Padma Shri recipient Professor Shyam Sundar Agarwal of Banaras Hindu University embodies the spirit of scientific perseverance. Honored on Republic Day eve for his 38-year battle against Kala-Azar, Agarwal’s innovations have reshaped India’s public health landscape.
From Muzaffarpur’s afflicted villages, where lakhs suffered and thousands died yearly from inaccessible care, Agarwal emerged as a beacon. Pre-1980s diagnostics consumed weeks and fortunes; therapies cured meagerly, with high fatalities as resistance surged.
He shattered barriers with the RK-39 test, enabling 10-minute results and slashing costs dramatically—the first such global breakthrough. Steering through failed programs, Agarwal pioneered liposomal Amphotericin-B’s single-dose protocol, WHO-certified and nationally adopted.
His portfolio boasts multi-drug therapy validations, Miltefosine advancements, Paromomycin integrations now routine in PHCs, and a landmark 2002 trial yielding 94% success on 300 cases via oral means. These feats propelled India’s Kala-Azar campaign from despair to dominance.
Humbly thanking the nation, Agarwal downplays his role: ‘I’m no exceptional figure, merely dedicated.’ Joined by another BHU professor in the awards, his story fuels optimism for disease eradication. As WHO targets loom, Agarwal’s Padma Shri reaffirms the power of homegrown research in safeguarding vulnerable populations worldwide.