Dr. M. Krishna Bhargava (Mallappa Krishna Bhargava; 17 July 1927 – 20 June 2009) was a distinguished Indian pathologist, cancer administrator and institution-builder. He is best remembered for transforming the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bangalore from a small 50-bed hospital into a major regional cancer centre. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions.

Born on 17 July 1927, he had a long and distinguished career in the government hospitals of Karnataka, serving both as a pathologist and as an administrator. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he was Professor and Head of the Department of Pathology at Bangalore Medical College, where colleagues recalled how he energised a previously quiet department into one that delivered rapid and high-quality diagnostic reports.

In the early 1980s he took charge of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. Under his leadership the institution expanded dramatically. He established both hospital-based and population-based cancer registries, set up peripheral cancer centres in places such as Gulbarga and Mandya, introduced rehabilitation services for patients, and built a radiation sterilisation plant on the premises. He also started a nuclear medicine unit in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. One of his lasting contributions was the creation of a cytogenetics unit; several of his students later became authorities in the field across the world. He dreamed of adding a full molecular-biology research wing to the institute.

Colleagues and students remembered him as a demanding yet inspiring leader whose standards raised the quality of cancer care and pathology services in Karnataka. The Government of Karnataka conferred the Rajyotsava Award on him, and the Government of India later honoured him with the Padma Shri.

Dr. M. Krishna Bhargava passed away on 20 June 2009. Nearly two decades after his retirement he was still remembered as a “giant among men” who combined clinical excellence, administrative vision and a deep commitment to improving cancer services for the people of Karnataka.