Columnists

Shah Alam Khan

The writer is professor, department of orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The views expressed are personal.

A cure for COVID-19: Only science can combat virus. Scientific community must not remain silent on tall claims

Sat, Jun 27, 2020

Even though COVID-19 continues to rule and ruin our daily worlds, it still does not give the right to the righteous of the land to promote cures, remedies and preventions which are beyond the realm of their understanding and operation. Prudence is the need of the hour and prudence comes from wisdom.

Lack of education, erosion of science has fuelled paranoia constructed around COVID-19

Tue, May 26, 2020

If we want to come out of the ruins of this pandemic and from the consequences of the lockdown, we have to remove fear and stigma from this awful disease. We have to let our minds be governed by science, and not fakery.

Nation’s fight against Covid-19 cannot ignore the chronically sick, vulnerable

Thu, Apr 30, 2020

Physical distancing is imperative to check the spread of the virus. But the lockdown could have been implemented with more compassion. People’s health is the responsibility of the state.

Coronavirus threat is real, but responses to it are bordering on paranoia

Fri, Mar 13, 2020

It is imperative to take action against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But to believe that we are facing an apocalypse and react accordingly is sheer madness.

The deaths in Kota bare the light on a healthcare system founded on apathy towards the poor

Wed, Jan 08, 2020

What is urgently required is not the involvement of private players but a sincere engagement by the state in matters concerning peoples’ health. Reports have shown that most of the babies in Kota died due to suffocation at birth; low birth-weight and infections were the other significant causes of death.

Celebration of Hyderabad encounter, passage of CAA, show the same disquieting desire for vengeance

Sat, Dec 21, 2019

Police murders like the one in Hyderabad are not events to celebrate but occasions to introspect. The total lack of faith of the common people in the judicial system is something which should worry us all. Similarly, total impunity in passing an unconstitutional law should also be an occasion to introspect.

Ayodhya verdict offers justice for some, but not fairness for all

Sat, Nov 16, 2019

We should respect the judgment of the Supreme Court without trying to fit it into the landscape of justice and fairness as explained by Rawls. It is a closure of something perniciously erosive to the idea of India, the idea to which we all owe our allegiance.

India’s TB report must be seen in light of the country’s slide in Hunger Index

Sat, Oct 26, 2019

With a virtually unregulated private health system, an increase in notification of TB patients could be heartening for the government. But for the public health system, it is bad news.

National Medical Council Act offers little change, brings in a host of new problems

Fri, Aug 23, 2019

The NMC Act, in the garb of change, has some provisions which are far more problematic than those in the amended MCI Act. The constitution of the medical commission as proposed in the Act has issues of subjugating federalism at multiple levels.

Case for compassion

Mon, Jun 17, 2019

Violence incubates in our society. Insensitivity to it makes the doctor vulnerable.

Payal Tadvi’s suicide highlights, once again, discrimination in medical institutions

Wed, May 29, 2019

Social institutions and systems have rotted under the burden of caste. Educational institutions have been the preserves of the upper caste and the rich.

In five years, India’s largest minority has been cleaved from basic entitlements of democratic citizenship

Thu, Apr 18, 2019

The Muslims of India are different than their brethren in other parts of the world because they are the only Muslims on the planet (except Turkey) who have cherished 72 years of uninterrupted democracy.

For ruling regime and Opposition, healthcare doesn’t seem to be an issue

Tue, Mar 26, 2019

It is important to analyse why something as important as the health of a nation remains undiscussed during elections here. Illiteracy, lack of awareness, lack of political will, and, poor electoral ethics are some of the reasons which come to mind.

Implant Files: Who should own up to what

Sat, Dec 22, 2018

The Indian Express-ICIJ investigation has exposed the fault lines in the Indian healthcare system. The onus of action is on government because it is the single agency which can regulate both the implant manufacturers and the physicians.

A Cure Called Inclusion

Wed, Oct 03, 2018

Their marginalisation affects the health of tribal communities.

Cure that hurts

Thu, Aug 30, 2018

That Johnson and Johnson could get away without paying compensation after implanting faulty hip replacement devices points to a regulatory deficit, and lack of medical ethics

Diagnosing Bias

Tue, Aug 14, 2018

Arguments against those with disabilities pursuing medicine are prejudiced

The Cancer Refugees

Mon, Jul 23, 2018

Patient shelters must become part of urban infrastructure.

An unhealthy statement

Thu, May 03, 2018

Privatisation of healthcare, not just doctors, is to blame for corruption in the sector.

Dignity, but for whom?

Fri, Apr 06, 2018

Verdict on living wills does not take into account socioeconomic realities.

Walking with the dead

Thu, Aug 31, 2017

The need of a national hearse policy with a minimum corpus for transportation and cremation of dead bodies cannot be overemphasised. Developing protocols for the transportation of dead bodies from government and private hospitals with dignity is the duty of the state.