This was published in thewire.in on 13 January 2019. Here is the link, and below is an excerpt. All such developments from the 1800s gave rise to a trend that we sadly never fully abandoned. Faced with constant assaults on their traditions, the then-elite Hindus found solace and self-respect in ancient texts, and maybe didn’t… Continue reading The British colonial origins of gravity-defying ancient Indian science
I wrote the following as an answer to the question on Quora What were some of the global events that had the greatest impact on the history of India? I will write about a very obvious global event and its very under-appreciated impacts on India’s history. The event is British colonialism. The underappreciated impacts are… Continue reading Why do some Indians like to obsessively make outrageous claims about ‘ancient Indian science’?
I wrote this as an answer to a question on Quora, Has there ever been a time when doctors were widely mistrusted (as a whole)? It might be perhaps accurate to say that healers in general – or doctors as we would call them today – have never received complete, unadulterated trust from the public… Continue reading The time when ANYBODY could practise as a doctor in the United States
Over the last two years I have fortunately had the time and resources to read some excellent scholarship on the history of medicine and public health in India. These books and articles have immensely helped me to understand the historical beginnings and trajectories of the different aspects of healthcare in our country. For example, one… Continue reading The history of medicine in India: Some reading recommendations for doctors and other healthcare practitioners
I wrote this for Swaddle on July 8 2018. Here is the original article. I based it primarily on the book ‘Reproductive Restraints: Birth Control in India, 1877-1947’ by historian Sanjam Ahluwalia of Northern Arizona University Below are some excerpts: Birth control began in India not as a free choice by individuals to manage their fertility, but as… Continue reading The “oppressive” history of family planning and population control in India
During my research into the history of India and the history of medicine in India, I have often come across very useful resources for images and photographs from the past. Many of these are free and do not require any payment or subscriptions. Below is a list of those, and I will continue to add… Continue reading A guide to finding historical images about India through free online resources
This was published in thewire.in on 30th June 2018. Here is the full article, and below is an extract. “When Sen decided to make cardiovascular history around early 1968, large scientific projects had already entered public imagination as modern ‘temples’ a la Nehru. In fact he had previously performed India’s first ever operation on the heart… Continue reading Dr PK Sen in 1968 – India’s first heart transplant in the time of Nehruvian science and self-reliance
Over the next few weeks I will be reproducing some important passages from Urvashi Butalia’s landmark 1998 book about the human side (as against the political/social side) of the partition of British India in 1946-47: The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. (Please read here the introduction to this book.) Today we… Continue reading Butalia’s ‘The Other Side of Silence’ – Human stories from the Partition of British India
CARING FOR INDIA 