For 25-year-old Dr Harman Singh Cheema, the journey from a sugarcane farm in Karikot near Bahraich to the stage at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences has been paved with relentless perseverance.
Recently awarded the Director’s Gold Medal as the Best Graduate, the young medic has become the first doctor not only from his village of Tarikot but from the entire region of 16 villages. Reflecting on the milestone, he says, “Samman toh acha lagta hain, but for me, getting it in front of my parents and being the first doctor from Tarikot village—and the first in a Gram Sabha that includes over 16 villages—means everything.”
For Harman, who has just completed his MBBS, the path to this milestone was far from easy. Growing up, he faced a daily reality defined by struggle. “I hail from a small village, ghar se 100 metre pe jungle hain,” he says and adds, “It is sparsely populated so, let alone a doctor, it’s difficult to find medicines. There is no hospital, and other than a few generic medicines joh medical store wale manga dete, you have to get them from the cities. Primary Health Care bani par kabhi doctor aate hain, kabhi chale jaate. Though ab pakke ghar ban gye hain, solar light aur paani bhi hain but proper health care system is still a big miss.”
Harman, who is currently preparing for the INI-CET (Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test) to pursue an MD, remembers the arduous commute of his youth. “Until Class 8, I studied in my village. Then I took admission in a school in Lakhimpur, aur roz hum 86 kilometres travel karte thhe. Three kms by a cycle before getting a bus to school daily, before shifting to a hostel for junior college,” he recalls.”
Harman dreams of taking his parents on a big international trip to experience a high-status lifestyle—’bas ghumana hain, rahene nahin.’ As for me, ‘Humne yahan ka khaya toh rahenge bhi yahi’—I want to contribute to my own village and district , will open a big hospital for my people. For now I am focussed on completing my MD in medicine, followed by a DM and a fellowship abroad.”
