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Vijayalakshmi Deshmane
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Medicine · Karnataka

From a Kalaburagi slum to the cancer theatre

Vijayalakshmi Deshmane sold vegetables with her mother and struggled with English in medical college. She chose surgery anyway, and became one of the first women to lead surgical oncology at one of India's major cancer institutes.

Vijayalakshmi Deshmaneविजयलक्ष्मी देशमाने
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Vijayalakshmi Deshmane. Photo: Padma Awards, Government of India

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Born
10 April 1955
Roots
Kalaburagi, Karnataka
Career
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru
Field
Surgical oncology, breast-cancer research, medical teaching
Honours
Karnataka Rajyotsava Award 2004; Padma Shri 2025
1985first woman MS student in General Surgery, Bellary
~30years at Kidwai
2025Padma Shri

Against the odds

Dr. Vijayalakshmi Deshmane’s story is about the power of education against social and economic barriers. According to her official Padma citation, she was born on 10 April 1955 in a slum settlement in Kalaburagi. She came from the Madiga community; her mother sold fruit and vegetables and her father was a freedom fighter.

In later interviews she recalls helping the family earn a living alongside her studies, and how English became a hard barrier in medical college after a Kannada-medium schooling.

Choosing surgery

She took her MBBS from Karnataka Medical College, Hubballi, in 1980, and became the first woman MS student in General Surgery at Government Medical College, Bellary, completing her MS in 1985. She received a fellowship in surgical oncology from the Association of Surgeons of India and trained in oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.

Then came three decades at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru. Her citation describes her as the first lady senior resident and first lady faculty of its Department of Surgical Oncology. She retired as Professor and Head in 2015, and also served as the institute’s Director-in-Charge.

Beyond the operating theatre

Her work did not stop in the operating theatre. She trained senior residents and MS and MCh surgical oncology students, served as Principal Investigator on global breast-cancer research projects, and presented research at national and international conferences.

Later she led the Karnataka Cancer Society and worked on cancer awareness. Her journey matters because it joins personal resilience with building the capacity of the medical system itself.

Sources