Noted health activist, neurosurgeon, author and above all the vice chancellor of Kerala University, Dr B Ekbal can talk on a wide range of medical and health policy topics.

Dr. Ekbal, whose experience as a member of the Kerala State Planning Board where he has been active since 1996 in promoting the public health and health care delivery aspect of Kerala's substantial decentralization program has attracted international attention.

He is also associated with many progressive social movements and activities in Kerala. He also writes extensively on related matters in both Malayalam and English journals. A staunch supporter of the leftist government and its populist policies, he is deeply involved in its various programmes.

Dr B Ekbal, a visiting scholar at Montclair State University from 27 May to 25 June 2001, was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Kerala University on 2 May 2000. He is the first physician to become the vice-chancellor of the premier institution of higher learning in Kerala, the Kerala University.