MANIPUR: Dr Thangjam Dhabali Singh’s journey from abject poverty in a small Manipuri village to becoming one of Northeast India’s leading doctor-entrepreneurs is a story of quiet resilience, relentless focus and unshakeable values.
Born in 1954 in Awang Sekmai, Manipur, Singh was the fifth of ten children in a family that barely made ends meet. His father, Thangjam Birchandra, was a poor farmer with modest schooling; his mother, Maipakpi, was illiterate.
Education was a luxury, but Singh’s parents prioritised it nonetheless. “We owe a great deal to our parents for their unwavering support,” Singh says. “Despite economic hardships, they made all efforts to ensure we got proper education.”
Growing up, Singh wore hand-me-down clothes from his elder brothers — ill-fitting pants and shirts that drew jeers from classmates. “Their comments about my dress sense hurt me deeply,” he recalls. But these slights only strengthened his resolve.
He completed his MBBS under Gauhati University in 1978 with high ranks, and later topped his MD in Pathology at the prestigious Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, after clearing a national-level entrance test.
Life as a student was a struggle. “Managing a month with Rs 100 after paying mess fees was extremely difficult,” he says. A football enthusiast, Singh depended on a well-off friend to sponsor match tickets. “It was embarrassing, but I never let it distract me from my goal.”
“My father constantly motivated all of us to study hard. My uncle, Kunjo, a government servant who was financially well-off, and his family provided us with significant support. I received affectionate care from a neighbourhood family, Paba Achou and Ima Tampak, during my early days. I spent most of my childhood in a rural setting and still feel a sense of nostalgia about it,” Singh says.
Singh’s transformative years began at Johnstone Higher Secondary School in Imphal, where he moved after Class 8. A shy boy with limited communication skills and hesitant English, he evolved steadily through college and post-graduation, eventually gaining confidence in public speaking and leadership.
After earning his MD, Singh briefly served as a senior resident at PGIMER before returning to Manipur with his wife, Dr S Rita, also a post-graduate in pharmacology. Despite their degrees, the couple remained unemployed for six months, relying on their families even for pocket money — an experience Singh calls “deeply humbling.”
The turning point came when Singh opened a small clinical lab — Babina Diagnostics — in a partially constructed building provided by his father-in-law, along with a modest start-up fund of Rs 20,000.
Named after their daughter, the lab had minimal infrastructure and was located in an inconvenient part of Imphal. Yet, it began to grow steadily.
Simultaneously, Singh joined RIMS (Regional Institute of Medical Sciences) as a demonstrator in the Department of Pathology and was later promoted to Assistant Professor. He continued his private practice during non-office hours.
Over time, earnings from the lab were reinvested, and in 1986, Babina Diagnostics became the first lab in Eastern India to be computerised — a pioneering move. In 1994, the lab was relocated to a better location on RIMS Road. A few years later, Singh made the bold decision to resign from RIMS to focus full-time on building a world-class diagnostic centre.
A multi-storeyed building was constructed, and by 2012, a much larger facility came up, housing advanced diagnostic infrastructure.
Singh’s vision did not stop there. In 2017, he set his sights on cancer care. The Babina Specialty Hospital, launched in 2019 in partnership with the American Oncology Institute, offers comprehensive oncology services, including nuclear medicine and bone marrow transplant.
More recently, a 200-bed multispecialty hospital was inaugurated, and a nursing institute is currently under construction. In 2007, Singh ventured into hospitality, recognising the region’s need for quality hotels. The Classic Hotel, Imphal’s first three-star property, opened in 2009. Buoyed by its success, Singh launched the four-star Classic Grande in 2015.
He later took over operations of Hotel Imphal and the scenic Sendra Resort on Loktak Lake. A five-star hotel is under construction at the Hotel Imphal site, slated for completion by the end of 2026. To professionalise the sector further, Singh established the Classic Hospitality Training Institute, aimed at grooming talent for the industry.
As Chairman and Managing Director of the Babina Group of Companies, Singh today oversees a business empire employing more than 1,200 professionals directly and another 300 indirectly through franchises, taxi services, supply chains and tourism-related services.
Singh also chairs the Manipur Tourism Forum, which has played a pivotal role in boosting tourist inflow through collaborations with the state government and local stakeholders.
The Babina Group supports underprivileged communities and promotes early screening for cancer and infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis.