Akrit Jaswal
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Akrit Jaswal (born April 23, 1993) is an Indian adolescent who has been hailed as a child prodigy who has gained fame in his native India as a physician, despite never having attended medical school. He gained fame for performing surgery at the age of seven.[1] He is a Hindu Rajput of Jaswal clan from Punjab.
According to his mother Raksha Kumari Jaswal, Akrit was an early starter, skipped the toddler stage and started walking. He started speaking in his 10th month and was reading Shakespeare at the age of 5. At 7, he performed an operation on a 8 year old girl whose fingers were fused together after being burnt. Akrit developed a passion for science and anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a celebrated success.
After the surgery, Akrit was hailed as a medical genius in India. Neighbors and strangers flocked to him for advice and treatment. At age 11, Akrit was admitted to a Punjab University. He's the youngest student ever to attend an Indian university. That same year, he was also invited to London's famed Imperial College to exchange ideas with scientists on the cutting edge of medical research. Akrit says he has millions of medical ideas, but he's currently focused on developing a cure for cancer. "I've developed a concept called oral gene therapy on the basis of my research and my theories", he says, "I'm quite dedicated towards working on this mechanism."
Growing up, Akrit says he used to see cancer patients lying on the side of the road because they couldn't afford treatment or hospitals had no space for them. Now, he wants to use his intellect to ease their suffering. "[I've been] going to hospitals since the age of 6, so I have seen firsthand people suffering from pain," he says. "I get very sad, and so that's the main motive of my passion about medicine, my passion about cancer." Currently, Akrit is working toward a bachelor's degree in zoology, botany and chemistry. Someday, he hopes to continue his studies at Harvard University.[2]
He became India's youngest university student and is currently studying for a BSc in a Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. He possesses books such as Gray's Anatomy, and textbooks on surgery, anaesthesia, anatomy, physiology, cancer, and others. Akrit claims to have mastered them with his daily habit of studying for an hour.
He has an estimated IQ of 146 from a single test.[3]
Akrit Jaswal is considered to be a reincarnation in his local village. He is consulted by neighbours and people from surrounding areas regarding ailments, prescriptions and courses of treatments. He claims to have been working on a cure for cancer for several years, based on theories of oral gene therapy. However, his work towards a cure for cancer was criticised by British doctors and researchers since they claim his understanding on the topic was vague.
In his spare time, Akrit enjoys playing and watching cricket.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "7-year-old Indian boy performs surgery". Punch. July 13, 2008. http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200807132114651.
- ^ Senthilingam, Meera. "Pass me the scalpel, Mummy". Imperial College Magazine, London]. http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/media/iscience/article_template_typ.php?articleid=125. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
- ^ "The Seven Year-Old Surgeon". The Sunday Times. http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/cgi-bin/articlefull.pl?id=17. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
