How Dr. Norbu Olthangpa’s decades of uninterrupted service laid the foundation of modern medical care in Ladakh
Today I came across an article by Tribune India on a man named Dr. Norbu Olthangpa. It was the first time I had heard of him, and like me, there are very few outside Ladakh who know his name. Even major national publications have largely overlooked his work. A surgeon by profession, Dr. Olthangpa has played a foundational role in building Ladakh’s healthcare system and is regarded locally as a living legend.
Born in 1941 in Nimoo village, Olthangpa became Ladakh’s first full-time practicing surgeon after completing his Master’s degree in General Surgery in 1978. At a time when advanced medical care in the region was almost nonexistent, his return marked a turning point for public health in the high-altitude desert.
For more than three decades at the Sonam Norboo Memorial (SNM) Hospital in Leh, he performed over 10,000 major and minor surgeries. The conditions were often extreme—frequent power failures that forced surgeries to continue under torchlight, limited medical equipment, and no reliable communication systems for referrals or consultations. Winters routinely cut the region off from the rest of the country, leaving patients with few alternatives.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Olthangpa is remembered for never taking a single day of leave during his government service. With only one surgeon available for the entire region, continuity of care depended entirely on his presence. Locals often say that there is hardly a family in Ladakh that has not, at some point, relied on him.
After retiring in 2001, he continued working at the Mahabodhi Charitable Hospital in Leh for several years. Now in his mid-80s, people still visit him at home for medical advice and guidance.
His contributions have been formally recognised through honours such as the Government of India’s Rural Surgeon Award and the Ladakh Rpal Ngam Tuston in 2016. Yet beyond Ladakh, his story remains largely untold.
In a region where modern healthcare had to be built from the ground up, Dr. Norbu Olthangpa’s legacy is measured not in publicity, but in decades of uninterrupted service and thousands of lives treated under the most demanding conditions.
