Along with the full text (in English) of the conversation between Dr. MR Rajagopal, the pioneering palliative care specialist in India and Dr. SS Lal, renowned public health care expert.Dr Lal: Palliative care is a topic where a lot of discussions are happening in recent times. Today we are discussing this topic with a veteran in the field of palliative care, Dr MR Rajagopal, whom I personally view as one of my teachers. Dr Rajagopal has made very important interventions in the palliative care field in India.Sir, Palliative care is often highly misunderstood as a care regime. I remember a doctor getting angry when his ailing wife was advised to be given palliative care. Even the medical community is not well-aware. So, my first question is very basic . What is Palliative Care?Dr Rajagopal: We need a patient-centred approach in health care. As a medical student, I have seen many instances of patients suffering acute pain while others looked at it as a normal thing. Doctors and medical students who learn from them often prefer to turn their faces away from this pain. Now I understand that this reaction comes from a sort of helplessness. We did not know how to address this pain.Dr Lal: As a child, I have also seen many patients suffer for days and months. Has the situation changed now? We all used to see pain just as an inevitable part of life. What do you think?Dr Rajagopal: Only 4% of Indians have access to palliative care. 96% do not have access. Even the doctors who study MBBS and MD do not learn about pain relief. Palliative Care became part of our MBBS curriculum only in 2019.Dr Lal: I also have felt that we are lacking something in our approach to pain. The common attitude is that we are destined to suffer pain.Dr Rajagopal: Everybody compares other people’s pain to the pain that they have experienced sometime back in their lives. However, the other person’s pain could be more intense and we cannot know that. One might have experienced the pain of bone fracture or labour pain. Of the total palliative care needs of a society, only 30% is related to cancer. For example, Ischemic pain sometimes is far more unbearable than cancer pain. Sometimes the patient will suffer this pain for months or even years. Sometimes I feel there is this reluctance to address pain just because the solution is so simple. If expensive technology were involved, there would have been more interest for all. There is no glamour in this. This is not elite. Maybe that is the reason.Dr Lal: Even now the public is not fully aware of the scope and importance of palliative care. Who can make them more aware? Do you think domain specialisation is a necessary prerequisite?Medical Council of India has approved palliative medicine as a speciality even 7 years before it became part of MBBS curriculum. There are 10 centres in India and one in Kerala. Yet, there are only 30 palliative specialisation seats in these centres taken altogether. In a country of 1.3 billion population, we have only this many seats.Dr Rajagopal: How effective has the government intervention been in educating the public about palliative care? No such intervention has been there from the government to educate the people. A National Programme for Palliative Care was instituted in 2012. Keshav Deshraj, the then Health Principal Secretary, had taken the initiative for that. That programme has a comprehensive approach in it. However, it was not implemented effectively. The National Health Policy of 2017 focused on instituting palliative care as part of primary health care. Under it, national level and state level trainers were trained during the Covid years. Now the policy has to be implemented by state governments.Dr Lal: As you said, palliative medicine has become affordable for all. Yet, there are so many who do not have access to it. How can we fill in this gap in implementation?Dr Rajagopal: There are huge gaps in implementation. For example, palliative care was included in the primary health sector. We all applaud that. But it is not there in tertiary care. Until someone’s disease is concluded as incurable, there is no provision for pain relief for the pain, for asthma, or depression that the patient suffers from. He or she has to reach the village in their last two weeks of life to get palliative care.Isn’t that an irony? Doesn’t the care need to begin during the tertiary care days itself? Somehow, even the National Healthcare Policy is silent about tertiary sector palliative care. The World Health Organisation documents stress the need for palliative care in the primary sector. This is so because they already have palliative care in the tertiary sector. We mindlessly copied those guidelines.In Kerala, the palliative policy was adopted in 2008. There was this problem in that too. The budget came from the National Rural Health Mission. So there was no specific budget allocated for the tertiary care sector. In 2019, when the policy was revised in Kerala, tertiary care was added. Due to Covid, its implementation is now delayed. Now the steps are being taken to implement in the tertiary sector.The Kerala government has been very responsive to our demand to revamp the policy when we asked for it in 2019. Now budget allocation is required to implement the new policy. A few months before, some money was allocated to all Medical Colleges to start palliative units but the money has not reached the colleges yet as there were technical issues.Dr Lal: In Kerala, the average longevity has increased. However, Kerala’s population has a high occurrence of lifestyle diseases and we do not have sufficient systems in place to support them when they need it. The kids who are abroad or working somewhere else come back for a few weeks for end of life care of their parents and the care is limited to it.Dr Rajagopal: This is a very important issue. Ten percent of all of us including we two and the viewers of this interview will be dying from cancer. Seven percent of our population have dementia. According to India Population study 2015, 1.7 lakh aged persons were living alone. Of them, 1.43 lakh are women.Dr Lal: Our culture is also contributing to that. In any marriage, men will be older than women on an average by 5 years. Added to that, men have less longevity than women here. So, they die at least 5 years younger and the age gap between a husband’s death and wife’s death thus is, on an average, 10 years. 10 years of widowhood thus becomes guaranteed.Dr Rajagopal: As I said, out of the 1.7 lakh people who live alone, 1.43 lakh are women only. These are not the people who can afford a home nurse. In the villages, we, the palliative workers are familiar with the lives they live and the deaths they die. This is a big issue. We imported the idea of nuclear families from western countries. In the West, when they shifted to that family structure, they parallelly made systems to address the consequences; institutions such as nursing homes for the aged. We did not do that.Dr Lal: Kerala has a huge geriatric population. The number of children per family is low and those kids would go to distant places to make a living. And we blame children for not looking after their parents in old age. However, the entire family sometimes would be living off his or her income only. Isn’t this a reality?Dr Rajagopal: There is no meaning in blaming the children. Our generation created this kind of society where children are supposed to leave in search of better jobs. The average number of children per couple in Kerala is only 1.6. What happens is one couple shoulders the responsibility of looking after 4 aged persons. Don’t they have a life? Don’t they need to educate their own children? I will not blame the young generation. I have seen that most of them go that arduous extra mile to balance between their work and taking care of their parents.Dr Lal: Another aspect is that in a family, it is the primary responsibility of women to care for the ailing and the aged. I know educated and employed women who take care of both their parents and in-laws. The burden is often entirely on women.Dr Rajagopal: 90% of caregivers are women. The society here thinks that women are not supposed to live their own lives. Now the rich people have access to care homes but the poor cannot afford them. Care homes should be there and they have to be accessible to all.Dr Lal: In Kerala, 60 to 70 percent of the population depend on the private sector for their health care needs. Care in the private sector incurs a heavy cost too. Do you think this has any impact on palliative care?Dr Rajagopal: Among the audience of this interview, many would not like talking about death. Suppose somebody has the courage to talk about it and suppose we ask them, where they want to die; Is it among a number of machines, in an air conditioned ICU? Would you prefer it or would you want to die in your own bed? A large majority of those who go to private hospitals are now destined to die in intensive care units. Think what a cruel practice this is. When your life is ending, what would you want but a loving touch; I would want to say my last words to my wife, to hold the hands of my children, and to get a kiss on my cheek from my grandchildren. Instead you have tubes in all your orifices and you hear the bleeps of the machines when you die. There are many hurdles before us if we want to change this; there are legal ambiguities too. What is the responsibility of a doctor? There are many doctors who think that their responsibility is solely to prolong life in one way or the other. Medical science actually defines the role of a doctor as reducing suffering. The bio ethics unit of ICMR also says so. There is no understanding about the quality of life and death.Dr Lal: Have you noticed this exploitative practice of falsely promising magical cures to people who have reached their end of life days and extracting their last savings? There are many such instances. I think that is an unavoidable tragedy. When you stand face to face with death, the first impulse is not to accept it.Dr Rajagopal: Kubler-Ross who wrote the world famous book, ‘On Death and Dying’, has listed the different stages of grief. The first stage is denial. Then comes anger and the next is bargaining- you try to bargain with God praying that I will worship you if you let me live. The patient also bargains with his/her doctor- for example, if saved, they say they would never smoke again. Another kind of bargain is to blame it on the doctor treating that person and to approach another one- system hopping and doctor shopping. And there are many who try to exploit this situation.Dr Lal: It has been an honour to do this interview because you are a person who has dedicated his life to palliative care and as a doctor myself, I respect you as a teacher too. Before we conclude, do you want to add anything as a message to our audience?Dr Rajagopal: I would like to say this- palliative care is not just for cancer patients or for end-of-life care. It is the treatment regime to reduce suffering and pain in all kinds of ailments. As much as we understand that, the suffering of ourselves and the people who are around us gets reduced. We should also bring palliative care into the private sector.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Watch the full interview in Malayalam, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/the-aidem-interactions-dr-mr-rajagopal/">here</a>.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">See more from MedTalk Series, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/medtalk/">Here</a>.

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Along with the full text (in English) of the conversation between Dr. MR Rajagopal, the pioneering palliative care specialist in India and Dr. SS Lal, renowned public health care expert.

Dr Lal: Palliative care is a topic where a lot of discussions are happening in recent times. Today we are discussing this topic with a veteran in the field of palliative care, Dr MR Rajagopal, whom I personally view as one of my teachers. Dr Rajagopal has made very important interventions in the palliative care field in India.

Only 4 percent of Indian Population has Access to Palliative Care

“Any incident in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work is unacceptable and not tolerated. This includes the serious or persistent use of verbal abuse, aggressive tone and/or language and swearing/foul language.”This signage covering every other wall in a local NHS hospital in the United Kingdom came as a pleasant surprise for a junior doctor like me who hailed from a country where abuse was the norm.Over the years the poor practice of medicine in India, the constant abuse from patients and family, the poor pay for the inhumane hours, the insane hierarchy rules, and the abuse from corporate management were some of the reasons which prompted us to leave to the UK.The system here is so different from what we practise in India that it definitely gave me some culture shock.Before ensuing employment, each employee is educated in detail regarding safety measures and protocols. There are entry portals for each ward which can be accessed only by ID cards or authorisation by staff.There are guards who actually look like they mean business with proper training and necessary equipment in case of an emergency.But most of all there is a proper protocol (CODE GREY) placed for the safety of healthcare personnel following recurrent government funded audits that take into consideration every incident seriously, and make necessary plans which are later reassessed by reaudits.But most importantly respect starts in the house in the most gentle and respectful way in which junior doctors are treated by even the most senior doctors. Their behaviour sets an example for how the patients regard us.I’m sure we all have the nice little memory of being treated as an imbecile during ward rounds for a bit of an ego play.3 years ago, it was during a busy night shift at the Government General Hospital (Kozhikode Beach Hospital) that I faced my first significant abuse from a patient.A middle aged man who had come with a trivial rash of a month’s duration waved his OP sheet at me at the busy casualty setting.With a sigh of indignation, I calmly reprimanded him saying, “Chetta (brother), can you read the board behind me that advises people that trivial cases should be consulted at the OPD? There might be more significant cases waiting in the line that might reach us late if we spend time treating non-emergency cases.”Before I knew it, he had balled up the paper and thrown it at my face, pushed back his chair loudly while yelling, “If you can’t treat people, why don’t you go sit at home? It’s with our tax money, you people are learning.”Hot with embarrassment and aghast at what had just unfolded I watched in dumb shock.The entire Casualty which was teeming with people quietened and the consultant doctor who sat at the head of the table just mildly shook his head at me asking me to not react.Only my racing heart beat and echoed in my ears seemed to have witnessed the spectacle and reacted appropriately.After all that’s what we are taught from the start of medicine.Empathise, be kind and move on.When I came home with a heavy heart to discuss this with my husband, he told me not to take it to my heart and recalled a similar story at Calicut medical college where he was shoved and yelled at by a bystander of a fracture case because he did not attend to the case fast enough.My husband was dealing with a dying man but who cares?!The ‘letting go’ of passive aggressive comments of how we loot patients, sometimes even from close family, the recurrent verbal abuse and direction of anger at doctors for delayed treatments while it is the failing infrastructure, suboptimal funding and poor hiring that is to blame, the indignation towards doctors for the bills placed by the hospital management and even physical assaults for something as logical as denying access to the ICU has all finally culminated in this, a death.A death so avoidable.Dr Vandana Das, a mere 22 year old girl was killed at Kottarakara Taluk Hospital due to the absence of proper protocol in dealing with a potentially combative person.Combative people are not new to this state yet there weren’t any policies or protocols in place but rather the government chose to give a primary comment of her cause of death as her being ‘inexperienced’.She was a mere green horn house surgeon obviously frozen in the face of brandished surgical scissors because her expertise was limited to caring and healing and not to pull out a gun from apron pockets or swish the stethoscope and catch the assailant in the eye.The more ‘experienced’ government with their ‘should have been there’ policies, the hospital management with their ‘should have been there’ security services and the law enforcement with their ‘should have been there’ instincts and training, failed her.All we can hope for now is proper law enforcement and alteration of policies from the Kerala Health Ministry pertaining to all such cases.Patients under substance influence above a certain degree shouldn’t be brought into the casualty without taking proper measures or should be allotted a different treatment room anticipating an episode. The escorting police personnel should be given proper training regarding identification of signs of mental instability, potential combative behaviour and how to tackle them successfully.It’s only with the team efforts from the law enforcing agencies, health ministry and hospital management that such a protocol can be placed for the safe practice for doctors.And senior doctors, with the utmost respect from our hearts, we know you mean well but please treat us with respect in front of patients for they are watching every move; possibly imbibing on unsaid opinions on how to treat us junior doctors.We want to help people, we do. But not at the cost of giving our own.Or Kerala is just going to lose their brightest minds to safer countries.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Click <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/regarding-health-workers-safety-what-we-could-learn-from-england/">here</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> to read this article in Malayalam.

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Any incident in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work is unacceptable and not tolerated. This includes the serious or persistent use of verbal abuse, aggressive tone and/or language and swearing/foul language.”a

Safety to Doctors at Workplace; What to Learn from United Kingdom

In this second episode of “People and Places with Bala”, Entrepreneur, Author and former Chairman of Federal Bank Balagopal Chandrasekhar recounts how he ended his career as civil services officer and became a maverick entrepreneur who joined hands with internationally renowned Indian scientist Sivaraj Ramaseshan to chart new paths in Indian industry, in the realm of medical technology. Watch here.<div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-24350" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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In this second episode of “People and Places with Bala”, Entrepreneur, Author and former Chairman of Federal Bank Balagopal Chandrasekhar recounts how he ended his career as civil services officer and became a maverick entrepreneur who joined hands with internationally renowned Indian scientist Sivaraj Ramaseshan to chart new paths in Indian industry, in the realm of medical technology. Watch here.



When a Renowned Scientist and a Young Entrepreneur Came Together to Chart New Paths in Industry

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/26th_Feb_24_a_770x470_895dd4a601.jpg" alt="26th-Feb-24-a-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_26th_Feb_24_a_770x470_895dd4a601.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_26th_Feb_24_a_770x470_895dd4a601.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_26th_Feb_24_a_770x470_895dd4a601.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">In the interim <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_Speech.pdf'">Budget</a>, the union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the multiplier effect of capital expenditure on economic growth and job creation. The budget for 2024-25 allocates spending at 14.5 percent of GDP, with a significant focus on capital expenditure, which constitutes 23.32 per cent of the total budget, equivalent to 3.39 percent of GDP. This marks a substantial 16.9 per cent increase compared to the revised estimate of the previous fiscal year, reflecting a continued emphasis on capital investments to drive economic growth.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:640px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26764" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26764"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_14_34_17_1024x402_6df22e6108.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp-Image-2024-02-26-at-14.34.17-1024x402.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_14_34_17_1024x402_6df22e6108.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_14_34_17_1024x402_6df22e6108.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_14_34_17_1024x402_6df22e6108.jpeg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_14_34_17_1024x402_6df22e6108.jpeg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26764">Nirmala Sitaraman in Parliament</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">However, a closer analysis reveals that the bulk of this spending is concentrated in three key Ministries – Railways, Road Transport and Highways, and Defence – which collectively represent 63 per cent of the total capital expenditure for 2024-25 (BE). Notably, this share has declined by 7 percentage points compared to the revised estimates of the previous fiscal year (Refer Table 1). In absolute terms, the allocation for these three Ministries has increased though.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_16_1024x447_11273ecb45.png" alt="image-16-1024x447.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_16_1024x447_11273ecb45.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_16_1024x447_11273ecb45.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_16_1024x447_11273ecb45.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_image_16_1024x447_11273ecb45.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The total government expenditure for FY 2024-25 (BE) is projected at Rs 47.65 lakh crore, reflecting a 6.1 per cent increase from the previous year’s Revised Estimates (RE). Within this, revenue expenditure dominates, showing a 3.2 per cent rise over the RE of the previous year. Interest payments constitute a significant portion of the Revenue Budget, estimated at 32.57 per cent up from 29.81 per cent in the FY 2023-24 RE. In line with fiscal consolidation efforts, the Union Government targets a fiscal deficit of 5.1 per cent for FY 2024-25 interim budget Although there has been a notable shift, with the share of the budget allocated to these committed liabilities decreasing from 50.5 percent in FY 2019-20 (BE) to an anticipated 41.9 per cent in the current budget, it still represents a significant portion. This tighter fiscal stance has led to a reduction in the fiscal space for social sector spending.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Moreover, a declining trend emerges in the combined budgetary priority for the 16 Union Ministries, broadly considered as the key social sector ministries. The combined allocation for the 16 social sector ministries has declined in the four subsequent Union Budgets, reaching 20.9 per cent in 2024-25 (I)(BE). This is a decline of 0.8 percentage points from that of the revised estimates for FY 2023-24. This trend closely mirrors the reduction in the overall Union Budget’s share of GDP, underscoring a disproportionate impact on social sector ministries.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_17_c789789a67.png" alt="image-17.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_17_c789789a67.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_17_c789789a67.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_17_c789789a67.png 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Delving deeper into the allocations within the social sector, we observe a significant reallocation of resources over time. From 2019-20 to 2022-23, the budgetary share dedicated to education, sports, art, and culture diminished from 15 per cent to 11 per cent, although it is projected to recover slightly to 13 per cent in FY 2024-25 BE. However, this remains below pre-pandemic levels. Similarly, the portion of the budget allocated to rural development decreased from 20 per cent in FY 2019-20 to 18 per cent in FY 2022-23, indicating a downward shift even after adjustments for pandemic-related spending increases.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Additionally, despite the critical importance of healthcare during the pandemic, investment in medical and public health declined from 10 percent of the social sector budget in 2019-20 to 8 per cent in FY 2022-23, with a slight improvement to 9 per cent anticipated for 2024-25. This trend is particularly alarming given the increased importance of healthcare infrastructure and services highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The allocation for food subsidies, a vital component of social welfare, notably increased during the pandemic to support the distribution of free food grains. This pushed the share of expenses for food storage, warehousing, and civil supplies from 19 per cent in FY 20192-20 to 30 per cent in 2022-23. Despite this surge, the government’s food subsidy bill is projected to decrease by 3.3 per cent to Rs 2.05 lakh crore for FY 2024-25, from the revised estimate of Rs 2.12 lakh crore for 2023-24. Even as it constitutes the largest portion of social sector spending, this has been declining and is estimated to be 21 per cent in FY 2024-25. As food subsidies directly impact the poor, it is important to reassess budgetary priority to food subsidies, as it would not only raise the purchasing power of the poor but also have broader socioeconomic implications.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_20_9184eba8ab.png" alt="image-20.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_20_9184eba8ab.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_20_9184eba8ab.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_20_9184eba8ab.png 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The analysis underscores a pivotal issue to the necessity to balance the boost in capital expenditure, vital for economic growth and job creation, with sufficient funding for the social sector. The decrease in allocations for social sector ministries challenges sustainable economic development and the government’s capacity to enhance social welfare.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:587px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26751" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26751"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_11_41_05_87be4c9120.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp-Image-2024-02-26-at-11.41.05.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_11_41_05_87be4c9120.jpeg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_11_41_05_87be4c9120.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2024_02_26_at_11_41_05_87be4c9120.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26751">Representative Image of Manufacturing Sector in India</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">It’s imperative for policymakers to consider these budgetary priorities’ long-term effects, ensuring that investments in physical infrastructure are matched with investments in social infrastructure. This approach promotes a holistic development strategy, crucial for a resilient and inclusive society, especially as we navigate the recovery from the pandemic’s impacts. The reduction in spending on education, health, and rural development underscores the urgent need for a balanced fiscal plan that adequately supports the social sector’s critical needs alongside capital expenditure.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">About the Authors &nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Jannet Farida Jacob works as a Senior Policy Analyst with Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA). Her area of expertise is Public Finance Management in sectors including education, health, children and gender. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Centre for Development Studies, JNU, for her study on Higher Education.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Sharad Pandey is a Senior Policy Analyst at CBGA, where his research focuses on taxation and climate finance. His research interests are public finance, education, sustainable development, and the labour market. He has a Masters in Public Policy from Jindal Global University.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Ujala Kumari is a Policy Analyst with CBGA. Her work focuses on Open Budgets India, an initiative which facilitates greater transparency and accountability in budgets at the state, and the Union level, through open access to data including social sector schemes. She has a Masters in Economics from Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

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  What does the Interim Budget Say about Government Expenditure Priority?

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">In this episode of “People and Places with Bala”, visionary entrepreneur and former Chairman of Federal Bank, Balagopal Chandrashekar reminisces about his association with Dr. MS Valiathan, the iconic cardiologist and one of the pioneers of health technology innovations in India. Bala also highlights the social, political and entrepreneurial milieu of the 1970s and the 1980s and points out how the context contributed immensely to India’s overall growth.

MS Valiathan: A Visionary Whose Contributions are Waiting for Better Follow-up

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2_1_770x470_2b36f05f6f.png" alt="image-2-1-770x470.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2_1_770x470_2b36f05f6f.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_2_1_770x470_2b36f05f6f.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_2_1_770x470_2b36f05f6f.png 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The British Parliament’s approval of the Assisted Dying Bill, allowing adults with a life expectancy of six months or less to seek medically assisted death, has sparked widespread debate. While this decision might seem like a step toward greater patient autonomy, its implications reach far beyond the UK. As a nation admired for its leadership in healthcare innovation and ethics, the UK’s actions influence developing countries like India and others in Africa and Asia, where healthcare challenges are even more profound.This law risks sending the wrong message: that assisted dying is a viable “solution” to the suffering caused by systemic healthcare inadequacies. However, this approach is fraught with dangers, particularly for nations with limited resources and underdeveloped healthcare systems.&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Lessons from Other Countries</h2>The experiences of nations where assisted dying is legal reveal significant pitfalls that developing countries must heed:<ol style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:17px;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:20px;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:500;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Expanding Criteria: In Belgium and the Netherlands, physician-assisted suicide has expanded to include non-terminal conditions like depression and dementia, and even socio-economic distress. This undermines the original intent of these laws. At many levels, this approach converts assisted dying into a sort of ill conceived solution for broader societal failures.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:500;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Eroding Palliative Care: In Canada, where Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) is legal, palliative care services and hospices are underfunded. For some, accessing death has become easier than accessing quality care—a troubling precedent.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:500;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Pressure on the Vulnerable: In nations with legalized assisted dying, cases have emerged of individuals choosing death due to financial hardship or fear of being a burden. Such pressures could be even more pronounced in countries with high poverty and healthcare inequality.</li></ol>These examples highlight the risks of normalizing assisted dying as an answer to suffering rather than addressing its root causes through better care and support.&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/palliative_care_1654547139986_compressed_a01cf0038b.jpg" alt="palliative-care-1654547139986-compressed.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_palliative_care_1654547139986_compressed_a01cf0038b.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_palliative_care_1654547139986_compressed_a01cf0038b.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_palliative_care_1654547139986_compressed_a01cf0038b.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Implications for Developing Countries</h2>For nations like India, where millions lack access to even basic healthcare, let alone specialized palliative care, the legalization of assisted dying would exacerbate existing inequities:<ul style="box-sizing:border-box;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:20px;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Disproportionate Impact on the Poor: In countries with fragile healthcare systems, the poor and marginalized are most likely to feel pressured to opt for assisted death, especially if palliative care options are unavailable.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Stalled Progress in Palliative Care: Introducing assisted dying could divert resources and attention from developing essential palliative care services, leaving millions to suffer without adequate support.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;">Erosion of Trust: When healthcare systems prioritize death over care, patients may lose trust in medical institutions, further complicating care delivery.</li></ul>Legalizing assisted dying in these contexts risks normalizing death as a response to suffering rather than addressing the root causes of that suffering.&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">The UK’s Global Responsibility</h2>The UK has long been a leader in compassionate care, with institutions like St. Christopher’s Hospice pioneering modern palliative care. The passage of the Assisted Dying Bill has implications for this track record too. The minimum that the UK should do in this context is that it must ensure that this does not overshadow its legacy of prioritizing life-affirming care. The UK has a moral responsibility to champion palliative care globally and prevent the misuse of assisted dying as a substitute for genuine support.&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Medical_assistance_in_dying_June2021_banner_839b623f06.jpg" alt="Medical-assistance-in-dying-June2021-banner.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Medical_assistance_in_dying_June2021_banner_839b623f06.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Medical_assistance_in_dying_June2021_banner_839b623f06.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Medical_assistance_in_dying_June2021_banner_839b623f06.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">A Call to Action</h2>Rather than advocating for physician-assisted suicide, developing nations need a global commitment to strengthening palliative care systems. Organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) have emphasized that palliative care is a critical component of universal health coverage. To that end, countries like the UK can:1.Support Palliative Care Research and Training: Provide expertise and resources to help developing nations build robust palliative care frameworks.2.Promote Ethical Healthcare Policies: Ensure that debates on assisted dying also focus on addressing inequalities in healthcare access.3.Lead by Example: Emphasize compassionate care and holistic support, demonstrating that autonomy and care can coexist without resorting to assisted dying as a default option.&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">The True Measure of Progress</h2>Legalizing assisted dying may appear progressive, but real progress lies in ensuring that no one is forced to choose death due to inadequate care or poverty. The UK must balance its decision with a renewed commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care—setting an example that the world, particularly developing nations, can follow.</div></div>

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Assisted Dying: The UK’s Misstep And Its Global Consequences

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<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg" alt="images-9.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The following article is part of the Trailblazing Women of India series. A series presented by The AIDEM, exploring the lives and ideas of women who played a decisive role in shaping India’s social, political, and intellectual history.The AIDEM underscores the enduring contemporary relevance of revisiting the lives of these women leaders and the ideas they championed. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/G_sxvcXO0tg">here</a> to watch the video.<hr>Picture this: It’s 1930. A 27-year-old woman stands before Mahatma Gandhi, telling him he’s making a historic mistake.Gandhi is planning the Salt March. His vision? Men march and women stand on street corners selling salt and singing songs.Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay says: No.“Women have stood shoulder to shoulder with men, building the Congress party. They deserve to march,” she insists.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:654px;" id="attachment_42087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42087"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyaya-Leading-a-Congress-march-in-the-early-1930s.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 491w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42087">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading a Congress march in the early 1930s</figcaption></figure>Gandhi concedes. But she’s not finished. “Issue a formal call to action.”“Why?” Gandhi asks. “Don’t you know your sisters?”Her response? Pure political genius: “Because history will record that YOU called them to participate.”&nbsp;History did record it. Women marched beside Gandhi, breaking salt laws. Kamaladevi became one of the first women arrested for civil disobedience. She auctioned “freedom salt” at the Bombay Stock Exchange for Rs. 501. On January 26, 1930, she clung to the Indian tricolour during a scuffle with authorities, refusing to let go.Who was this woman bold enough to challenge Gandhi?Born in 1903 in Mangalore, married at fourteen, widowed at sixteen. She remarried—scandalous. She divorced—one of India’s first civil divorces. In 1926, encouraged by Margaret Cousins, she became the first woman to contest a legislative office, losing by just 55 votes. In 1927, she founded the All India Women’s Conference as its organizing secretary.In 1936, she became a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party, working alongside Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. Yet when we celebrate Indian socialism, we remember only the men.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_42084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyay.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg 113w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42084">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay</figcaption></figure>Her ideas were revolutionary. She connected capitalism, imperialism, and women’s subjection: “This imperial capitalist system encourages endless wars and expects women to produce children who become soldiers.” She challenged glorified motherhood itself.In the 1930s—decades before global women’s liberation—she championed bodily autonomy and birth control. Not for population control, but for women’s choice. She traveled to America, worked with Margaret Sanger, and in 1951 established India’s first family planning commission centered on women’s autonomy.She championed what we now refer as feminist economics, preceding the Feminist Care Ethics Debate by decades. She documented sexual division of labor, wage discrimination, and systematic underpayment of women workers in industrial and agricultural sectors—when labor movements barely acknowledged women as workers.Interestingly, she refused the label “feminist,” understanding that in her hostile patriarchal environment, strategic pragmatism mattered. But her ideas? Profoundly feminist.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-4.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">After Partition, heartbroken, she resettled 50,000 refugees from the North-West Frontier Province, helping create Faridabad—independent India’s crucial early industrial township. In 1948, she founded and led the Indian Cooperative Union for the rehabilitation of the refugees.Her greatest legacy? Reviving India’s dying crafts as economic empowerment. As chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board for twenty years, she understood that handicrafts meant livelihoods for millions, grassroots democratic participation, and India’s answer to exploitative industrialization.Her institutions still stand: Indian National Theatre established in 1944, which later became National School of Drama, All India Handicrafts Board established in 1952, Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953, Crafts Council of India in 1964, and Delhi’s Crafts Museum in 1967. She made Indian handicrafts a major export, serving as an Advisor to the World Craft Council and first President for the Asia-Pacific Region.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:555px;" id="attachment_42085" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42085"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg" alt="Leading-Their-Imperial-Highnesses-to-the-dias.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42085">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading their Imperial Highnesses to the dias</figcaption></figure>From UNESCO Awards to the Padma Vibhushan, her legacy endures in every artisan earning a dignified living today.Kamaladevi died in 1988, but her question echoes: What does freedom mean without bodily autonomy, economic independence, and cultural sovereignty?As you explore her work—and I hope you will—ask yourself: What would Kamaladevi be fighting for today?<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G_sxvcXO0tg" title="Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and the Idea of Cultural Sovereignty by Priyanka Jha | New Series | EP 02 " frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div>

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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Woman who taught Gandhi a Lesson

<div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Shuruart Foundation has been using art to make education more joyful and effective since 2017. Does your child often draw the same thing again and again? Should parents be worried if this happens? In this episode of Child and Art: Myths &amp; Facts, we talk about why children repeat drawings and what it really tells us about their confidence and emotional growth. Learn how your positive feedback and encouragement can help your child express freely, think creatively, and build genuine self-confidence. Watch the video to learn more.</div></div>

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Same drawing again? Is that good or bad for your child’s growth?

<div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png" alt="Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">As advocates, our lives are consumed by briefs and arguments, leaving little room for leisure. For me, the finest pastime is research and writing, a legacy I proudly inherit from my late grandfather, Shri S.A.A. Rizvi, IAS (Retd.). He was a gold medallist and a remarkable scholar of his times. His example instilled in me the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely an adornment, but a discipline that enriches both profession and personality.</div><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">It was in this spirit that a casual exchange with my colleague Nadeem Murtaza at the High Court rekindled this passion. His query, whether I had ever heard of “Douglas” or “Kinnaird Hospital” of Lucknow was not a passing remark, but a spark that illuminated a forgotten chapter of Lucknow’s medical heritage. His mother, Zahida Auntie, had often spoken of it, pointing to the site near today’s Lari Cardiology Centre, where the geriatric and mental health departments of KGMU (King George Medical University) now stand. That conversation became the bridge between my inherited love for inquiry and the living memory of our city, compelling me to delve into archives and dissertations, and to uncover the remarkable story of a hospital that once stood shoulder to shoulder with Queen Mary and Lady Dufferin Hospitals in Lucknow.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:426px;" id="attachment_41918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41918"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png" alt="Kinnaird-Memorial-Hospital-1-1-1024x666.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 240w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41918">Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital</figcaption></figure>The story begins in 1875, when Elizabeth Bielby, a nurse sent by the Zenana Mission Society, began her medical mission near Lucknow. Though beset by tragedy, her sister Alice died soon after arrival, and Bielby herself fell gravely ill, the mission still endured. By 1891, through the efforts of Dr. Grace Mackinnon, the Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital was established on government-granted land, named after Lady Kinnaird. She was a devout Presbyterian philanthropist remembered for founding the YWCA.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:416px;" id="attachment_41915" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41915"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg" alt="CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007-cropped1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg 244w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41915">England Zenana Missionary Society</figcaption></figure>In 1910, Dr. Ethel Douglas took charge, and for the next 36 years she transformed the institution, expanding facilities, raising standards, and establishing training protocols that led to the North India Board of Examiners and State Registration Councils. Her dedication earned her the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in Gold in 1927, and government grants that enabled new wards and modern equipment. As Beth Bullock Spencer’s dissertation records, Douglas’s “extraordinary influence” kept the Lucknow hospital “overflowing,” even as she grappled with challenges ranging from reluctant purdah patients to the infamous monkey menace.“Even the veteran doctor Ethel Douglas struggled to find a solution to the monkey problem, for some of the local people regarded the monkeys as sacred; harming the monkeys was out of question. Douglas resorted to shouting and shaking her rifle at the monkeys, but with little effect.”Snakes, too, were a recurring hazard, and cultural beliefs often complicated medical practice. Patients observing purdah resisted operations, some postponed surgeries at the last minute deeming the hour “inauspicious,” while others consulted village elders who determinedhe hospital became a sanctuary for women’s health, normalizing dental extractions, eye surgeries, and maternity care in a city where traditional practices often prevailed.The British contribution to Lucknow’s health system was profound. Alongside Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital, the Lady Dufferin Hospital was established in 1889 under the Countess of Dufferin Fund to provide safe maternity care. Later, the Queen Mary’s Hospital arose in the early 20th century as a centre for women’s medical education. Together, these institutions marked the colonial effort to embed Western medicine into the city’s fabric, particularly for women and children. They were not merely hospitals but symbols of reform, philanthropy, and the gradual acceptance of modern medical practices in a society negotiating tradition and change.<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:396px;" id="attachment_41916" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41916"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg" alt="Lady_Dufferin_Hospital-_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41916">Lady Dufferin Hospital, Lucknow</figcaption></figure>By 1965, however, Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital succumbed to financial constraints and closed its doors. In 1971, the site was absorbed into King George Medical College, now popularly known as KGMU, housing its neurosurgical and mental health departments. Today, its memory lingers only in archives and recollections, overshadowed by its contemporaries. Yet, its legacy remains unique – a Christian missionary hospital that combined philanthropy, medical progress, and social reform. A place where doctors braved not only disease but monkeys, snakes, and cultural resistance to bring care to the women of Lucknow. An institution that has produced some of the world’s finest medical professionals, researchers and administrators. The pictures of these alumni are featured below.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:276px;" id="attachment_41910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41910"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_4_26ce212e58.png" alt="download-4.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_4_26ce212e58.png 235w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41910">Dr. BM Hedge – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:293px;" id="attachment_41911" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41911"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_5_c239ac1c62.png" alt="download-5.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_5_c239ac1c62.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41911">Dr. Sanduk Ruit – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_41912" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41912"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_d076bb83d3.png" alt="images-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_d076bb83d3.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41912">Dr. Naresh Trehan – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:211px;" id="attachment_41913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41913"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png" alt="images-1-1-300x300.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png 156w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41913">Dr. Anil Kohli – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>As I reflect upon this heritage, I am convinced that Lucknow’s medical history is incomplete without acknowledging the forgotten jewel that was Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital. Its story is not merely of bricks and mortar, but of pioneering women doctors, missionary zeal, and the evolution of healthcare in colonial and post-colonial India. Remembering it is essential to preserving the dignity of our city’s cultural and medical legacy.</div></div>

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