Indian J Gastroenterol (January–February 2015) 34(1):1–2 DOI 10.1007/s12664-014-0517-4
PRESIDENTIAL PROFILE
General Anil Chandra Anand, incoming President, Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2014- 2015 Subrat K. Acharya
Published online: 7 March 2015 # Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2015
General Anil C Anand takes over as the President of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) this year. It is not only his academic brilliance that has bestowed this coveted and eminent position to him, but also his vast experience, exemplary vision with wisdom, brilliant ideas in heralding progress and attributes of building outstanding team, as well as his effortless abilities to face hurdles in achieving goals has resulted in making him the leader that the ISG needed at this crucial S. K. Acharya (*) Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India e-mail: [email protected]
time of knowledge explosion in the field of gastroenterology and liver diseases. I have known General Anand over the past 28 years, when he joined in 1987 as a DM student in the Department of Gastroenterology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. I was working as a lecturer in the same department at that time. Prof. Badri N. Tandon, a very eminent gastroenterologist and teacher of many tall and outstanding gastroenterologists of the country, was the head of the department at that time. I remember Prof. Tandon telling the entire faculty in the department that “Watch this young man, he is outstanding and cerebral and is destined to be a leader”. Well, over the years, I have seen General Anand showing his mettle and occupying all the coveted positions in the Armed Forces Medical Core (AFMC), where he joined as a young captain in the year 1975 after graduating from the King George Medical College, Lucknow (KGMC), in the year 1974. Indeed, he retired from the AFMC as the Director General of Medical Services (Navy), President of India’s Honorary Surgeon and Chief Consultant of Medicine and Gastroenterology of the Armed Forces Medical Service in August 2013. I had the opportunity to work closely with him during his training at the AIIMS and subsequently have been associated with his work almost continuously. During this long duration of association, I had noticed his immense ability to acquire knowledge across disciplines, tenacity to pursue goals, dedication to patients, and service, as well as hunger for acquiring contemporary knowledge in the discipline—unique attributes rarely combined in one individual. All these experiences and the unique qualities had led to brilliant contribution in the academic and organizational field in gastroenterology and in the Armed Forces Medical Service which are exemplary and are marks of great leader which is deeply appreciated by one and all. Anil was born in the year 1957 in Rohtak, Haryana. He graduated from the prestigious KGMC, Lucknow, in 1974. During his MBBS course, he bagged all the gold medals, all
2
the honors, and was the topper as well as the best student from the 1st to the Final MBBS. Subsequently, he continued to achieve laurels and awards from all the organization where he contributed, and these include laurels from the Association of Physicians of India, the Armed Forces Medical Corps, the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, and many others. It is not possible to list the number of awards and honors he has received because they run into hundreds. His academic contributions are equally impressive. He has published more than 300 research articles in reputated national and international journals including Lancet, Hepatology, and Journal of Hepatology, European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and many such eminent medical scientific periodicals. He also established the liver transplant center at the Army R & R Hospital, Delhi, which probably is the leading center for the deceased donor liver transplant program in India. In AFMC, he is remembered with fond and awe because of his continuous contribution to the AFMC in General and Gastroenterology in particular which spilled over beyond the confinement of army. His impeccable personality, affable and humble nature, and dynamism combined with intellect are natural ingredients to make him a popular and sought after academician, person, and colleague all around the medical disciplines to which I was exposed. I will not do justice if I do not add another of the marvelous attributes he has. He is an outstanding orator with skills of communication that make his deliberations hypnotic. It is not surprising that he is so sought after in almost all medical meetings in the country. Naturally, he has bagged many awards and fellowship. He has been awarded Visisht Seva Medal (VSM), is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS), Fellow of the Indian College of Physicians (FICP), Fellow of the
Indian J Gastroenterol (January–February 2015) 34(1):1–2
Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India (FSGEI), Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), and of the American College of Gastroenterology (FACG). He also has edited many medical journals and in the editorial board of leading medical scientific periodicals. To add to these, he also has been awarded by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Commonwealth Organization for his academic brilliance. In the army, he simply replicated the receipt of all possible awards as he received them during his undergraduate MBBS course—bagged every possible award and laurel. The credit of all these, I think should be equally shared by his real backbone in life, his equally brilliant pathologist spouse Mrinalini who also served in AFMC receiving similar kudos as her brilliant husband. Mrinalini is from Odisha, my home state; and therefore, I know her equally closely as General Anand. My wife is a great friend and admirer of hers. I must admit I have never seen such a brilliant couple with intellect and competence, and yet with tremendous humility which makes them both adorable. Mrinalini and General Anand have a son and a daughter, and both of them are making their marks in their respective fields. His son Apurva, a software engineer, and the daughter Mridu a microbiologist by profession have indeed inherited both their parents’ traits in excelling in their respective fields and pursuing them with vigor. I will not say that I have immense faith in the capability and dynamism of General A. C. Anand to lead the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, because faith implies “hidden doubt” in the mind. I will simply say that “I know” that General Anand will take the Indian Society of Gastroenterology to new heights and will provide directions with which the society will progress by leaps and bound. I wish him all success.
PRESIDENTIAL PROFILE
General Anil Chandra Anand, incoming President, Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2014- 2015 Subrat K. Acharya
Published online: 7 March 2015 # Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2015
General Anil C Anand takes over as the President of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) this year. It is not only his academic brilliance that has bestowed this coveted and eminent position to him, but also his vast experience, exemplary vision with wisdom, brilliant ideas in heralding progress and attributes of building outstanding team, as well as his effortless abilities to face hurdles in achieving goals has resulted in making him the leader that the ISG needed at this crucial S. K. Acharya (*) Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India e-mail: [email protected]
time of knowledge explosion in the field of gastroenterology and liver diseases. I have known General Anand over the past 28 years, when he joined in 1987 as a DM student in the Department of Gastroenterology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. I was working as a lecturer in the same department at that time. Prof. Badri N. Tandon, a very eminent gastroenterologist and teacher of many tall and outstanding gastroenterologists of the country, was the head of the department at that time. I remember Prof. Tandon telling the entire faculty in the department that “Watch this young man, he is outstanding and cerebral and is destined to be a leader”. Well, over the years, I have seen General Anand showing his mettle and occupying all the coveted positions in the Armed Forces Medical Core (AFMC), where he joined as a young captain in the year 1975 after graduating from the King George Medical College, Lucknow (KGMC), in the year 1974. Indeed, he retired from the AFMC as the Director General of Medical Services (Navy), President of India’s Honorary Surgeon and Chief Consultant of Medicine and Gastroenterology of the Armed Forces Medical Service in August 2013. I had the opportunity to work closely with him during his training at the AIIMS and subsequently have been associated with his work almost continuously. During this long duration of association, I had noticed his immense ability to acquire knowledge across disciplines, tenacity to pursue goals, dedication to patients, and service, as well as hunger for acquiring contemporary knowledge in the discipline—unique attributes rarely combined in one individual. All these experiences and the unique qualities had led to brilliant contribution in the academic and organizational field in gastroenterology and in the Armed Forces Medical Service which are exemplary and are marks of great leader which is deeply appreciated by one and all. Anil was born in the year 1957 in Rohtak, Haryana. He graduated from the prestigious KGMC, Lucknow, in 1974. During his MBBS course, he bagged all the gold medals, all
2
the honors, and was the topper as well as the best student from the 1st to the Final MBBS. Subsequently, he continued to achieve laurels and awards from all the organization where he contributed, and these include laurels from the Association of Physicians of India, the Armed Forces Medical Corps, the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, and many others. It is not possible to list the number of awards and honors he has received because they run into hundreds. His academic contributions are equally impressive. He has published more than 300 research articles in reputated national and international journals including Lancet, Hepatology, and Journal of Hepatology, European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and many such eminent medical scientific periodicals. He also established the liver transplant center at the Army R & R Hospital, Delhi, which probably is the leading center for the deceased donor liver transplant program in India. In AFMC, he is remembered with fond and awe because of his continuous contribution to the AFMC in General and Gastroenterology in particular which spilled over beyond the confinement of army. His impeccable personality, affable and humble nature, and dynamism combined with intellect are natural ingredients to make him a popular and sought after academician, person, and colleague all around the medical disciplines to which I was exposed. I will not do justice if I do not add another of the marvelous attributes he has. He is an outstanding orator with skills of communication that make his deliberations hypnotic. It is not surprising that he is so sought after in almost all medical meetings in the country. Naturally, he has bagged many awards and fellowship. He has been awarded Visisht Seva Medal (VSM), is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS), Fellow of the Indian College of Physicians (FICP), Fellow of the
Indian J Gastroenterol (January–February 2015) 34(1):1–2
Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India (FSGEI), Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), and of the American College of Gastroenterology (FACG). He also has edited many medical journals and in the editorial board of leading medical scientific periodicals. To add to these, he also has been awarded by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Commonwealth Organization for his academic brilliance. In the army, he simply replicated the receipt of all possible awards as he received them during his undergraduate MBBS course—bagged every possible award and laurel. The credit of all these, I think should be equally shared by his real backbone in life, his equally brilliant pathologist spouse Mrinalini who also served in AFMC receiving similar kudos as her brilliant husband. Mrinalini is from Odisha, my home state; and therefore, I know her equally closely as General Anand. My wife is a great friend and admirer of hers. I must admit I have never seen such a brilliant couple with intellect and competence, and yet with tremendous humility which makes them both adorable. Mrinalini and General Anand have a son and a daughter, and both of them are making their marks in their respective fields. His son Apurva, a software engineer, and the daughter Mridu a microbiologist by profession have indeed inherited both their parents’ traits in excelling in their respective fields and pursuing them with vigor. I will not say that I have immense faith in the capability and dynamism of General A. C. Anand to lead the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, because faith implies “hidden doubt” in the mind. I will simply say that “I know” that General Anand will take the Indian Society of Gastroenterology to new heights and will provide directions with which the society will progress by leaps and bound. I wish him all success.
