This is a commentary I wrote, on how to think about and approach the “end” of the COVID pandemic in India. It was published in The Wire Science on 31st October 2021. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt from the article. As Sivaramakrishnan says, policymakers prefer to conceptualise epidemics as finite, circumscribed events… Continue reading Epidemics End. Eventually. Sort Of
There has been a lot of commentary on how the Aarogya Setu app, publicized heavily by the Government of India, has hardly been of any assistance in the Covid control efforts. At the same time, it is important to note that perhaps the government was aware of its uselessness from the beginning, and that the… Continue reading Aarogya Setu: The dangerous obsession with technology in public health policy
For the previous posts in this series, see here, here, here, and here. [Throughout history epidemics have served as excellent windows into social and cultural beliefs and norms. While this contagion-catalyzed uncovering of a society’s thought processes helps historians understand past societies in better ways, for present societies it can potentially be utilized as a… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – the Lockdown and its Pain
For the previous posts in this series, see here, here, and here. [Throughout history epidemics have served as excellent windows into social and cultural beliefs and norms. While this contagion-catalyzed uncovering of a society’s thought processes helps historians understand past societies in better ways, for present societies it can potentially be utilized as a way… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – PPEs, Frontline workers, and their families
[Throughout history epidemics have served as excellent windows into social and cultural beliefs and norms. While this contagion-catalyzed uncovering of a society’s implicit and explicit thought processes helps historians understand past societies in better ways, for present societies it can potentially be utilized as a way to understand our hidden biases, prejudices, and even kindnesses.… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – March 17 Diary
This appeared in The Wire on 28 January 2020. Here is the article. I wrote this mainly in response to the Indian government’s gradual and timid abandonment of the universal health care goal for its people, with the latest setback being the plans to hand over our country’s civil hospitals to private agencies. “Immediately after… Continue reading Why India’s founders championed a well-funded government-led healthcare system
This was published in the Wire on 18 Nov 2018. Here is the link, and below is an excerpt: “In 1972, a British doctor Archibald Cochrane wrote a book titled Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services. It had a great influence on ideas about decision-making in medicine and public health. Archibald was concerned with… Continue reading Cochrane and the challenges of producing trustworthy evidence in medicine
This review was published in Wire.in on 18 Oct 2018. Here is the full article. Below is an excerpt: As a former physician now studying the history of the medical profession in India, I found the chapters written by veteran doctors most interesting. M.K. Mani, who has been in medicine for the last 60 years,… Continue reading Review of the book ‘Healers or Predators: Healthcare Corruption in India’ by Nundy, Desiraju, Nagral
CARING FOR INDIA 