Tekur Ramanath

Tekur Subramanyam (1930s)

Tekur Ramanath’s father Tekur Subramanyam who was a leading figure of the Indian Independence Movement and a prominent functionary of the congress party, both at state and national levels.[10][11]  Tekur Subramanyam was imprisoned four times at the height of the Freedom Movement.[12] He was in close correspondence with Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and C. Rajagopalachari.[13][14] Between 1937 – 1939, when C. Rajagopalachari was the first Premier of the Madras Presidency from Congress party, Tekur Subramanyam was personally chosen to be his secretary. In the post-independence period, Tekur Subramanyam was Parliamentary Secretary for the Congress party in 1956 and private secretary for political affairs to then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru between 1957 – 58.[15] Over three terms in 1952, 1957 and then in 1962, Tekur Subramanyam was an elected representative from the Bellary district in Karnataka to the lower house of the Indian Parliament (Loka Sabha).[16] Incidentally, Tekur Subramanyam’s younger brother Tekur Krishnamurthy (1902 – 1989) was a senior journalist for the Indian daily ‘The Hindu’ for nearly three decades and was the founding secretary of Bellary chapter of Red Cross Society in 1934. Tekur Krishnamurthy was also involved in the Indian Independence Movement apart from heading a High School Board in Alur, Karnataka.

Tekur Ramanath was born to parents Tekur Subramanyam and mother Tekur Meenakshamma.[17] His early childhood and school education were at schools across Bellary. His primary education was completed at Maddikeri Bheemaiah School, Gandhinagar (1950 – 55) and then at Wardlaw High School from 1956 – 1958 (for the S. S. L. C. qualification). Incidentally, this prestigious High School (Wardlaw High School) was established in 1845 and was the same school which educated Tekur Ramanath’s father, grand-father and his brother. After high school, Ramanath had his pre-university education at Veerasaiva college (1959) before moving to Bangalore to pursue his medical education. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine in 1966 and then his M. D. in 1973 under the tutelage of eminent physicians like Dr. B. K. Srinivas Murthy[18] and Dr. M. Maiya at Bangalore Medical College (BMC).

Letter from President of India acknowledging Tekur Subramanyam's contribution to the Indian Independence Movement

Tekur Ramanath was the managing committee member between 2001 – 04 for the Karnataka State Red Cross Society. As member of the Central Jail Inmates Screening Committee, Dr. Ramanath was instrumental in evolving better rehabilitation guidelines for prison inmates. He has organised several state and national level scientific conferences as chairman and president of the Indian Medical Association. These symposiums have helped the younger generation of physicians in India in keeping themselves abreast of recent advances in Medicine.

Tekur Ramanath is a distinguished Fellow of the Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine (1999) and a Fellow of College of Chest Physicians (1998). He is a recipient of the prestigious Bhargava Best Teacher Award in 1989 for his nearly four decades of devotion to the cause of Medical Education in India.  The Association of Physicians of India (Karnataka Chapter) honoured him in 2019 for his lifetime contribution to the field of Medicine. He is remembered by generations of his students, many who are leading physicians in their own fields across the world.