Dr. Venugopal, Cyclone Nargis in Mayanmar

Dr. Venugopal

It is heartening to see Dr. Venugopal re-instated by the Supreme Court; he shouldn’t have been removed in the first place. There is still hope for India it seems and justice does exist, even if for a selected few.

The Pioneer has published a trenchant commentary on the utter lack of conscience in Ramadoss, the union (unhealthy) health minister. Ever since he joined the office all he has done is bother people with his nonsensical egotism. You won’t find even a single constructive step he has taken in the area of health.

This affair is also a statement on our public consciousness. Such an eminent cardiologist is harassed by an imbecile politician and no large-scale protests take place. It was a lone battle for the doctor, although high-profiled attorneys like Arun Jaitley fought for him. I wonder if there was even a PIL filed again the infamous ouster. Millions of people throng at the gates of AIIMS every year for treatment, and none of them spoke up for Dr. Venugopal.

Government hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung, although world-class, are known for their unhygienic conditions and shabby treatment to the patients. This was the right time for the patients to show that they could put up a joint front with the doctors.

Millions face death and starvation in Mayanmar

Repressive regimes never stop their games. For a long time Alka has been urging me to read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" in which the author has written how the government men used to surround the site where a bomb had dropped, during the Iran-Iraq war so that people couldn’t help each other and consequently, develop a bonding for each other and an opposition to the ongoing war.

The military junta in Mayanmar is not allowing foreign aid workers to come and help their own people. How diabolical can a government become? During natural calamities of such humongous proportions every single hour counts. The international aid that could have reached the flooded regions is being stopped by the authorities that are supposed to help their own people. These are the times when such countries should be taken over by an international agency. Just a thought, because I know realistically this is not possible.