He was speaking at the ‘Graduation Day 2011’ held here at the JSS Medical College on Wednesday.

Mentioning that we belong to one of the oldest civilisations, Dr Katoch urged the students to question if they wanted to be original thinkers or if they were going to be copycats.

He said that clever thinking and originality is the key for those who want to make a mark in the society.  

Dr Katoch urged on the doctors to also think about providing services for the weaker marginalised society. “Whatever you do, have a clear autonomous thinking,” he told the audience.

Observing that India is changing for the good, he told the graduates that they couldn’t runaway from the country at this time. Dr Katoch reiterated that the nation has immense opportunities to offer to its doctors and urged them not to take to a foreign land.

While pointing out that it was a unique day for the successful graduates, he told them that whatever they learnt during their college term would hold them in good stead all through their life.

He said that for the day has a different meaning for every individual; for some, it means a chance to make a lot of money and for others it is to become respected. However, both can be done simultaneously by doing ethical business, he added.

Dr Katoch said that clinical practise, education and research are the three aspects that important for a doctor.  He bemoaned that research is becoming like a fashion show. We always believe what the ‘white man’ does is more important, while we fail to provide solutions to the problems, he added.

He said that an enlightened mind has the ability to consider all the three aspects and pursue life to become successful.

Describing the rapid strides that the nation has taken, Dr Katoch said that at the time of independence, the country was easily susceptible to epidemics, but now we are able to move fast.

He said that when H1N1 broke out in the country, we had only two labs. Within two months we had 17 labs and at present we have 44 labs. We are moving at a fast pace, he added.

Toppers

The toppers in individual subjects are - Dr Vijay H S (Physiology and MBBS Phase - I), Dr Prakruthi S Kaushik (Forensic Medicine), Dr Bhavya Balasubramanya (Community Medicine and MBBS Phase - III, Part - I), Dr Rohini (ENT) and Dr Sphurthy Gattu (ENT).

Gold Medalists

Dr Swaratika Majumdar was awarded gold medal for the ‘Best Outgoing student’. She secured the highest marks in anatomy, pharmacology, Paediatrics, Biochemistry, Pathology and MBBS Phase-II. She was also topper in Microbiology, Ophthalmology and O B G.

Dr Swaramya C secured gold for highest marks in Medicine, MBBS Phase - III Part-I and MBBS Phase - III, Part-II.

Dr Krishna Narayanan M D scored the highest marks in Surgery. Dr Sajid Syed secured the highest marks in MD General Medicine. Dr Praveen Kumar scored the highest marks in MS General Surgery.