N. H. Antia

Noshir Hormasji Antia (8 February 1922 – 26 June 2007) was an Indian plastic surgeon and social worker, known for his pioneering contributions to the treatment and rehabilitation of people afflicted with leprosy. He was the founder of three notable non governmental organizations, Foundation for Research in Community Health (FRCH), Foundation for Medical Research (FMR) and the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH), all working in the field of rehabilitation of patients, cured or otherwise. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.

Biography N. H. Antia was born on 8 February 1922 at Hubli, in northern Karnataka in India in a middle class Parsi family to Hormasji Merwanji and Soonamai and did hs schooling at his native place and the nearby Belgaum. He retired from the Army in 1947, the year when India became independent, to move to UK for higher studies and studied under Harold Gillies, considered by many as the Father of Plastic Surgery, He worked under the New Zealand born surgeon for nine years as well as under A. B. Wallace, who pioneered the treatment of burns, during which period, he obtained a fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons,

His initial posting, after return from UK in 1956, was at Jehangir Hospital, Pune as a general surgeon but he also practised plastic surgery there. was inaugurated in 1958, and became known as Tata Department of Plastic Surgery. The department grew to accommodate burns, hand surgery and leprosy surgery under separate sections and it was here, Antia performed the first microvascular free flap surgery. and is credited with transforming the centre into a recognised training school for the plastic surgeons in India. Here he pioneered the leprosy surgery and continued his researches. While heading the Tata Department, he worked for the parent hospital, J. J. Hospital, as a professor of plastic surgery at their medical college. and the National Societies for Burns and Hand Surgery. He published 5 books and over 350 articles His contributions were also reported in the establishment of another non governmental organization, National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped (NASEOH), started in 1968.

Antia was the honorary surgeon to the President of India and the Governor of Maharashtra on different occasions. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1990 and he received the G. D. Birla International Award for Humanism in 1994. He was also a recipient of the Karma Yogi Puraskar in 2006.