Shantilal Chhaganlal Sheth (1912–1990) was an Indian pediatrician and the president of several medical institutions including the

Medical Council of India The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by National Medical Commission. The Council gran ...

, the apex body for matters related to medical administration and education in India. An honorary surgeon commander at the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

, he served as the honorary physician to the President of India. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servi ...

, in 1972, for his contributions to medicine.

Biography

Born on 29 October 1912 at

Palitana Pālītāṇā is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre ("shashwat tirth") for Jains. It is first of the two vegetarian cities in the world. Histo ...

, in the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

in a Jain family to Chhaganlal Narandas Sheth, an auditor, Sheth did his early education at Harris High School, Palitana and graduated in medicine from

Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals The Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai, is a public medical college, affiliated to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. Founded in 1845, it is one of the oldest institutions teaching medicine in South Asia. Its clinical affil ...

, Mumbai in 1937. After his residency at his alma mater, he secured a post graduate degree in pediatrics (DCH) from the

UCL Institute of Child Health The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH) is an academic department of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1946 and together ...

in 1947 and joined Topiwala National Medical College and B. Y. L. Nair Hospital in 1948 as an honorary director and the head of the pediatrics department where he worked for a while. Later, he also worked at Kasturba City Fever Hospital and the Bhatia General Hospital, both local hospitals in Mumbai. Sheth was involved with medical administration in India in various capacities. His efforts were reported in the formation of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics by the merger of the Indian Paediatric Society and the Association of Paediatricians of India in 1962, after which he served as the general secretary and the president of the academy. When the

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India. The Minister of Health and Family Welfar ...

constituted the ''Committee on Essential Drugs'' in 1966, he was nominated as a member though the tenure was short. He was the president of the

Indian Medical Association The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a national voluntary organisation of physicians in India. It was established in 1928 as the All India Medical Association, and was renamed the Indian Medical Association in 1930. It is a society registered ...

(IMA) during 1965–66 and served as the president of the

from 1965 to 1975. On the academic front, he published several medical papers in peer reviewed national and international journals. An honorary fellow of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was found ...

and the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, he was elected as a fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general mee ...

in 1965. He served as the honorary physician to the President of India and the

honored him with an honorary rank of the Surgeon Commander. The Government of India included him the Republic Day Honours list in 1972 for the civilian award of the

. Shantilal Sheth was married to Hiralaxmi and the couple had a son and a daughter. The son, Shirish Sheth, is a known gynecologist and medical academic while the daughter, Leena Dasani, is a chartered accountant. Sheth died on 24 January 1990, at the age of 77. The Academy of Pediatrics, Manipal, has instituted an annual oration, ''Dr. Shantilal C. Sheth Guest Oration'', in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheth, Shantilal C. Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine 1912 births 1990 deaths Indian paediatricians Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Medical Council of India Medical doctors from Gujarat 20th-century Indian medical doctors Alumni of University College London People from Bhavnagar district

Biography

See also

References