Gerhard Fischer (20 September 1921 – 3 July 2006) was a German diplomat, ambassador and humanitarian who received the 1997 Gandhi Peace Prize in recognition of his work for leprosy and polio-affected patients in India.
[5] Born in Oslo, Fischer grew up in China and studied medicine at Beijing Medical University, where he gained experience as a volunteer with leprosy patients.
When he was forced to abandon the course by the Japanese occupation, he travelled to Germany intending to study medicine there, but instead was obliged to fight in World War II, then was held as a POW in France.
He was also instrumental in setting up the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras,[6] which was founded with financial and technical support from the West German government.
Fischer regarded rehabilitation as the most important aspect of his work, and emphasised the need for attitudes to leprosy to change.
So he decided to travel—via Siberia—to Germany, intending to study medicine there, but was instead compelled to fight in "another huge war", a situation he regarded as a "trap".
[citation needed] While studying medicine in Beijing, he volunteered to look after leprosy patients (an opportunity offered to all medical students there, in the days before Fleming and modern antibiotics).
[8] In 1952–1953 he completed his training for the higher diplomatic and consular service in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, passing the final exam in 1953.
In December 1985, only six months before reaching his normal retirement age, he resigned from the diplomatic service in order to devote more time to leprosy patients in India.
[1] Fischer's work with leprosy patients in India began in 1960, when he was German Consul-General in Madras (now Chennai), in Tamil Nadu.
[9] He had already built his own leprosy station in the foothills of the Himalayas, and in the following years he established health centres, workshops and schools throughout India, building wells and latrines, and obtaining Jeeps, minibuses and other supplies.
So he trained them in skills to earn a living, such as making chappals, table cloths, mats, bed covers, beautiful carpets, and so on.
But Fischer stressed the need for medical practitioners in the primary health centres to maintain a watch over polio and leprosy, and to be trained in recognising the symptoms.
Although he stated that he believed in karma, he condemned the consequent fatalism of, and inaction towards, leprosy patients in India, saying "It is not their fault.
"[8] Many visitors to his stations couldn't face the physically horrible nature of the disease, but Fischer said that it was far worse mentally to be an outcast from one's family and community.
"[9] Fischer received the Indian government's Gandhi Peace Prize for 1997 in New Delhi on 5 January 1998 from the President of India, K. R. Narayanan.
[1] In his acceptance speech at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India, Fischer said, "It is not enough to have compassion, daya, karuṇā, and pity for the leprosy patients.
"[9] Referring to the government slogan of "eradicating leprosy by 2000", he said that his speech made people such as Sonia Gandhi, who were sitting in the front of the audience, very uncomfortable.