By: Dr. Omar AZIZ (Pulwama)
Prof. Dr. Martyar Sheikh Jalal (R.A.) is
remembered by many not merely as a distinguished cardiologist, teacher and
administrator, but above all as a deeply humane and down-to-earth person. His
life represented an unusual combination of professional excellence,
intellectual achievement, humility and devotion to family. At a time when
professional success is often measured by wealth, status and influence, Dr.
Jalal's life offered a very different definition of achievement: to serve
people, remain grounded and fulfil one's responsibilities with dignity.
He had every opportunity to pursue a
life of extraordinary material prosperity. Yet money was never the central
motivation of his life. Had wealth been his principal ambition, his long and
distinguished medical career could have made him extraordinarily rich. Instead,
he devoted himself to medicine, teaching, research, institution-building and
the people around him.
His professional journey was
remarkable. Dr. Sheikh Jalal obtained his DM in Cardiology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, one of India's
premier medical institutions. His specialization in cardiology placed him among
a highly accomplished group of medical professionals at a time when advanced
cardiac care was still developing rapidly in India.
After completing his advanced
training, he returned to Jammu and Kashmir and became an important figure in
the development of cardiology and medical education at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar.
He served as Professor and Headof the Department of Cardiology at SKIMS, where generations of doctors and
medical students benefited from his knowledge and experience. His contribution
was not confined to treating patients. As a teacher, he helped shape young
medical professionals and contributed to the development of a culture of
academic medicine in Kashmir.
His responsibilities later expanded
beyond his department. He served as Dean of SKIMS, Srinagar, taking on
the difficult task of academic and institutional administration. He subsequently
became Director of SKIMS, one of the most important medical institutions
in Jammu and Kashmir.
Holding the position of Director of
a major medical institution requires much more than medical knowledge. It
demands administrative ability, institutional vision, patience and the capacity
to work with doctors, researchers, students, nurses, administrators and
patients. Dr. Jalal's career demonstrated that he was capable of moving
successfully between clinical medicine, teaching, research and administration.
His contribution also extended
beyond Jammu and Kashmir. He served as Vice-President of the National Board
of Examinations (NBE), New Delhi, an institution associated with
postgraduate medical education and examinations. Such responsibilities reflected
the national recognition of his professional standing.
His academic contribution was
equally significant. More than 200 research papers are attributed to him,
reflecting a sustained commitment to medical scholarship. For a physician,
research is another form of service: it expands knowledge, improves
understanding and potentially benefits patients far beyond the walls of a
single hospital.
Yet those who remember Dr. Jalal
often speak less about his impressive titles and more about his personality.
Behind the professor, administrator
and cardiologist was a person described as extraordinarily simple and
approachable. His professional achievements did not, in the eyes of those who
knew him, make him distant from ordinary people. He remained, above all, a human
being.
Perhaps one of the most moving
aspects of his life was his relationship with his mother.
He was the son of a widow, and
despite having achieved the qualifications and professional standing necessary
to build an illustrious career in New Delhi or elsewhere, he chose to remain
close to his mother. His decision reflected a profound sense of duty and
affection.
He could have pursued greater
professional opportunities outside Kashmir. He could have concentrated
exclusively on building a prestigious career in India's major metropolitan
centres. Instead, family responsibility and attachment to his mother remained
central to his choices.
In an age when children often leave
their hometowns in search of professional advancement, his decision carries a
powerful message. Success, in his understanding, was not simply about how
high one could rise, but also about whom one stood beside while rising.
His devotion to his mother therefore
became part of the larger story of his character. He demonstrated that professional
ambition and family responsibility need not always be placed on opposite sides
of a scale.
The tragedy of Dr. Sheikh Jalal's
life lies in the manner in which it ended.
After spending decades saving and
improving the lives of patients, educating doctors, conducting research and
serving institutions, he was ultimately killed by un-identified terrorists in his native
village.
The contrast is painful.
A man whose profession was dedicated
to preserving human life became a victim of violence in the very land to which
he had remained attached. A doctor trained to fight disease could not protect
himself from the violence that engulfed society around him.
His death was therefore not merely
the loss of an individual physician. It represented the destruction of a
remarkable human resource and a life devoted to public service.
When an accomplished doctor is
killed, the loss extends beyond the immediate family. Patients lose a
physician, students lose a teacher, institutions lose an administrator,
researchers lose a colleague and society loses an example of professional
dedication.
Dr. Jalal's story also raises a
larger question about the meaning of remembrance.
It is easy to remember accomplished
people through their degrees and positions: DM Cardiology, AIIMS; Professor
and Head of Cardiology, SKIMS; Dean, SKIMS; Director, SKIMS; Vice-President,NBE; author of numerous research papers.
These achievements matter, and they
should be recorded accurately for future generations.
But perhaps the more important
legacy is the human being behind those designations.
He demonstrated that intellectual
brilliance does not require arrogance, that professional success does not have
to produce materialism, and that institutional authority can coexist with
humility. His life reminds young doctors and professionals that the ultimate
value of a career cannot always be measured by income, titles or possessions.
A successful physician can save
thousands of lives indirectly through research and teaching. A dedicated
teacher can influence generations. An ethical administrator can strengthen
institutions that continue functioning long after his departure. And a
compassionate human being can leave memories that survive far beyond
professional records.
Prof. Dr. Sheikh Jalal (R.A.)
embodied all these dimensions.
His life began with education, grew
through medicine and scholarship, expanded into institutional leadership and
ended tragically through violence. Yet his legacy should not be defined by the
circumstances of his death alone.
It should be defined by the 45
years of active service, by his commitment to medicine, by his academic
contributions, by the doctors he taught, by the patients he served, by the
institutions he helped lead and by the family responsibilities he never
abandoned.
His story is ultimately a reminder
that the greatest measure of a human being is not how much wealth he
accumulates or how many positions he holds.
It is how many lives he touches,
how faithfully he fulfils his responsibilities and how much humanity he retains
despite success.
Prof. Dr. Sheikh Jalal (R.A.) left
behind a legacy that cannot be reduced to a list of degrees and designations.
He was a cardiologist, professor, researcher, administrator and
institution-builder—but before all of these, he was remembered as a human being.
And perhaps that is the most
enduring tribute to his life:
He had the knowledge to become a
great doctor, the ability to become a great administrator, the scholarship to
become a respected academic—and yet he remained, above everything else, a
humble human being.
May his memory continue to inspire
physicians, students and generations of Kashmiris to place service, knowledge,
family and humanity above material gain.
May Prof. Dr. Sheikh Jalal (R.A.)
rest in eternal peace, and may his legacy of service and humanity endure.
AIIMS cardiologist Kashmir, SKIMS Srinagar, SKIMS Director, SKIMS Dean,
Professor of Cardiology SKIMS, HOD Cardiology SKIMS, Vice President NBE,
National Board of Examinations, medical education Kashmir, doctors of Kashmir,
famous Kashmiri doctors, Kashmiri medical pioneers, Sheikh Jalal biography,
Sheikh Jalal life story, Sheikh Jalal legacy, Dr Sheikh Jalal research papers,
200 research papers, Kashmir medical history, Kashmir doctors, Kashmiri scholars,
humanitarian doctor Kashmir, Dr Sheikh Jalal martyr, Dr Sheikh Jalal killed bymilitants, Kashmir conflict, medical service Kashmir, legendary doctors ofKashmir
