He is yet another Gujarati to be included in the roster of distinguished American citizens honored with the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Dhiraj H Shah, a doctor, joined the list of esteemed celebrities like President George HW Bush, President Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali, Rudy Giuliani, Bob Hope, Henry Kissinger, Michael Douglas, Deepak Chopra, among others who have received this award.

In a glittering ceremony on May 10, Shah was presented with the award at the location where millions of immigrants historically first set foot on the US soil. Instituted by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, Inc., the awards are designed to pay homage to the immigrant experience as well as for individual achievement.

The honorees were remarkable Americans who exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives, while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular heritage.

A retired radiologist based in Grand Island, New York, Shah moved from Bhuj in 1970 to pursue his medical career. Besides an active professional life, he has an exemplary list of humanitarian activities to his name that includes organizing medical camps across India, raising funds for victims of natural and man made calamities all over the world apart from donating thousands of dollars worth medical and educational equipment such as computers, printers, mammography and stress test machines to numerous institutions in India.

“I tried to help fellow human-beings in time of need, “he says. The Ellis Island award is an addition to the already long list of honors he has received so far from reputed national and global bodies for his outstanding contribution to the society. “This award belongs to the entire Indian-American community here. Despite the fact that they are living in their adopted land they haven’t forgotten their motherland and tried to build a bridge between the two,” he says.

Shah became one of the first Indian-Americans to win conscientious objector status in 1970 when he refused to fight during the Vietnam War. A past president of Jain Associations in North America(JAINA) and the current chairman of JAINA’s World Community Service Program, he is on the boards of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls and the India Association of Buffalo and in a trustee with the Hindu Cultural Society if Western New York.

After retiring from his practice in 2003 he has concentrated his energies on organizing medical camps in different parts of India. “I have been involved in it since 1976 but now we have grown to organizing about eight camps annually. For two months every year we take a team of 40 to 50 doctors and volunteers who treat thousands of patients,” he says.