CNN-News18 Indian of The Year 2023: Oncologist Dr Ravi Kannan is the Winner in Social Change Category

Dr Ravi Kannan, a renowned oncologist, who left Chennai in 2007 and took over as director of a small charitable cancer hospital in Assam’s Silchar to serve the community, was on Wednesday declared the CNN-News18 Indian of The Year 2023 in the social change category.

“Any recognition at home is very moving and meaningful. I just represent a large number of people, our society, members of our staff, our supporters try to hold hands to improve people’s lives. I feel small and humbled…At the end of the day, you will feel fulfilled about distributing happiness," Dr Kannan said, as he received the award from retired Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra at the event in New Delhi.

Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, led by Dr Kannan, gives free or subsidised cancer care treatments to an average of 5,000 new patients annually, catering to approximately 20,000 poor patients for treatments and follow-ups. He is credited with revolutionising cancer treatment in Assam through people-centric and pro-poor healthcare.

“The hospital in Assam was founded by lay people and they had responded to a local need of deficit in care. Their local doctor spent time with us. Initially, my wife, Sita, was resistant about bomb blasts and floods… Eventually, we kept on persevering," he said, about how he began his journey.

His wife, Sita, too, recounted her first visit to Assam and how she, too, agreed that there was a need for his work. “We realised, in life, sometimes you have to take the plunge," she said.

Dr Kannan was conferred with Padma Shri in 2020 and the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award last year.

Other nominees for the social change category were Manju Srivastava, who is working towards imparting education and training in remote villages; Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju, a lawyer couple working for the LGBTQ community; Pushpa NM, who has helped write a total of 1,070 examinations for blind students; and Sujit Chatterjee, who holds free coaching classes for students.

Currently in its 13th edition, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year is an initiative that recognises Indians who have made significant contributions to various fields and have had a profound impact on the nation. Since its inception in 2006, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year has firmly positioned itself as the biggest awards in the world of news television, celebrated for its unassailable credibility.

Over the years, the Indian of the Year award recipients have included personalities such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, cricket star Virat Kohli, the Indian women’s cricket team, NGO Stop Acid Attacks, Chess Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, music legend AR Rahman, former PM Manmohan Singh, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, star boxer MC Mary Kom, actress Deepika Padukone and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.