Which city is the world’s largest producer of blood bags?

Which city manufactures the world’s most affordable artificial heart valve?

The answer to both: Thiruvananthapuram

And who deserves credit for these path-breaking achievements in a city often dismissed as a haven of power-hungry politicians, fossilised bureaucrats, and strike-happy trade unions?

The answer: Marthanda Varma Sankaran Valiathan — the Malayali Midas who turned everything he touched into gold.

Today (July 17) marks the first death anniversary of Dr Valiathan — eminent cardiac surgeon, visionary academician, master teacher, prolific author, and institution builder. He passed away at 90, leaving behind a legacy that transcends medicine.

Despite lucrative offers abroad after training under some of the world’s finest medical minds, Valiathan chose to return to his homeland to serve underserved millions. In an age when modern medicine was becoming entangled in corporate greed, he remained a steadfast advocate for ethics in medical practice.

Decades before "Make in India" became a national slogan, Valiathan lived its spirit — indigenously developing critical, high-cost medical devices like the heart valve and blood bag to make them affordable and accessible. He led Kerala’s early strides in successful technology transfer from academia to industry.

And his contributions didn’t end with modern medicine. While many of his peers scoffed at traditional systems, Valiathan spent his final years passionately championing Ayurveda, insisting on rigorous research and validation rather than romanticism or rejection.

This June also marked the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Emergency, the darkest chapter in post-independent India’s history. Many have often wondered why Kerala re-elected the United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance led by CPI and Congress in the historic 1977 polls held after the Emergency, when most of the country trounced Indira Gandhi's authoritarianism. A reason cited often was the UDF government’s (1970-77) record in the state’s development front notwithstanding its crackdown on freedoms and custodial murders. Among the government’s achievements was the setting up of a slew of academic centres of excellence, specialising in different fields. Even more impressive was (rarity in Kerala) choosing the most suitable persons to head them, for which the credit went to the visionary and scholarly Chief Minister C Achutha Menon. Among such centres were the Sree Chitra Tirunal Medical Centre, now known as Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Centre for Development Studies, and Centre of Earth Science Studies, headed by Dr Valiathan, Dr KN Raj and Dr Harsh Gupta respectively. Under the right leadership, each of these institutions rose to become among the finest in the country. That Kerala........

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