Author: kirankumbhar

I am a medical doctor and health policy graduate, and currently PhD student at Harvard University (history of science). I write primarily about public health and history of medicine in India.
Culture & Life · History · Recommended movies, books etc. · Religion

Butalia’s ‘The Other Side of Silence’ – Human stories from the Partition of British India – 1

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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 – 1

History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

Inviting doctors and patients to share experiences and thoughts

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A project on the history of medical practice in India Inviting doctors and patients to share experiences and thoughts My name is Kiran Kumbhar. I am an MBBS graduate from BJ Govt Medical College, Pune (2010), and have previously worked in Pune, Ratnagiri, and Delhi as medical officer and non-PG resident doctor. Currently I am… Continue reading Inviting doctors and patients to share experiences and thoughts

History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

The medical gaze / clinical gaze concept, Michel Foucault

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Michel Foucault is well known to researchers and readers in several fields, esp sociology, anthropology, history, and philosophy. Many of his ideas also have to do with another field – medicine – though most doctors, nurses and other healthcare practitioners have hardly heard about him. To be sure, one can very well understand the theories… Continue reading The medical gaze / clinical gaze concept, Michel Foucault

History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

Understanding healthcare and medicine in India – by going above and beyond conventional sources

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I am a medical doctor currently studying the history of medicine and medical anthropology (PhD). After graduating (MBBS) in 2010, I worked as medical officer and resident doctor in some hospitals, both government and corporate, for four years, and then worked as a research assistant at the Public Health Foundation of India for a few months… Continue reading Understanding healthcare and medicine in India – by going above and beyond conventional sources

History · Politics

Creating a reliable, accessible resource for knowledge about India

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There is way too much fake and misleading laden ‘history’ floating around on social media and other corners of the Internet, deeply influencing people’s opinions and evaluations of events and personalities. [For one worrying example, see here.] I think, like many others, that we need to radically change the way we talk about the nation… Continue reading Creating a reliable, accessible resource for knowledge about India