Who is Dr Harish Bhalla
Dr Harish Bhalla
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A practicing Physician who is Best known as the “Cultural Czar of Delhi”
A Medico with a Passion for Art, Culture, Music, and Theatre with a Penchant for Social Crusades seems what Dr Harish Bhalla can be best described in a single Line!
Dr Harish Bhalla, a Physician and De-Addiction expert is a Fascinating blend of Natural Progression and Conscious design. No Wonder he has left an indelible mark across different spheres of Life; through his compelling presence in the Capital of India as a Patron of Indian Art, Culture and Heritage. His myriad of passionate interests, range from organizing thought provoking seminars, leading constructive initiatives in the field of social , health, development, revival .restoration and promotion of Indian Art, Culture & Traditions
He Pioneered the revival of the ‘Ganga Jamani Tehzeeb’ – which enkindles a spirit of Brotherhood between Hindu’s and Muslims in India. He has been associated with some of the most prestigious Institutions like International Melody Foundation in the promotion of Indian Arts & Crafts, Taditional Art, Folklore, Classical Music and Medieval Performing and Visual Arts.
Dr Harish Bhalla is in Love with his Alma Mater MGM Medical College Indore and under his stewardship he started MGM Alumni Global Foundation uniting all Ex Students and Teachers of MGM Indore under one Umbrella with Indore Medicos Club of Delhi in 1975.
In the same way he united people of Malwa & Madhya Pradesh through Madhya Pradesh Foundation and Malwa Mitra Mandal with a large population actively participating in the Socio Cultural Activities and Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Madhya Pradesh & Malwa in particular.
By Founding International Melody Foundation with his talented sister Shubha Mudgal, Dr Harish Bhalla opened the gates and Avenues to those Unsung Heroes and Talents who had No God Fathers in the Capital of India. IMF promoted many Talents through this vibrant body and honored many Artists specially the Forgotten ones of Golden Era !
He is an incisive and rigorous executer of Social Health Projects in the field of Preventive Medicine, Substance Abuse, Rural Healthcare. His contribution through Madhya Pradesh Foundation in Rahat – Tribal Healthcare Camps in the hinterland of Madhya Pradesh in Collobriation with the International Rotary Mission has been applauded and is quoted as exemplary pro-active social responsibility of a Practicing Physician;- an initiativr which has been endorsed internationally and is Mentioned in World Record Books.
His crusade against the scrounge of tobacco consumption in India has been noteworthy; his fight against toxicity in tobacco both in smokeless as well as smoked in India empowered thousands of Youth to give up the habit and lead a tobacco free life. He also has won Public interest Litigations on issues such as Corruption in the Medical Council of India, Reduction of Tobacco Toxicity and State of Blind Schools In India which has Canonized him as a Role Model for the younger generation.
His excellent Multi-Disciplinary Knowledge and Multi-Lingual Communication Skills make him a Presenter, Compeer, Actor, Anchor Par Excellence. He is credited to have Anchored – Andhi Galiyan – The First ever TV program on drug abuse in South Asia and got him fame including a BBC Documentary and media coverage far and wide including New York Times and News Week. He is passionate about his role models – foremost his father Late Shri A L Bhalla,a Pioneer Sugar Technologist of the Country trained by Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar & who instilled in him the values of hard work, knowledge dominion, discipline, family values and love for music. His earliest achievement was as a teenager, when he was adjudged to be the Best Actor of his School when he performed before First PM of Country Pandit Nehru. He was Adjusted the Best NCC Cadet of Madhya Pradesh in 1966 while he was in College.
His second role model was Dr K N Katju, a Tue Son of the soil of Jaora – Madhya Pradesh who inspired humility by his actions thereby ennobling Dr Bhalla’s childhood experiences that he remembers with a deep sense of nostalgia even today. His tribute to his Hero is manifested by Instituting Annual Memorial Lectures in memory of Dr K N Katju, since his birth centenary in 1987 which have made Dr KN Katju Immortal.
He has various Awards and Accolades to his credit viz. –
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Pandit Padmashri P V Gadgil Award, Lokmat Group, 2013
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Project Rahat, Mega Healthcare Camp. Rotary Mission awaed, 2011
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Indore Press Club, 2012: Life Time achievement Award & Role of Media in Contemporary Times.
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Moksh Award– Contribution to make Youth Tobacco Free, Amritsar, Punjab
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Jaora Civic Reception, Felicitation for outstanding contribution to Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation.
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All Round Best Actor of MGM Indore in 1970
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Sakha Award for his Life time Contribution to Revival of Art & Culture in 2013
He takes pride in being referred to as the Cultural Czar & Brand Ambassador of Madhya Pradesh and motivates people to partner towards making MP the most Progressive State in the country. His love for his Birth Place – Jaora, his Birth state – MP and his Karma Bhumi – Delhi are alike and by making a All India Society THE DIALOGUE through which he has decided to Devote his Rest of the Life for fulfilling the Dream of having a forum where regular Dialogues keep taking palce for the betterment of Nation & giving back to the Nation in any humble form !
Yes this multi-faceted personality is indeed the epitome of Humility and Selflessness.
His irrepressible zeal to learn and excel is as luminous as his Zest for Life!
Dr Harish Bhalla was born in Jaora A Muslim Princely State in Malwa Central India Distt Ratlam . His father Mr AL Bhalla was the pioneer of Sugar Industry in India who after graduating & with a Masters Degree in Chemistry from prestigious Govt College Lahore was sent by his teacher Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar to help the Industrilist GD Birla to establish Sugar factories in India !
Dr Harish Bhalla was a God Gifted talented child good in studies good in sports good in extra curricular activities from his school day ! The First Big exposure he got when he along with few other children was selected to perform a dance before then young Prime Minister of India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru who visted Jaora in 1954 .He didn’t look back after that and started participating regularly in Dramas & Dance competitions of School and winning prizes along with standing First in studies and class also !
He won in the elections as the Secretary Social Welfare while he was in the 9th & 10th Class and did excellent Social work with his school mates as the leader. He joined NCC Junior Div the same time and became the Sergeant and lead the School NCC Division.& Became Best NCC Cadet & He was awarded the Best Actor prize in School .
He joined College and was selected to represent Madhya Pradesh State in Republic Day Parade NCC Contingent in New Delhi where he was adjusted the Best NCC Cadet of Madhya Pradesh in 1966
Harish Bhalla joined One of the oldest Medical Schools of the country MGM Medical College Indore in 1966 and in the very First Year He was awarded the Best Comedian Award for his Stand Up Comedy Show which was a style of stage performance !
He kept winning the awards in Dramatics year by year and was named All Round Best Actor of MGM Medical College Indore in 1971
After graduating MBBS he moved to Delhi and joined GB Pant Hospital of Maulana Azad Medical College New Delhi . By Choice He decided to join Dept of Psychiatry with a Goal and with a Mission in his mind, The Drug Problem had entered the country and while studying in Indore Medical College Dr Harish Bhalla had seen his college and Hostel Friends getting hooked to Drugs like Mandrx etc and had decided that he will explore this world of addiction & find out the causes and remedies.
To his good fortune he found a supporting boss in GB Pant Hospital who gave him full freedom to work & experiment on this unexplored subject of Addictions ! Thus Dr Bhalla by default became one of the earliest De - Addition Expert in the country. He started treating Heroine addicts. He completed his Research project on Tobacco and peripheral vascular diseases of ICMR under the guidance of Prof Dr Ramesh Nigam of MA Medical College New Delhi.
From 1975 to 1977 Dr Harish Bhalla gave his Services to the Slum Dwellers who were uprooted by demolitions and Resettled in Periphery of Delhi through an Internationally UN Funded NGO Lok Kalyan Parishad .
Dr Bhalla started the First of its kind & Unique De Addiction Centre in Central Delhi Reghar Pura Karol Bagh touching Paharganj Area where the problem of Addiction to Drugs & Alcohol was maximum due to Hippies & Sansies The Criminal Tribes living in the area. The same year due to Hooch 200 people became Blind and hundreds of them died and Dr Bhalla put his best efforts to rescue and help the diseased ones & decided to create awareness on this issue.
He was noticed by Media and India Today Magazine did a storey on his work which made him known in public at large & Media World and all the magazines and News papers started writing and highlighting the problem of Drug Addiction in Delhi and North India.
Apart from this pioneering work Harish Bhalla continued his love for Culture theatre Music and Art & was picked up by Theatre Panorama Director Mr Surendra Mathur and they made a film of a popular Punjabi Drama “Chari Jawani Budhe Nu” with the Patronage of well known Director Mr FC Mehra
Apart from this he continued organizing Poetry & Music Programmes in MA Medical College with Dr Nikhil Kaushik & Dr Anil Chaturvedi. Dr Nikhil Kaushik later on settled in UK and became a Film Maker and invited Dr Harish Bhalla to act in his feature film ‘Bhavishya The Future ‘ in which Dr Bhalla had a lead role in the film which did very well in UK & USA.Healso kept participating in Theatre & organizing Poetry & Music Programmes of well known poets !
Dr Bhalla had a great love for his alma mater MGM Medical College Indore and decided to establish the alumini association of old students of KEM School & MGM Medical College Indore. In 1975 the First Meeting took place in Moti Mahal Restaurant of Delhi in which around 50 old students joined from the batches of 1929 admission to 1066 and it has become a strong body of 500 Indore Medicos Club of Delhi and it has become an MGM international alumini association having branches in UK , USA & Major Cities of India. Dr Bhalla has a dream project of organizing the World Congress of MGM Indore Medicos International at Delhi in near Future.
People of Malwa started complaining to Dr Bhalla that why you limit your socio cultural activities only in Indore Medicos and why not enlarge it ? so Dr Bhalla decided to form MALWA MITRA MANDAL A forum of people of Malwa Region of MP with focus on revival preservation and projection of Malwa Culture in Delhi , He started organizing program of Ethnic food Festivals with Folk Music of Malwa in the premises of Malwi Leaders like RK Malviya and Dr SN Jatiya. This became a great movement and a forum which united all the Malvies of Capital under one roof feeling pride of their heritage and people of capital started recognizing Malwa and MP otherwise considered a backward tribal state
Thus Dr Bhalla became the face of Malwa in Delhi .At the same time the movement for smaller states was going on which Dr Bhalla joined for the creation of Malwa as State.
After Chattisgarh was carved out of MP as a separate state Dr Harish Bhalla along with his dear Advocate friend Mr Vivek Tankha decided to form Madhya Pradesh Foundation with all the regions like Malwa Madhya Bharat Vindhya Pradesh Bundelkhand Mahakoshal as its Part. This body has become the face of MP in the country. It has organized major national level programmes on various burning issues with results like A debate on Suicide of Farmers by Mr P Sai Nath of Hindu not only got him Meggassey Award but a big relief to the farmers of India while a programme on Why Indian Youth is not joining Armed Forces brought many changes in the lolicy of recruitment of youth in armed forces. Mr Mukesh Ambani was invited to initiate a debate on CSR in India which ultimately became a Law in India. Exposure of Vypam Scam in MP Medical Education exposed the mafia and ultimately CB took over the investigations.
Dr Harish Bhalla became well known in the country by his fight against the corruption in Medical Council of India. He was the man behind the exposure of Corruption in Vyapam in MP Medical Colleges.
In 1986 Dr Harish Bhalla was invited by Doordarshan to conduct an awareness programme on Drug Addiction named ANDHI GALYAN . This was the First kind of Awareness campaign in South Asia in Public Pvt Partnership mode.It was given the prime time in the Interval of the feature film shown on every Sundays and its TRP touched the First Ten Programmes of India, It created a lot of awareness ih the Youth against Drug Addiction and the Rate of Addiction went drastically down after the telecasting of this programme. The Best episode of Andhi Galiyan was the Exppsure of Drug Mafia Nexus in Tihar Jian.
Dr Harish Bhalla started a Tabaloid NASHA MUKTI TIMES and successfully edited & published it for few years.
He formed a Body named Fakhre Kashmir Committee to discuss the Kashmir issues and organuised various programmes under this banner with Dr Farooqh Abdullah as its Patron.
He formed a National Society THE DIALOGUE tohave frank and faor discussions on National & International issues.
He decided to have a ASHRAM kind of Rehalb Centre in the vicinity of Delhi & in remote areas of MP and purchased land fpr the same.for his NGO AVINASH
His NGO AVINASH was sanctioned project on AIDS & DRUKEN DRIVING Awareness
Dr Harish Bhalla was felicteted by the Muncipal Corporations of Jaora & Yeotmal for his Social Service.
He is regularly invited by the news channels to give his views on various Socio Medical issues of National & International Interests.
Dr Harish Bhalla’s Major Contribution in the Medical Field
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Pioneer in the field of staring the treatment of Drug Addiction (De Tox) in late seventies when there was no treatment & guidelines available in the country on this subject
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Every Year Organizing major Mega Health Camps through his Madhya Pradesh Foundation Trust in association with Rotary International & Govt of MP in the Tribal Districts of MP & by now 8 such health camps having a footfall of 50 Thousand plus patients every year .
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As a single indidual Dr seen more than 1 lakh patients suffering with the problem of Addiction to Drugs & Alcohol in these 40 years of practice.
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Organizing free health camps twice a year in Delhi for different ailments through his Dr Kusum foundation
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Very actively fighting the menance of TB eradication since last 40 years
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Worked in the resettlement colonis of capital for few years through charitable organization Lok Kalyan Parishad.
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Organized many seminars & conferences on Sexual Health in India through his body National Association of Sexology & creating awareness & treating patients of Sexual Disorders.
Dr Harish Bhalla /JAORA HOUSE , 58 Prasad Nagar Phase -1 New Delhi 110005 India
www.drharishbhalla.com, email : drharishbhalla@gmail.com, drbhallaharish@gmail.com
Tel: +91 8470046057, +91 8920195100,01125713381, 01125735803
26/07/2020