Octogenarian in New Year’s Honours List

Anyone looking at him would agree that he exudes warmth, compassion, love and care, instantly striking a conversation that will make your day.

At 81, Dr Daniel Devadhar is a lawyer who provides free service to people and speaks at his Church service every week.

As the New Year’s Honours List was announced late last month, everyone said he richly deserved the appointment as the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to medicine and the community.

Born and raised in a well-meaning family in Karnataka’s Dharwar, Dr Devadhar was a distinguished student of medicine in Mumbai, earning his MBBS and MS graduate and postgraduate degrees with three gold medals for medicine and surgery. His proficiency earned him surgical fellowships of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) UK, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) Australia, International College of Surgeons (FICS) New York and Royal Society of Medicine (FRSM) UK.

Devadhar’s Operation

In 1964, he developed a surgical method for rectal prolapse. Known as ‘Devadhar’s Operation,’ surgeons and doctors worldwide have cited it as a successful process, “with a low risk of complications and recurrence of rectal prolapse.”

His arrival in New Zealand 42 years ago was equally colourful and eventful.

He said he received an ‘urgent phone call’ from a Surgeon Superintendent in New Zealand asking whether he would be interested in serving in this country.

“I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived (in 1968) with my wife Rose and our three daughters Jennifer, Cheryl and Shalini, to take up the post of Superintendent of the Buller Hospital in West Coast, South Island. I had come to a land of “ghee and honey,” where medical care was patient-centric. There was never a dull moment, and nothing was denied to ensure proper patient care. A phone call to Wellington would be enough,” Dr Devadhar said.

Dr Devadhar shifted to Hawera with his family in 1971 to practice general surgery in three hospitals and establish a general practice with his wife’s encouragement and spirit of community service.

“In those days, General Practitioners received a government subsidy based on the number of patients examined and treated. This was significant, since they took time to provide proper medical attention to each patient,” he said.

People in the Taranaki region would recall ‘the humane doctor’ in their midst for more than 25 years. From voluntary ACC advocacy to private counselling with his wife, Dr Devadhar is revered as a source of endearment and solace. He also served three terms on the Taranaki Health Board.

He regretted the change that occurred in the system in 1994. Government funding was thereafter based on the number of patients registered, rather than on the care provided.

“This process radically commercialised the system,” he rued, adding that the introduction of Crown Health Enterprises made matters worse.

“Business managers and not those with medical background began to run hospitals. In my view, medical care was not always considered a priority job and the personal attention given to patients became a thing of the past.”

The change perhaps encouraged him to give up the profession a year later (1995) but Dr Devadhar was in no mood to retire. He qualified in law from Massey University (at 66, he must have been one of the oldest to do so) and began to render free and voluntary service to the community.

“New Zealand is still a land of ghee and honey in many ways. The innate warmth, friendliness and sincerity of New Zealanders have not changed and I hope it will remain so forever,” he said.

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Community Champion

For a man who has championed the cause of ethnic communities for identity, recognition, equal rights and dignity, the award of Queen’s Service Medal (OSM) is a well-deserved honour.

Upper Hut resident Panchanatham Narayanan (better known as ‘Pancha’) has always believed that cultural diversity should be seen as a part of New Zealand’s infrastructure. 

“Currently there is no framework that mandates communities and makes the central and local governments accountable for this issue. As long as this continues, we will not be able to change the perception or reprimand people who make divisive and racist remarks,” he said, writing in Indian Newslink (May 1, 2008).

Pancha arrived in New Zealand from his native Malaysia in 1986 and has always been an advocate for fair deal for all. His penchant for social and community service made him President of the Federation of Ethnic Councils of New Zealand (renamed in July 2009 to ‘The New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils’), which, during his six-year tenure saw increased membership and awareness to ethnic issues.

“People representing various ethnic groups must be allowed to participate in the decision-making process affecting the lives of new and potential migrants,” he said.

A spirited worker

John Wong has been a great social worker since his arrival in New Zealand in 1992 and has been involved in serving the Chinese community in different roles. His inclusion as a recipient of QSM is a tribute to his selfless service. Mr Wong is Director, Asian Services at the Problem Gambling Foundation and a member of the Asian Advisory Board of the Auckland City District Police.

Well Deserved

Daulat Singh Bindra of Hamilton was another member of the Indian community to be awarded a QSM for his services to the community. A farmer by occupation, Mr Bindra has contributed significantly to the welfare of the people in the Waikato region.