The ‘as though’ folks In India, we have the oppressor caste folks Whose language is a bit hard to understand Let us configure this language In a way that makes sense. This is the language of the ‘As though’ Oppressor caste folks act as though they care As though they understand vulnerabilities very …
India should reject the Eat Lancet Commission report and any other groups that push for predominantly plant-based foods
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam The Eat Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health was launched on April 4, 2019 at the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) headquarters, New Delhi, India with the question “Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?’. Dr. Brent Loken from the …
The Karnataka anti-cow slaughter bill is against the poor
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam “If India’s politicians had any connect with land and farming, they would understand the organic relationship farmers have with livestock, milk, manure and killing of cows. It is not a Hindu-Muslim issue as the government is trying to project. This is a farmer’s issue” ~ A farmer in Karnataka about the anti-cow slaughter …
Why Dr. Devi Shetty’s 25 (or 2500) ‘ways to manage Covid-19’ should be rejected outright
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam For far too long, Dr. Devi Shetty has been giving advice on a range of things, the most recent being the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a crucial public health period for India, laying bare all the strengths and weaknesses of the system, and offering a significant window of opportunity to reimagine …
Open defecation, stunting, caste and lynching
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam On the pretext of open defecation, two dalit children, Avinash and Roshni, age 10 and 12, were brutally murdered1 on the 25th of September 2019, in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, with the girl child being molested2 before being murdered. At the same time, the Prime minister of the country was receiving an …
Fighting for a dog’s life
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam Animals in the domestic animal kingdom were going through an economic crisis that was putting their very survival at risk. There was just not enough food to go around, water was scarce and contaminated, the air was polluted and leading to health problems, children were just not getting what they deserved. …
Brahmins obstruct India’s development
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam The presence of brahmins as key decision makers in India has adversely affected our progress on many fronts. Their deep-rooted social, cultural and religious mindset often persists inspite of contrary scientific, social or humanitarian logic. If India really wants to and needs to progress at a pace that is appropriate and necessary, …
Can principles of equality, justice and fraternity sprout from thin air?
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam A series of articles have appeared recently in several media outlets about the lack of representation from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in the Indian Institutes of Management. This is surely not an isolated occurrence and is highly likely to be the case in most national institutions. While numerous …
When erasure from memory is also a human rights violation
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam The human rights organisation, Amnesty International has brought out two reports, one in 2016 and another in 2017, highlighting details of prisoners facing death penalties and of undertrials in India. However both reports fail to mention that a majority of those facing death penalties or undertrials awaiting a hearing belong to …