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| Late Col Darshan Singh Vohra |
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Padmashri Colonel Darshan Singh Vohra was a man of great vision and practical wisdom. A tremendously dynamic personality, in one lifetime he founded three institutions of great repute - The Artificial Limb Centre in Pune, India, the first such in Asia, the 4 EME Centre in Nagpur, India where in complete wilderness he was given the task of raising an Army Training Centre of Excellence for 10,000 army men, which he completed in a record time of 9 months - this included even the accommodation for the men, building the Centre and the training establishments that went with it. And ofcourse the internationally reputed Nevedac Prosthetic Centre in Chandigarh, India entirely from his very meagre resources. Having lost his mother when he was barely three days old, he struggled his way to emerge stronger from one personal tragedy after another. He often used to call his life a story of 'Tragedy & Triumph'. |
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With only his steely determination by his side and nothing else, he scaled different heights. People from all walks of life, from a pauper to a prince, admired the uniqueness of this truly self made man. He played two different innings in his life with equal dedication and success. The first one was of breathtaking dare devilry and amazing dynamism in the Army that left both his junior and senior officers dumbstruck in awe, disbelief and true admiration. The second innings of his life was of dedicated service to humanity with compassion that endeared him to all - some even referred to him as the Mother Teresa of Chandigarh
Padmashri Col. D.S. Vohra started his carrer in the Army - an Engineer in the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Indian Army. His association with the field of Artificial Limbs satrted when, upon the recommendations of a British team of experts, he underwent extensive training in the manufacture / fitting of artificial limbs and other orthopaedic aids/appliances at Roehampton, London, in 1946-47 and other similar institutions in Europe. He was the first Indian to qualify in this field and is the Founder-Director of the Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, Artificial Limb Centre at Pune; the first institution of its kind in the Asian region. Here, he was responsible for the rehabilitation of thousands of disabled soldiers from World War I (1914-16), World War II (1939-45) and Indo-Pakistan Wars – besides the disabled soldiers from Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and some civilian amputees. |
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