Dr. Belle Monappa Hegde, also known as Dr. B M Hegde, is a cardiologist, professor of medicine, scientist, and author who has received the Padma Vibhushan award, the country’s second-highest civilian honour, in the medical category. 

Sometimes known as the “people’s doctor,” he a physician with a humanistic attitude who emphasises holistic treatment and the importance of using medicines judiciously. He is currently based in Mangalore’s Bejai. In 2070, Hegde, the former vice chancellor of Manipal University, was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

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He is also the recipient of the Dr BC Roy Award in 1999. Dr Hegde studied up to SSLC at Hiriyadka in Udupi and later completed his intermediate from MGM College, Udupi. He completed his MBBS from Stanley Medical College, Madras in 1960. He received a gold medal from Madras University for MBBS. 

Dr Hegde, who was the Dean of Kasturba Medical College from July 13, 1992, served as the vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Deemed University) from

June 18, 1999 to August 30, 2003. 

He is also a prolific author, having written 35 books on medicine in both English and Kannada. Furthermore, he is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes which is a medical journal. He has served on the boards of a number of medical and engineering colleges and universities around the United States. Dr. Hegde served as the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh’s Emeritus International Advisor and the first Indian examiner for the MRCP test in the UK for ten years.

Over 289 research publications have been published by the veteran doctor, both in India and overseas. His career, however, has not been without controversy, as he has been accused of propagating pseudoscience on numerous occasions. His well-publicized scientific papers cover a variety of topics, including the use of silver nanoparticles infused with water to cure malaria in three days and a hypothesis that claims ‘quantum healing’ may restore health in sick people, which has sparked numerous debates.

When Dr. Hegde spoke at IIT-Madras’ ‘Matters that Matter’ conference in February 2019, a number of research students opposed to his quantum healing theories and brandished posters and placards calling him a propagator of “pseudoscience and quackery” , protesting his presence on the panel. 

Dr. Hegde offers what he considers a holistic treatment by mixing many systems of medicine, including Ayurveda and allopathy. Hegde, a vegetarian by preference, has spoken frequently on avoiding interfering with the body’s self-regulating mechanisms until absolutely necessary.