteries. Diagnosis, the chief element of medicine came to him as easily as the breath of fresh air. What eluded others, he could read like the palm of his hand. By the time, GMC got established; Dr. Jan was already a legend. Profession apart, his social stock soared to dizzy heights. Healing touch apart, he had developed a rapport with high and the mighty, to an extent where even power corridors started having a feel of his grace. Recently I was wonderstruck when an old hand in politics related to me an episode, wherein some political bigwigs entrusted Prof. Jan with drafting an important political document. Mirza M. Afzal Beg, the constitutional expert, the old political hand of Kashmir who would normally do it was missing. Dr. Jan offered to try; later Beg could hardly believe that this could come from a doctor in medicine. Such was the diversity of Prof. Jan-the legend carries on, as more and more water flows down Vitasta. He is remembered, related, and renowned to the extent that medicine and Prof. Jan sound synonymous in the Kashmiri context. Precisely in that context, he could easily be placed in the galaxy of famous Kashmiris. Scores would attest to the fact in the nook and corner of the vale. With all the accolades, a controversy of sorts developed. Sangh Parivar leader Shama Prasad Mukerjee’s death in custody in fifties, while he was under Dr. Jan’s treatment has been adversely commented upon in some political narratives. Mukerjee had been booked for venturing into J&K State without a permit, as was the regulation in early fifties. It would be beyond Dr. Jan not to give his patient the best he could, Mukerjee or anyone else. To cast aspersions on the manner of treatment could only be the handiwork of a sick mind. Dr. Jan’s fair name was needlessly dragged into controversy, which hardly affected his high professional standing and societal rating. Professional standing! He was an epitome of excellence in clinical medicine, in an age when para-clinical diagnostic tools were limited to laboratory investigations and radiological techniques, few could afford. The modern imaging techniques—ultrasonographic [USG] computerized topographic [CT] magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] were unknown. With barely a stethoscope as the diagnostic tool he would pick up, what eluded others in clinical examination; often merely the history of the patient had him make an impression. Some attributed it to his sixth sense; others would relate it to his constant study. As his students, we would often see him engrossed in study in his SMHS hospital chambers. Societal Rating! My father Prof. Saif-ud-Din - an academic- was his batch mate in S.P.College and a life long friend, he predeceased him and Prof. Jan paid him glowing tributes on radio Kashmir. It remains a prized taped possession. I remember an occasion when my father cajoled him to visit a relation on death bed, as he was retiring after a tired day’s work. “Saif” protested Prof. Jan [as he would always call him] “didn’t I see him and tell you that it is terminal case of cancer with no hope for remedy”. “Yes, you did, that was in your clinic” retorted my father “but his sons say if you do not visit him before he dies in his home, people might accuse them of allowing their father to die without Dr. Jan seeing him”! Could there be a greater tribute to the genius, whose students we have the privilege of being! The road that takes us to the tertiary care center SKIMS bears his name—rightly so, as long as he lived he provided the ultimate care!
