Prof. Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi
(Padma Bhushan, 1977 – Medicine)

In the early years after Independence, when neurosurgery was virtually unknown in India, one young surgeon from Tamil Nadu laid the foundations of the specialty and earned the title “Father of Indian Neurosurgery.” Prof. Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi—affectionately known as Prof. B.R.M. or simply “Chief”—was born on 30 January 1922 in Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu, the son of Captain T.S. Balasubramaniam, a government surgeon.

He graduated from Madras Medical College, completed his MS in General Surgery, and obtained the FRCS (Edinburgh) in 1947. Selected by the Madras Government for specialised training, he studied under leading neurosurgeons in the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada, including time with Wilder Penfield in Montreal. On 24 October 1950 (Vijayadasami day) he returned to Madras and formally established the Department of Neurosurgery at the Government General Hospital and Madras Medical College—the second neurosurgical unit in India after Jacob Chandy’s at CMC Vellore.

Under his leadership the department grew into the Madras Institute of Neurology, modelled on the Montreal Neurological Institute, bringing neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology and related disciplines under one roof. In the 1960s he and his team pioneered stereotactic surgery in India. After retirement in 1978 he founded the Dr. A. Lakshmipathi Neurosurgical Centre at the Voluntary Health Services Hospital in Adyar, continuing to train generations of neurosurgeons. He also played a key role in establishing the National Brain Research Centre at Manesar.

A prolific author and teacher, he published extensively, co-edited standard textbooks of neurosurgery, and served as President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He was an Honorary Surgeon to the President of India and an Honorary Brigadier in the Indian Army.

One young resident, overwhelmed by the complexity of a brain tumour case, once asked how he remained so calm in the operating theatre.
Ramamurthi replied quietly, “The brain is the most delicate organ we touch. Approach it with knowledge, humility and steady hands—and never forget the human being who lies beneath the drapes.”

The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1977 (and earlier the Padma Shri). He also received the Dhanvantari Award and numerous national and international distinctions.

Prof. Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi passed away on 13 December 2003. His legacy lives on in every neurosurgical department in India and in the countless lives restored by the specialty he helped create.