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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker,...

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker, mentor and philanthropist — Dr Samudra has balanced many roles with commitment. While she manages a busy medical practice, her deeper calling has always been service. For her, medicine is not merely a profession but a responsibility towards the people who depend on her guidance. Nagpur to Panvel Born and raised in Nagpur, Dr Samudra completed her medical education there before moving to Mumbai in search of better opportunities. The early years were challenging. With determination, she and her husband Girish Samudra, an entrepreneur involved in underwater pipeline projects, chose to build their life in Panvel. At a time when the town was still developing and healthcare awareness was limited, she decided to make it both her workplace and home. What began with modest resources gradually grew into a trusted medical practice built on long-standing relationships with patients. Fighting Diabetes Recognising the growing threat of diabetes, Dr Samudra dedicated her career to treating and educating patients about the disease. Over the years, she has registered nearly 30,000 patients from Panvel and nearby areas. Yet she believes treatment alone is not enough. “Diabetes is a lifelong disease. Medicines are important, but patient education is equally critical. If people understand the condition, they can manage it better and prevent complications,” she says. For more than 27 years, she has organised an Annual Patients’ Education Programme, offering diagnostic tests at concessional rates and sessions on lifestyle management. Family, Practice With her husband frequently travelling for business, much of the responsibility of raising their two children fell on Dr Samudra. Instead of expanding her practice aggressively, she kept it close to home and adjusted her OPD timings around her children’s schedules. “It was not easy,” she recalls, “but I wanted to fulfil my responsibilities as a mother while continuing to serve my patients.” Beyond Medicine Today, Dr Samudra also devotes time to social initiatives through the Bharat Vikas Parishad, where she serves as Regional Head. Her projects include  Plastic Mukta Vasundhara , which promotes reduced use of single-use plastic, and  Sainik Ho Tumchyasathi , an initiative that sends Diwali  faral  (snack hamper) to Indian soldiers posted at the borders. Last year alone, 15,000 boxes were sent to troops. Despite decades of service, she measures success not in wealth but in goodwill. “I may not have earned huge money,” she says, “but I have earned immense love and respect from my patients. That is something I will always be grateful for.”

RSS’ stark warning to BJP: Listen to us or Perish

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Sangh insists on criteria for candidate selection, prioritising grassroots connections and ideological commitment

RSS’ stark warning to BJP: Listen to us or Perish

Mumbai: As Maharashtra gears up for the Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expressing growing discontent with the BJP’s approach to the polls. Sources familiar with the situation suggest that the RSS has issued a stern warning to the BJP: shape up or face consequences. This tension underscores the larger anxiety within the RSS over the BJP's dismal performance in Maharashtra in the June 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Implicit in the RSS’s intervention is the threat that failure to heed its advice could lead to a rupture in the relationship between the two organizations.

“The RSS has indicated to the BJP that this will be the last opportunity for the party to correct itself. If it fails, the RSS may find an alternative to the BJP,” said a source close to the developments.

He revealed that the RSS has laid down specific guidelines and expectations for the BJP, emphasizing that this election represents the party's last chance to align with the Sangh's vision and restore its standing.

The source further said the RSS had made it clear that Maharashtra election was “a litmus test” for the BJP as far as its relations with the Sangh are concerned. “If the BJP does not listen to what Sangh says, the Sangh might explore other options in the near future. And this message has been clearly conveyed to the BJP leaders. Now, it us up to the BJP whether or not listen to the RSS.”

In a series of meetings held across Maharashtra's key regions—Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Devgiri and Vidarbha—the RSS leadership conveyed its dissatisfaction directly to senior BJP figures including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and former state president Chandrakant Patil.

One of the RSS’s primary concerns is the disconnect between BJP leaders and the party’s traditional supporters. The Sangh has observed a growing sense of disillusionment among loyal BJP workers, who feel sidelined by what they perceive as the arrogance and aloofness of the current leadership. In its meetings, the RSS leadership stressed the need for BJP leaders to engage more authentically with the party base.

“The RSS has categorically told to the BJP leaders that they will have to reach out to the party workers and sympathisers with an open heart and mind,” the source said. “The RSS believes that the loyal BJP workers are dejected because of the arrogance and aloofness of the party leaders. If these workers are won over the BJP could get back in a position to put up a fight in the election.”

In June, a closed-door meeting in Pune’s Moti Baug area further highlighted the depth of the RSS’s concerns. The meeting, which included several BJP leaders — either defeated candidates or campaign managers from losing constituencies—served as a forum for the RSS to directly convey its displeasure with the BJP’s campaign strategies and organizational shortcomings.

For the RSS, this is not just about winning an election; it is about safeguarding the ideological integrity of a movement that has shaped India’s political landscape for nearly a century. After the current ‘ultimatum,’ the onus is on the BJP to correct course and realign with the Sangh’s expectations.

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