Belle Monappa Hegde, better known as B. M. Hegde, is a physician, educational administrator and the recipient of the Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

 award.

Early life

Hegde was born on August 18, 1938, in Moodubelle

Moodubelle

Belle is a town in Karnātakā, a Southern state of India, located between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea. This territory belongs to Udupi District, and shares its borders with Shirva, Pamboor, Katapady, Udupi, Manipal and Kanajar .-Overview:...

, Udupi district

Udupi district

Udupi district , ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) in the Karnataka state of India was created in August 1997. The three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, were separated from Dakshina Kannada District to form Udupi district. Udupi district is surrounded by Uttara Kannada district in north, Dakshina Kannada...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, in a Tulu

Tulu language

The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

 speaking Bunt

Bunt (community)

Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...

 family as Monappa Hegde. The prefix Belle in his name denotes his maternal home called Tharavadu

Tharavadu

Tharavad is a system of joint family practised by people in Kerala, especially Nairs. Tharavadu was a legal entity like a Hindu Undivided Family as per Indian Income Tax laws, and was entitled to own properties. The others, like Namboothriris, Ezhavas, Christians and Muslims also now refer to...

.

Education

Hegde is a medical practitioner and has a M.B.B.S from Madras University, a M.D. from Lucknow University, a FRCP from London University, a FRCPI from Dublin University as well as a FACC and a FAMS. He has also received training in cardiology from Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....

 under Bernard Lown

Bernard Lown

Bernard Lown, M.D. is the original developer of the defibrillator and is an internationally known peace activist. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an organization he helped to create, was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for its work against nuclear proliferation...

, a Nobel Laureate.

Career

Hegde is visiting faculty at many universities. He also serves as the Chairman of the Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

 chapter of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...

, and has served as former Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University. He has also authored several books in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Kannada

Kannada language

Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

apart from publishing several medical research papers.