Medical education in India has completely lost direction, thus Outlook deserves kudos for writing about a few of that minuscule stock of good doctors working in its villages (The True Oath, Dec 25). Our medical colleges do nothing to orient their wards towards the real needs of the rural populace. Most medicos are groomed with little awareness about the healthcare situation in our villages. For, they are systemically conditioned to pursue highly specialised medicine—not just for monetary rewards but for intellectual satisfaction too. And, when they finish training, it’s often too late to look back. Result: the brightest medical graduates either leave India or get cloistered in its metros.
Dr Krishna Kumar, Kochi
Your story should inspire some of our doctors to work for the benefit of villagers and tribals. It’s a shame that our country still sees ordinary diseases killing hundreds of its rural folk. The government should act to rectify the malady—it should stop ignoring the fact that over 70 per cent of its population lives in the villages. In fact, on the health front, India can emulate Cuba. It’s one of the world’s poorest countries, yet has medical facilities better than that in the US. Surely, a small surge in the strength of its altruist doctors can help India rectify much of its anomalies in the field of healthcare.
Shailesh Kumar, Bangalore
These are the real Bharat ratnas! I salute you docs—you’re true patriots, angels.
A.S, Atlanta, US
Great story, a couple of sore points though. Dr Pradeep Trehan, the urologist you have mentioned, seems to have shifted his place of practice twice only to suit himself. Also, by glorifying a neurosurgeon for practising in Patan in north Gujarat, you have only demeaned that town. Patan is not a jungle but a prominent medical centre with more than 200 practising doctors.
Dr Istyaque Ansari, Bharuch
A passing thought about my father, Dr Pradeep Trehan, and I feel immensely proud of him. He is a simple man trying to make a difference to the world of healthcare—by upholding the real value of medicine by using it to help the poor. Only, the story had one part—highlighted in the blurb—that does not go well with the general tone of the story: "In Delhi, a hundred urologists compete for patients, here there’s just me". I know pretty well that my dad’s interview skills aren’t the best, but I should say it’s not about where there are more doctors or less of them—or about their competition. It’s about providing help to people where they really need it the most: rural India.
Rahul Trehan, New York
These village docs have taught us a big lesson: the pursuit of wealth alone has brought with it all the ills we face today—corruption, cunning, chicanery, debased family and society, and more money!
P. Silhi, Kartarpur, Punjab
It’s not just the selflessness and tenacity of these doctors that’s impressed me, it’s also the sheer scale of their achievements in a relatively brief span of time—that too with minimal resources. Your story would hopefully lead to building up a database of several such potential candidates.
S. Sreyas, on e-mail
In a world where qualified professionals are chasing prospects in bigger cities—within the country and abroad—such a service by a few good doctors deserves encomiums. This is like choosing to travel in a general compartment of a train when you have a first-class ticket! These docs have elevated their profession to a nobler status. Let this tribe grow.
Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore
While the efforts of these docs deserve praise, one shouldn’t blame those who stick to cities and groom a good career. It’s absolutely human to be ambitious—and urban areas too have lots of patients with their stories of misery and penury.
Virendra Chawla, on e-mail
The column by Kavery Nambisan (The Rural Gangrene) was outstanding. Overall, the story was inspirational, though I wish you had done more. Surely there would be many more unsung doctors whose efforts deserve a word of praise.
G.S. Chandy, Bangalore
Nambisan’s piece was especially brilliant. But for such occasional articles—and stories—Outlook would have long ago lost most of its readers.
A. Kshirsagar, Hartford, US
This has turned out to be one issue I would like to preserve. Just because of the cover story.
Pranav Kumar Das, Bhopal
I would be doubly happy if the good docs list has a lot of upper-caste Hindus, who would otherwise be reluctant to touch "chee-chee" patients.
Parbat Laldeng, Denver
What a relief—this transformation from a stark naked man on the cover to a set of good samaritan doctors! It seems Outlook believes in blow hot, blow cold! So, what next?
P.S. Reddy, Hanamkonda, AP
I must protest Sheela Reddy’s intro to the excerpt you have published from Mohandas as well as to her interview with me (Gandhi’s Human Tryst, Jan 1). She calls the latter "warmly intimate", withholding the fact that I replied to the questions by mail. Of course, I answered the questions frankly. As for the intro to the excerpt, and the heading given to it, the idea that I have now "pulled something out of the family closet" is false to your knowledge. More than 10 years ago, the Saraladevi story was treated in my 1995 study of Gandhi, The Good Boatman, as is stated in the very excerpt published by you. I cannot feel you showed good judgement in selecting out of 683 pages of rich history four pages you thought readers would find salacious. M.K. Gandhi is not hurt by the excerpt; on the contrary. But I am, for thanks to your headlines and intro, many who love and honour Gandhi will think I sought to exploit my grandfather’s historic temptation and his conquest over it to sell my book.
Rajmohan Gandhi, Urbana, Illinois
Sheela Reddy replies: At no time, from the day we requested permission from his publisher to carry an excerpt to when the issue was actually on the stands, did we hear a word from Rajmohan Gandhi expressing any reservations on the Saraladevi excerpt being used. In fact, in the first of several notes exchanged with him over e-mail, he sounded delighted at the interest shown in his book. As for the interview, he denies having been "warmly intimate" because it was conducted over e-mail (I was referring, of course, to what he has to say about his grandfather, not the physical distance between the interviewer and interviewee!), he says at some length how this episode actually enhances his grandfather’s image instead of detracting from it. Regarding what excerpt to use, Rajmohan Gandhi’s exact words, sent to me in an e-mail, were: "You’ll know what extract is best for you." After that, one can only conclude that his sudden pang of moral indignation has something to do with his own regrets on hindsight, and how he’ll now be perceived by readers.
I think the Indo-US nuclear deal is fantastic (Not Much Frisson, Dec 25). It enables us to interact with an entire group of nations to import this critical technology. As far as security issues go, there is no real concern as we already have nuclear weapons and delivery means. The deal does not cap or roll back the existing nuclear weapons programme. It only wishes to emphasise that it won’t try to benefit India’s military programme. Since our energy-based nuclear programme is so primitive, there is no doubt that any imported system would not be able to interface with our existing systems. So a lot of infrastructure would need to be put in place to utilise the technology. If we are smart, we can learn a great deal from the imported technology and modernise our programme. There is no point lamenting the necessity of importing uranium. It’ll be much cheaper than oil imports. At some point in future, with diplomacy, we will be able to build breeders to recycle uranium. Meanwhile, India can continue its indigenous thorium-based research and, if we are successful, we would become exporters of technology and thorium.
Anurag Gupta, Corvallis, US
Politics blinds reason, as is happening in Bengal (Singur Isn’t Singapore, Dec 25). The Red rulers are adamant on their stand, while Mamatadi’s fast seems more a political spectacle. We have projects, plans, research institutions etc; and money has been and is being spent for reclaiming desert and arid lands for agriculture. Much is being talked about increasing agricultural productivity and adequate returns for the farmer. So why is a state government being allowed to hand over prime agricultural land to a car-manufacturing project? Do we really need one more car-making factory in India? However meagre the returns, the small land-owning farmer and his progeny have at least something to fall back on. Can the Red czars of West Bengal ensure at least a starvation-level wage for generations to come before dispossessing the farmer?
K. Vijayan, Chennai
Is the Cairn India ipo really a success (Mangala Express, Dec 25)? An issue that was oversubscribed on the first day to the tune of 1.31 times was finally oversubscribed for only 1.14 times, because a huge percentage of investors withdrew their applications on the last day. The reason for this is the ongoing tussle between mrpl and Cairn India. Probably the only success of the ipo is for Rahul Dhir.
Srikanth Seshagiri, Chennai
Coming from a former commando who toppled a democratically elected government in a military coup following in the footsteps of his predecessors Gen Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and his mentor Zia-ul-Haq, Musharraf’s decision for a Two-Nation Rehash (Dec 25) turns Pakistan’s long-cherished and obsessively pursued two-nation theory on its head. However, that makes it a landmark move which should, over a period of time, effect tectonic changes in the Pakistani society. The only danger, as you point out, remains from the retrograde and parochial forces led by clerics, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and hawks like Shirin Mazari. If Musharraf is determined and takes political opponents and Islamists in the armed forces with him to confront the hate brigade and make his nation more humane, multi-cultural and liberal, history is bound to judge him very favourably.
M. Ratan, New Delhi
Gursharan Kaur as "First lady"? (Books, Dec 25). What about our vice-president’s wife, who’s the "ex-officio" first lady of our nation, as our president is a bachelor?
B. Arun, Trichy
