The People’s Ophthalmologist: The Story of Dr. Perugu Siva Reddy

In the quiet village of Dinnedevarapadu in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, on 12 September 1920, a boy named Perugu Siva Reddy was born to Hussain Reddy and Pullamma. The family lived a simple agrarian life. What stayed with the child was the memory of his mother struggling with glaucoma. That personal pain planted a seed: he would dedicate his life to restoring sight.

He completed his MBBS from Madras University in 1946 and earned his MS in Ophthalmology from Andhra University in 1952. Early postings as an assistant surgeon in Nandyal and Banaganapalli showed him the scale of rural blindness. He moved to Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam and later joined Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad. There he rose steadily, becoming Professor and Superintendent of the Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, which he transformed into a world-class exclusive eye institution with dedicated clinics for cornea, retina, glaucoma and orthoptics.

In 1964 he established the T. L. Kapadia Eye Bank—the first eye bank in India—opening the door to corneal transplants for those who had lost hope. He organised more than five hundred eye camps across villages, setting up temporary operating theatres and even choultries where poor patients could stay free of cost. His speed and skill in cataract surgery became legendary. Colleagues watched in quiet awe as he performed operations with ambidextrous precision, restoring sight to hundreds in a single day. Over his lifetime he is credited with more than two hundred and fifty thousand cataract operations—a record that stood as a monument to tireless service.

“Sight is a gift that should not depend on a person’s purse,” he would tell young doctors. “If the patient cannot come to the hospital, the hospital must go to the patient.”

He served as Honorary Surgeon to successive Presidents of India, beginning with V. V. Giri, and advised the Government of Andhra Pradesh on ophthalmology. He helped shape the National Programme for the Prevention of Visual Impairment and Control of Blindness. Internationally he was a founder member of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and the first Indian to receive its Jose Rizal Medal in 1985. He presented nearly two hundred scientific papers and trained generations of ophthalmologists.

Honours followed: the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Bhushan in 1977, the Dr. B. C. Roy National Award (twice), and many others. The Government of Andhra Pradesh named the Regional Eye Hospital in Kurnool after him. Even film star Chiranjeevi sought his guidance when establishing an eye bank.

Dr. Perugu Siva Reddy passed away on 6 September 2005 after a heart attack, just days short of his eighty-fifth birthday. He left behind not only institutions and records, but a living tradition of compassionate, high-volume, high-quality eye care that continues to give sight to the poorest in the land.

In the story of Indian medicine he remains “the People’s Ophthalmologist”—the doctor who proved that one pair of skilled hands, guided by an unshakable sense of duty, could light up hundreds of thousands of lives.