Indian Healthcare , a joke?

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, and the Indian Medical association have taken umbrage at President Obama's comment that he would like Americans not to travel to contries like India or Mexico in search of medical treatment.

No doubt, it is undrestandable that the private hospital owners and members of the medical community who are reaping huge benefits from surging 'medical tourism' in India are piqued, but it's shocking to hear the Union Health minister describing Obama's comment as 'unnaceptable'. Azad's statement that the world appreciates the quality of Indian healthcare makes me cringe. Is the man serious? Does he really believe that the quality of healthcare in India is comparable to that of developed countries like the US, Australia, or the UK?

It's not patients from developed countries who are flocking to India for medical treatment. the Medical tourism boom is due to patients coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and African nations, eastern Europe, with inferior health-care facilities.
Those patients from developed countries who have no health insurance, and therefore unable to bear the high cost of treatment in their countries, are the ones that travel to India for treatment. Now id Obama wants to extend the benefit of American healthcare to these poor American citizens, so that they will not have to travel out of their country, why is Ghulam Nabi Azad's shorts in a knot?

Actually, all the rich chaps and politicians who need healthcare head out of India to the developed countries when they are seriousy ill, if our healthcare was so excellent, then why do the rich head out of the country for treatment?

India resides in its villages, and most of them are  bereft of  quality healthcare.

Shanti Lakra- Padmashree

Ten years ago, when Shanti Teresa Lakra, a Catholic nurse [actually ANM], was posted to a dwindling tribe living in a forest on a small island in the Andaman and Nicobar chain, little did she know it would bring her one of India’s top honors.


Lakra, 38, received the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, from President Pratibha Patil on March 24 for her dedicated service to the Onges, who are on the verge of extinction.
Onges are one of the most primitive tribes in India. The Onges are inhabiting the Little Andaman Island. This Hunting and Gathering tribe has also been settled by the Andaman & Nicobar Administration at Dugong Creek and South Bay on Little Andaman Island at present. Coconut plantation has been raised for the benefit of Onges Medical care, free ration etc. are being provided at these two Settlement by the Administration. Onges go for hunting and fishing occasionally . The present population of Onges is 105.

President Pratibha Patil [left] handing the award to Shanti [right]

When she first visited the Onges, Shanti was the only woman government employee in that cut-off forest. She had difficulty in communicating with the tribal people as she did not know their language.

“I communicated through facial expressions or sign language. It built trust in me and they started to respond,” Lakra said recently in a telephone interview.

The Union government has provided a settlement in the forest for these tribal people, who prefer to live naked and eat boiled or roast food. During the hot months the Onges prefer not to live in the settlement. Some like to live near the seashore while others like the forest. “But I had to tend to them wherever they were,” Shanti said. The 38-year-old Oraon tribal woman had to traverse difficult forest paths to reach people.

The nurse had to visit every family as the shy tribal people never opened up about their problems, especially maternity-related cases.
“Pregnant women never allowed us to touch their stomachs during a checkup. I had to persuade them a lot to provide medical care for them,” she said. Despite these problems, she never felt like quitting the job or look for a better life.
“I could have taken leave but it never occurred to me. I had developed an attachment with these people. My routine was set,” she said.

Shanti Lakra’s determination was such that she stayed on the island after the 2004 tsunami that killed thousands of people in southern parts of India. She had a one-year-old son with her at that time but that too didn’t deter her from serving the tribe. “I was alone there but I realized that if I left them, there would be nobody to care for them,” she said. Ms Lakra was posted at Sub Centre in Dugong Creek, which is a tribal reserve area of Little Andaman Island. Being the only medical staff, she performed all medical and health care services to Onge tribes in settlement colony as well as in deep jungle, which is the habitat of Onge Tribes.


For the dedication towards her work, Ms Lakra had also received the Florence Nightangle Award for the year 2010.

When Tsunami devastated many parts of this islands, Shanti bravely performed her duties at Dugong Creek staying with Onges adjacent to jungle in an open tent for more than two years.




She says her biggest support has been her family. Lakra had to leave her infant son with her in-laws when she went to remote villages. “It wouldn’t have been good for the child to live in a tent, with insects and snakes common during rainy seasons.”

Lakra claims her efforts have brought some positive changes in the tribe.“The tribal women have started wearing clothes. They have become more open in discussing their health problems with our medical staff,” she added. The Ongees numbered just 78 when Lakra first went to the island but now their population has risen to 105.

In 2006, she was posted to G.B. Pant Hospital in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a federally-administered hospital. Here she takes care of the medical needs of all the tribes in the Andaman Islands. The island chain also has four other tribes - Jarawas, Andamanese, Sentinalese and Shompens.

Lakra says she never thought she would get the Padma Shri for her services. “My faith has helped me a lot. I could do all this because God was with me,” she said.She hopes the tribe will someday become part of the wider society. “They have given me so much. They will always be there in my heart.”

International Aids Candlelight Memorial 2011

AASRA Charitable Trust is coordinating this year's IACM 2011 with partners  Kurji Holy Family Hospital {Navjeevan Community Helath Centre}, Bihar network of Positive people [BNP+], Patna Network of Positive People [PNP+] and other organisations and individuas.

A week-long chain of events to be undertaken by various partners at different locations each according to its capacity.


Local networking with different groups will be the key element, and involving as many people as possible. So please join us.

15th May, Sunday : IACM to be observed in Patna and as many districts as possible with the Positive People's Networks holding a candle-lighting ceremony at their district headquarters.

The time for lighting the candles will be uniformly at 7 pm throughout the state.

16th May Nukkad performances at Rly Station

17th May Nukkad at Mithapur Bus stand

18th May Awareness + IEC distribution at Bithpur

19th May Awareness + IEC distribution at Digha

2oth May Awareness + IEC distribution at Paliganj and Dulhan Bazar

Film: Dominic D'Souza's last speech + English Poetry Reading and Singalong session at AASRA Charitable Trust, New Patliputra

21st May Film: Phir se ashiyana Banayenge Hum by Timothy Gaikwad at Holy Family Hospital Auditorium [60 minutes]

Air-conditioned saloon

While on a road trip to Purnea this week, I came across this 'air-conditioned saloon' in a village along the highway - the village was called Hajpur-Bochaha

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Touching Lives - International AIDS Candlelight Memorial - 15 May 2011

In Patna, the event will be coordinated by AASRA Charitable Trust and Navjeevan Community Centre with support from several partners: more news about the local observances soon!


Sunday 15 May 2011, tens of thousands of people worldwide will light a candle on occasion of the 28th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. The International AIDS Candlelight memorial is used by community-based organizations in over 75 countries to: remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS; to support those living with HIV and affected by its impact, and to spur calls to action for greater awareness.

With the theme “Touching Lives” the Candlelight Memorial wishes to highlight how HIV has touched the lives of many people. “Touching Lives” also refers to how an improved HIV response with more treatment access, better prevention methods and respect for human rights and dignity touches the lives of people living with and affected by HIV.

Global reports from UNAIDS and others show that increasing access to HIV treatment is working to slow down the HIV epidemic. HIV treatment keeps people living with HIV healthy, more productive and lowers the risk of transmitting HIV to others.

Over 6 million of the estimated 33 million people living with HIV are receiving treatment, but grave injustices remain. For example, annually 370,000 children are born with HIV in low and middle income countries, while parent to child transmission has been virtually eliminated in high income countries.

The Memorial will this year be held only three weeks prior to the UNGASS High Level Meeting where the international community will discuss their commitments to halting the HIV epidemic. Major issues at the UNGASS High Level Meeting will be:

to increase access to HIV treatment;

to prevent new HIV infections by ensuring access to condoms, clean needles and an enabling and non discriminatory legal environment;

to ensure the HIV response is inclusive of key populations at risk, specifically young people, women, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and sex workers.

to reverse the shortage of funding for the HIV response.

This year it is the 28th time the International Candlelight Memorial is organized. Started in 1983 the memorial is the longest running community event around HIV and AIDS. It is also one of the largest events as each year the Candlelight Memorial is being celebrate by tens of thousands of people worldwide.

With just 6 weeks until the Memorial close to 500 community organizers in 75 countries have registered at www.candlelightmemorial.org. These organizers together with the national and regional coordinators are currently preparing the events.



Media are encouraged to contact the national and regional coordinators to join and experience memorials in their countries and communities.

Children persecuted in Karnataka

Lent is a time when Christians contemplate on the ‘Passion of the Christ’ and in Karnataka, Christians are at the receiving end of persecution this Lenten season.

Since the beginning of April, many children from Christian-run shelters for poor returning home after exams have been stopped by Bajrang Dal activists and harassed. These included children from Ebenezer Mercy Hall, a charitable home run by a Pentecostal Christian group, the Ashraya home run by a Catholic leader, and the Stella Maris Orphanage run by Apostolic Carmel nuns.

It’s only after I read the news that thirty-seven groups belonging to all faiths have publicly condemned Bajrang Dal attacks on Christian-run homes for poor children in Karnataka, that I realised how ineffective the media is when it comes to covering news. The news-log has been overshadowed by Cricket, Anna Hazare, the Japan Earthquake, and new scams, so one got to read about this protest on a news website.

These fanatics, in the name of ‘protecting Hinduism’ have now begun to “train their guns” on students, especially those from these poor homes, alleging proselytization. It has been observed that since 2008 when the BJP started ruling the southern state, lunatic fringe groups affiliated to the Sangh Parivar have become bolder. There have been at least 24 attacks on Christians and their institutions. When Christians  protested the attacks, the police harassed the victims instead, and did nothing to safeguard them, say members from the community.

Dalit leader Krishnananda D said Christians have donated their houses to establish schools but now the fundamentalists are stopping them from even imparting knowledge. There are more than 80,000 students studying in Christian schools in Mangalore. If every student was made a ‘Christian’ by now India would have become a nation full of Christians.

“We may be Muslims or Christians but before that we are Indians,” said Muslim leader Ali Hasan, addressing nearly 4,000 people assembled on April 11 in front of the local district commissioner’s office in Mangalore..

“The children were shocked and depressed when the fundamentalists threatened and questioned them. They even threatened the children with murder and removal of their kidneys”, said Sister Premalatha, one of the caretakers of Stella Maris Orphanage.

“Whatever the provocation, we will not stop working for the poor children,” said Sister Agatha Mary, Superior General of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation.

Mariamma Thomas, a Christian social activist, alleged that the police as well as child-welfare committees have joined hands with the fundamentalists in attacking children’s homes.

Asha Nayak, president of South Kanara District Child Welfare Committee said: ‘We inspect the records, registers, official permissions and files of the poor children homes as to protect them and their rights. That is our official duty.

The Stella Maris orphanage has been functioning for the past 60 years, and on demand by the child welfare committee, the nun in charge produced relevant legal documents in this regard to prove that the orphanage was registered and the children were not illegally confined.

Asha Nayak and assistant commissioner Prabhulinga Kavalikatte visited the orphanage to verify the documents. After a thorough discussion, they concluded that all the documents were in place and decided to send the children back to the orphanage.

Silver Jubilee: Street Theatre at Ravi

Here is a post on the All Bihar Street Theatre festival of Ravi Bharati, Patna
Twenty-five years and still counting. Benny Moolan SJ, the current director of Ravi Bharati has started a blog, and its inaugural post is on the festival: The report on:
Communication: Benny Moolan's Blog
My own association with the Nukkad Natak festival goes back several years. In 2000, I had the privilege of giving away the mementos at the festival.  In 2003, I remember, I designed the memento. That year, Professor Shanker Dutt was the Chief Guest on the final day and gave away the prizes.
Manoj Patel, commonly known as Raj, performed on behalf of AASRA Chartiable Trust. Here are some pitures I unearthed.

Arun Ignatius SJ, then director of Ravi Bharati and Prof. Shanker Dutt at the Festival

Action at the All Bihar Street Theatre Festival, 2003

Raj [in Kurta] with the memento, in the picture are AASRA members and kids

And now, Bhagwan Gandhi?

Is the Government of India trying to turn so-called ‘Gandhism’ into a state religion and Gandhi into another ‘Prophet’, or God maybe? I mean, what the *&^$@? Gandhi is going to be placed on a flagpole and is to be given the same respect as the national fag? Oops, I meant to type ‘National Flag!’? Freudian slip.

My point is that Gandhi was pretty open about his experiments with 'truth' and the way that Indian politicians want to cover him up just to suit their narrow 'moralistic' ends, is hypocritical, myopic and stupid.

I came across this news item on the stand that the Catholics of Gujarat have taken, and it’s encouraging.

Catholic Church leaders in Gujarat said that the intention to ban the book ‘Great Soul’ is an attempt at “gagging” the freedom of expression.

Condemning the proposed ban by the Gujarat government on Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India by Pulitzer prize winner Joseph Lelyveld in advance of publication, they said the action amounted to gagging the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed in the constitution.

Jesuit priest Cedric Prakash said that instead of arbitrarily going for a ban, the authorities should have made an “objective assessment” and challenged the contents of the book with which they did not agree upon.

Verghese Paul, director of the Catholic Information Service Society, said that even Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi did not want a ban on the book. Lancy Lobo, who heads the Centre for Culture and Development at Vadodara, commented that the government appears to be over-enthusiastic in banning the book, which it has “not even read,”

As for Gandhi’s status, he said: “we all love our icons personally but Gandhi seems to have been raised to the status of divinity which is not proper”. The priest said the author had himself denied having made any racist remark against Gandhi in the book. “But the media seems to have misrepresented facts in its reports about the book”, concluded Father Lobo.

Moments of Joy

Photographs that I took on my travels through Bihar, from my archives



December 2006: Dog lover in Kalasaher villae, Sasaram



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Fishing is always fun for this kid in kalasaher village, Sasaram [2006]




And that's a six! evening at Gandhi Maidan, Patna , 2006




Turn the music on - inside a dwelling, kalasaher village, Sasaram



Ladies' tea stall on 24 December evening at Burhan Church, sasaram [2006]