Dr Bhakti Yadav, first woman doctor from Indore receives Padma Shri Award

91 year old gynaecologist Dr Bhakti Yadav, the first woman doctor from Indore has received the Padma Shri Award at her home. The award was handed over to her by district collector P Narahari in presence of Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Jayant Malaiyya and Mayor Malini Gaud.

• Dr. Yadav could not attend the award ceremony in New Delhi on April 13, 2017 due to health issues.

Brief Biography of Dr Bhakti Yadav:

• Yadav was born on April 3, 1926 in Mahidpur town of Ujjain district in current day’s Madhya Pradesh.
• She completed her primary education in Garoth town and completed her schooling from Ahilya Ashram School in Indore.
• In year 1948, she completed her MBBS from MGM Medical College in 1948. She was the only female in that batch.
• At the start of her career, she refused job in government hospital and joined Nandlal Bhandari Maternity Home, for wives of underprivileged cloth mill workers. She was in charge of this maternity home for several years.
• Thereafter she started her nursing home, ‘Vatsalya’, in Pardeshipura area of Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
• Yadav has spent 68 years as a gynaecologist and has delivered thousands of babies, without charging any fees. Patients come to her from far off places of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
• Popularly known as ‘Doctor Dadi’, she still serves the poor and wishes to do so till her last breath.

Dr Bhakti Yadav was shortlisted for this year’s Padma Shri Award as part of Govt’s efforts to honour unsung heroes who have served the nation with utmost dedication.