Dr. Rajendra Rohatgi was born in 1907 in a Freedom Fighter Family of Kanpur. He joined the freedom movement, but had to give in to the dictates of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya to complete his studies. He shifted to Benaras where he enrolled in Anne Besant Theosophical School & lived with Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under his strict supervision. He obtained his MBBS Degree from Seth Goverdhan Das Medical College, Bombay, in 1934. He was trained in Ophthalmology in London & Vienna. His dream was to serve the country & build a Eye Hospital.

He joined the Faculty at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur as Honorary Surgeon of Ophthalmology & also started a private practice. In 1946 he was instrumental in forming the Association for the Prevention of Blindness (UP) & started the work of Rural Eye Relief by going to remote villages & performing cataract surgery in the villages.

As a pioneering surgeon he was in the forefront to attack the problem of blindness in India. In 1956 the foundation was laid for the Kanpur Eye Hospital under the aegis of the Association for the Prevention of Blindness. The Hospital was inaugurated in 1958.

Guided by the Gandhian philosophy of service, driven by the urge to create and backed by the support and assistance of those who believed in his vision, Dr. Rohatgi set in motion a 50 year old & still continuing crusade against blindness. His work and its remarkable results have gained recognition. The institution he has built has grown into a teaching & training Institution for Doctors & Paramedical staff & is treating more than 70000 patients every year.

In 1997 the Hospital activities were expanded to include other departments like General Medicine, Surgery, Obs & Gynae., ENT, Orthopeadics & Pediatrics.