Culture & Life · Medicine & Doctors · Politics · Public health

Doctors, Academics, and Artists Bear the Brunt of Mob Violence in India: Here’s How They Can Help Each Other

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This appeared in theWire.in on 15 March 2017. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt: While the medical community regularly (and rightfully) demands and expect protection from mob violence, is it morally justified that it looks the other way when other citizens are subjected to similar violence? Mob bullying and violence are among the most deplorable aspects… Continue reading Doctors, Academics, and Artists Bear the Brunt of Mob Violence in India: Here’s How They Can Help Each Other

Culture & Life · Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

New Science on Why People Believe Fake News

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This was published by theWire on March 5, 2017. Here is the link. Below is an extract. “To sum up, Mercier and Sperber claim that our faculty of reasoning is perfect for making, and accepting or rejecting, argumentive claims. They say this is its primary evolutionary function. But our reasoning faculty is imperfect – though not… Continue reading New Science on Why People Believe Fake News

Cinema & Bollywood · Culture & Life · History · Religion

Bhansali Attack: ‘Hurt’ Feelings Are No Justification For Violence

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This was published in HuffPost India on Feb 8 2017. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt. “These emotions are so subjective and varied that often even members of the same family are at opposite ends on whether, for example, a particular statement is offensive or not. In the Padmavati case also, while the… Continue reading Bhansali Attack: ‘Hurt’ Feelings Are No Justification For Violence

History · Politics · Recommended movies, books etc.

Conversing With Gandhi in Digital India

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This was published on Gandhi’s death anniversary this year, Jan 30 2017. Here is the link. Below is an extract: In a documentary on the making of the movie, Attenborough expressed phenomenal admiration for one of young Gandhi’s most profound insights: “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored… Continue reading Conversing With Gandhi in Digital India

History · Recommended movies, books etc. · Religion

How the Grand Old Bhandarkar Urged Indian Historians to Rein in Their ‘Glorious Past’ Fantasies

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This was published in theWire.in on 14 January 2017. Here is the link. Below is an extract: In the 1918 speech, Bhandarkar expressed exasperation over “persons who find in the Rgveda allusions to X-rays, railways and what not.” While he urges us not to consider the great epics and the Puranas etc. as strict historical… Continue reading How the Grand Old Bhandarkar Urged Indian Historians to Rein in Their ‘Glorious Past’ Fantasies

History · History of Medicine · Politics

Black Money and White Violence: How 2016 India Brings Back Dark Memories of Colonized India

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This piece was published in TheWire.in on January 4 2016. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt: “While such absurd colonial arguments do not exist, the colonial attitude surely does, even today. It is this attitude that makes ‘digital India’ devalue the lives of those it refuses to empathise with – the millions of… Continue reading Black Money and White Violence: How 2016 India Brings Back Dark Memories of Colonized India

Medicine & Doctors · Politics · Public health

Demonetisation and Public Health: Only a Welfare-Intensive Budget 2017 Can Now Help BJP Save Face

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This was carried by HuffPost India on Nov 28 2016. Here is the link, and below is an excerpt. “It’s because, just like with demonetisation, the nation leaves them with no other choice. We let government hospitals crumble, and force our poor to go to those, ostensibly for the “greater benefit of the nation”. Because… Continue reading Demonetisation and Public Health: Only a Welfare-Intensive Budget 2017 Can Now Help BJP Save Face