K. B. Desai (3 September 1897 – 5 November 1979) was an Indian medical doctor, a local leader of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

from

Navsari Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is between Surat and Mumbai. It is a twin city of Surat, 37 km to the north. At the 2011 Census of Ind ...

during the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, and a social reformer. He was a

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

Freedom struggle

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

was imprisoned in the wake of the

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

in 1930. Desai acted as a spokesperson for

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

, organizing the local police as a strategy to help release Patel. He was imprisoned on multiple occasions for his role in the freedom struggle.

President of Navsari Municipal Council

After independence in 1947, he served as President of Navsari Municipal Council (Nagarpalika Pramukh).

Medical career

Desai graduated with an M.B.B.S. from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(Mumbai) in 1922. He obtained further medical training from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Desai provided surgical, obstetric, dental and non-surgical care. He built and ran K. B. Desai Hospital in Navsari.

Social reform

Desai was actively involved in social reform movements. He opposed the caste system, admitting patients of all castes to his hospital and serving them food from a single kitchen using one set of utensils.{{Cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-To8AAAAMAAJ , title=Jīvana Tathā Saṃskr̥ti: Śrī Paṃ. Ānandapriya Abhinandana-grantha , date=1976 , publisher=Śrī. Paṃ. Ānandapriya Abhinandana Grantha Samiti , language=hi

References

Indian independence activists from Gujarat 1897 births 1979 deaths Medical doctors from Gujarat Anti-caste activists Gujarati people