Amitabh Mitra
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Amitabh Mitra is an Indian-born South African physician, poet and artist.


Education and career

Mitra studied medicine and did postgraduate studies in
orthopaedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...
at the Gajara Raja Medical College,
Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...
, India. He further specialised in
aerospace medicine Aviation medicine, also called flight medicine or aerospace medicine, is a preventive medicine, preventive or occupational medicine in which the patients/subjects are pilots, aircrews, or astronauts. The specialty strives to treat or prevent cond ...
and
family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is ...
at the
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
, South Africa. A practitioner of
orthopaedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...
and
trauma surgery Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often f ...
, currently working at the Accident and Emergency unit of Cecilia Makiwane Hospital,
Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in So ...
, South Africa, he has published twelve volumes of poetry and exhibited his poetry art. He represented South Africa at the World Literature Festival in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
2008. Amitabh Mitra is listed in 78 Notable Alumni of
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
. On 30 November 2022, Amitabh Mitra received the South African Police Service Provincial Commissioner's Ambassador Award Eastern Cape Excellence Awards at Port Elizabeth. Amitabh Mitra received the Discovery Foundation Award for research in the rural category in 2017. His scholarship amounted to R 100,000 for his research work titled 'Epidemiology of Interpersonal Violence at a regional hospital Emergency Unit in the Eastern Cape South Africa'. Recently, he asked to make the Cecilia Makiwane hospital a heritage site taking into consideration that the hospital was named after Cecilia Makiwane, the first black nurse to have been registered in apartheid South Africa and is situated in the second biggest black township of
Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in So ...
. The Daily Dispatch premier newspaper of Eastern Cape delved into his thirty years of challenging work in trauma, violence and gender based sexual offenses. It showcased his work on visual arts too. The legacy of Cecilia Makiwane continues to attract doctors and nurses from far corners of the globe. He was honoured on 30 June 2024 at Johannesburg by the Bengali Association of South Africa in presence of the Indian High Commissioner for his continuous work of more than thirty years in Mdantsane. A special mention was made of his contribution to Poetry and Visual Art during this period. He narrated his work with the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
in 1979 to 1983 with
Moosa Moolla Moosa Moolla OLS (12 June 1934 – 25 March 2023) was an Indian South African activist and diplomat. A member of the African National Congress, Moolla was arrested and eventually found not guilty in the 1956 Treason Trial. In 1961, he was a ...
, Chief Representative of the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
to India at Delhi On the 2nd February 2025, the Department of Orthopaedics held a National Congress of Reunion of all specialist doctors who passed out of JA Group of Hospital, Gwalior, India. Dr Amitabh Mitra was declared as the Star of the Orthopaedic Department.


As a forensic expert

Mitra headed the Thuthuzela Department for aiding and examining, collecting evidence from victims of rape and sexual assaults. Such centres form a chain of twenty-four-hour stand-alone places throughout South Africa assisted by police personnel, national persecution authority and forensic experts. Mitra created a national statistic of two thousand eight hundred life sentences through a fast track court. The Thutuzela system has been accepted by many African and South Asian countries. Mitra reiterates that such vital centres should not be attached to the Department of Emergency Medicine but kept as a separate entity for quicker and better functioning. The Thuthuzela Centres for assisting victims of Rape and Sexual Assaults have gone in a crisis mode after President Donald Trump cutting of the USAID in South Africa. The stand alone 24 hour examination centres cannot now work. Dr Mitra has mentioned that the counsellors who were being paid through USAID, now are facing unemployment


As a surgeon

Mitra's work in trauma surgery took him to
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
, where he worked at high-altitude hospitals of Chukha, Tsimalakha, Chimakothi and
Thimphu Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replac ...
under severe conditions. During these times he wrote poems about Bhutan, some of which were translated into French. He wrote about his adventures in his search for the utopian Shangri La.
Khushwant Singh Khushwant Singh FKC (born Khushal Singh, 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write '' Train to Pakistan'' in 1956 ( ...
, the former editor of ''
The Illustrated Weekly of India ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' was an English-language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 (as ''Times of India'' Weekly Edition; later renamed as ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in 1923) and ceased ...
'' visited him to his hospital in Bhutan and wrote about him in his weekly columns, "With Malice Towards One and All" in the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' during the 1980s. Mitra later went to
Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...
, where he joined as an orthopaedic surgeon at Along. He joined as an orthopaedic surgeon at
Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...
,
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
, in 1993. He lived in Bulawayo's Mzilikazi township and narrated his experiences during the time of political turmoil. His close interest in Sports Medicine have assisted boxers in Mdantsane. Mdantsane, the second biggest black township is known for producing world boxing champions. Among them is
Zolani Tete Zolani Tete (born 8 March 1988) is a South African professional boxer. He is a former two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior-bantamweight title from 2014 to 2015 and the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019. Early life and ...
who held the WBO Bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019. Mitra is the Medical Advisor and Surgeon to
Zolani Tete Zolani Tete (born 8 March 1988) is a South African professional boxer. He is a former two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior-bantamweight title from 2014 to 2015 and the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019. Early life and ...
and gave him the medical clearance needed to fight the Commonwealth Championship in UK March 2022.


As an artist

His present art is about the black township of
Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in So ...
, where he works at the
Cecilia Makiwane Hospital Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) is a large, provincial, government-funded district general hospital situated in the Mdantsane township near East London, Eastern Cape in South Africa. It is a tertiary teaching hospital and forms part of the East L ...
. ''Mdantsane Breathing'' is his book on the art and poetry of Mdantsane. On 15 December 2018, Mitra received the Provincial Eastern Cape Minister of Art and Culture's Special Award in the category of Fine Arts for his continued dedication to South African Arts. Mitra gifted the charcoal portrait done by him of
Neil Aggett Neil Aggett (6 October 1953 – 5 February 1982) was a Kenyan and South African doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 day ...
on 21 March 2019 at the 13th Annual Neil Aggett Memorial Lecture at Kingswood College, Grahamstown. The
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
honours and commemorates woman heroes of anti-apartheid struggle which includes Cecilia Makiwane. A charcoal portrait of Cecilia Makiwane done by Mitra was exhibited at the Molly Blackburn Hall, University of Cape Town campus, on 19 September 2019. Mitra lectures on aesthetic values of art in medicine and pushes actively to add art as a subject in the graduate curriculum of medicine and surgery in universities worldwide. He enjoys taking junior medical doctors on a tour to local galleries and allows a vibrant conversation between them and fellow artists. His core interests are on burnt out Accident and Emergency doctors and rejuvenating them through art. Mitra in an interview to Medbrief Africa mentioned, "Unfortunately, nobody's yet quantified the number of emergency healthcare workers who've succumbed to or suffered from burnout, but it's serious and way overdue -particularly among our youngsters." The 2021 National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa honoured Mitra by making a short film on his visual art and reasons for fusing Arts with Medicine.


As a poet

He translated the
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
poetry of the late Prabhatkiran Bose, well known children's author in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
during the 1950s. Mitra's art and poetry on the township of Mdantsane, South Africa, was exhibited at the 2011 International Symposium for Poetry and Medicine and
Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine was founded in 2009 by Donald Singer and Michael Hulse. The founders "wished to draw together national and international perspectives on three major historical and contemporary themes uniting the dis ...
Awards on Saturday, 7 May 2011, entitled ''Poems from Cecilia Makiwane Hospital''. ''Splinters of a Mirage Dawn, An Anthology of Migrant Poetry of South Africa'' (co-edited with
Naomi Nkealah Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...
) was short listed for the National Humanities and Social Sciences Award, South Africa, 2016. Mitra's latest poetry book, ''Anarchy and the Sea'' encompassing COVID-19 feelings, violence and trauma he encounters in Emergency Medicine and impasto seascapes of violent storms he paints are reflected in this coffee table book. This book will be launched in the prestigious National Art Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa on 14 July 2021. Three of Amitabh Mitra's Poetry Films were selected and screened on 12 October 2021 at
Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It was founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the Univ ...
and
Poetry Africa Poetry Africa is an international poetry festival held annually in Durban, South Africa. More than twenty poets, predominantly from South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent, participate in the 7- to 10-day Poetry Africa, an international ...
followed by a discussion. Visualizing Poetry: Illuminating the Words Amitabh Mitra was selected, and he performed at the Madibaland @ Bookbedonnerd World Literary Festival on 3 November 2022 09 am onwards Amitabh Mitra and Zena Velloo John edited a book of poems titled, Anthology of Women Poets of India and South Africa, Feminism, Reflections in Contemporary Politics. The book was launched at the Jaipur Literature and Arts Conclave, Gwalior, India on 19 December 2022. Amitabh Mitra was chosen for the first time as an English Poet for an award that was bestowed on him in the memory of Indian National People's Poet, Mukut Bihari Saroj at Gwalior on the 24th December 2022. This award has been given in the past to Hindi young poets with a left inclination. Amitabh Mitra and Zena Velloo John has edited a book titled Writings of South Africans of Indian Origin. It gives us a peep in the indenture of Indians brought by a ship named Umalazi from the coasts of Madras to Sugar cane Plantations of Kwa Zulu Natal to work forcibly. The Indenture number is tattooed on the forearms of these Indian Tamil labourers. Professor Dr Shweta Sahay wrote the first review mentioning similarities in writings of
V.S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienatio ...
and
Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''


Artistic influences

A major section of Mitra's work on art and poetry is devoted to
Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...
, where he grew up. His close friendship with the Maratha royal families resulted in his drawing a series of watercolour involving poetry which he exhibited in South Africa and India. ''A Slow Train to Gwalior'' is a coffee-table book of his art and poetry; a compact disc of his recitation with a backdrop of African traditional music was released by the Premier of Eastern Cape, Nosimo Balindlela, and a short documentary film on his Gwalior poetry was shown at the
Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
National Arts Festival The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Makhanda, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers. The ...
in 2009. In 2007 he was invited by the
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...
, New Delhi, where he presented his work to a poetry-loving audience.


In politics

Amitabh Mitra was the National Secretary General of South African Foreign Qualified Doctor's Association, consisting of 3,800 foreign qualified specialists and doctors who after the fusion of former Bantustans into the new republic of South Africa were not given due recognition. Mitra fought a legal battle for the rightful acceptance and registration they deserved. Such doctors and their families suffered a professional and social trauma and most of them decided to leave for the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada where they were welcomed and given the dignity they deserved. The Mail and Guardian, South Africa's prominent newspaper mentioned that in spite of highly qualified doctors remaining within the country. Out of the three thousand eight hundred foreign qualified doctors in 1996, today only 50 of such doctors remain in South Africa, still not recognized and on a limited registration. In the present Covid Pandemic, the Government has showed a step child treatment, registering Cuban Doctors within 72 hours as compared to years and beyond for Foreign Qualified Doctors. From 2022 onwards, medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists having passed out from medical schools were not absorbed in government run hospitals. They give the reason that money has been spent during the Covid crisis and they only have unfunded posts. There are close to 2000 doctors who are facing now unemployment. Dr Aron Motsoaldi, the national minister of health has commented there is no guarantee given for absorption of all doctors in the public funded hospitals.


Bibliography


Poetry

*''Bithika'' – 1978 *''Ritual Silences'' – 1980 *''A Slow Train to
Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...
'' – 2009 *''Leaping the Lilac Sun'' – 2009 *''Mdantsane Breathing'' – 2010 *''Poems for Haiti, A South African Anthology'' (Foreword by Professor Peter Horn) – 2010 *''Unbreaking the Rainbow, Voices of Protest from New South Africa'' (Foreword by
Ela Gandhi Ela Gandhi (born 1 July 1940), is a South African peace activist and former politician. She served as a Member of Parliament in South Africa from 1994 to 2004, where she aligned with the African National Congress (ANC) party representing the Ph ...
) – 2012 *''Splinters of a Mirage Dawn, Anthology of Migrant Poetry from South Africa'' (co-edited with
Naomi Nkealah Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...
) (Art by
Arpana Caur Arpana Caur is an Indian contemporary painter and graphic artist. Caur exhibits dynamism and deep insight in her depictions of women's conditions in modern India. A self-taught artist, Caur's portrayals of women in urban environments reflect h ...
) – 2013 *''Stranger than a Sun, Poems and Drawings of Gwalior'' – 2015 *''Trainstorm, An Anthology of Alternative Train Poetry'' – 2016 *''Anarchy and the Sea, (Poems and Seascapes of Amitabh Mitra) – 2021 *''Anthology of Women Poets of India and South Africa ''(co-edited with Zena Velloo John ) – 2022 *''Writings of South Africans of Indian Origin''(Edited by Amitabh Mitra and Zena Velloo John) - 7 May 2025


Editor

*''A Hudson View'', A Quarterly Print Poetry Journal *''Inyathi'', A Journal on South African Arts


Compact disc of poetry and music

*''A Slow Train to Gwalior'' – 2007


Appearances in the following poetry Anthologies

* ''Travelogue : The Grand Indian Express'' (2018) ed. by Anand Kumar and published by Authorspress, New Delhi


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Amitabh 20th-century Bengali poets 20th-century South African male writers 20th-century South African poets 21st-century Bengali poets 21st-century South African male writers 21st-century South African poets Bengali male poets English-language poets from India Jiwaji University alumni Living people People from Gwalior Place of birth missing (living people) South African people of Indian descent University of Pretoria alumni 1955 births