இராஜாஜியின் குலக்கல்வித் திட்டமும் ஜெயலலிதாவும்

1969 ஜனவரி 20 ஆம் நாள்...

உடல் நலிவுற்று சென்னை அடையாறு புற்றுநோய் மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டார் அண்ணா.
உற்சாகம் ததும்ப புன்னகை பூத்த முகத்துடன் மருத்துவமனையில் வந்து இறங்கிய அண்ணா, ஏராளமான புத்தகங்களுடன் உள்ளே நுழைந்தார்.

அங்கு அவர் தங்கியிருந்து சிகிச்சை பெறும் வகையில் ஏ.சி அறைக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப் பட்டிருந்தது.
அவரை அங்கும் இங்கும் அழைத்துச் செல்ல சக்கர நாற்காலி தயாராக இருந்தது.
அமெரிக்காவிலிருந்தும் பம்பாயிலிருந்தும் புற்றுநோய் நிபுணர்கள் வரவழைக்கப் பட்டனர்.
அண்ணாவுக்கு என்ன ஆகுமோ, ஏதாகுமோ என்ற பதைபதைப்பில் தமிழக மக்கள் ஆழ்ந்தனர்.
மருத்துவமனையின் ஒவ்வொரு அசைவுகளையும் ஊடகங்கள் செய்தியாக்கிக் கொண்டிருந்தன.
திமுக பொருளாளர் சாதிக் பாட்சா தமது அறிக்கைகளின் மூலம் அண்ணாவின் நிலை பற்றிய அறிவிப்புகளை செய்து கொண்டிருந்தார்.

இத்தனை பரபரப்பும் பதற்றமும் சூழ்ந்து நிற்க அண்ணா மட்டும் அமைதியாக, தாம் கொண்டுவந்த புத்தகங்களை படித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார்.உயிர் போகும் வேளையில் கூட வாசிப்பை நிறுத்தாத அன்றைய முதல்வர் எங்கே..?

உலகத் தரத்துடன் கூடிய ஒரு வாசிப்புச் சாலையை உருக்குலைக்க நினைக்கும் இன்றைய முதல்வர் எங்கே..?

புற்றுநோய் முற்றிய நிலையிலும் புத்தகங்களோடு வந்திறங்கி, மருத்துவமனையைக் கூட நூலகமாக மாற்றினார் அன்று அண்ணா!
என்ன நோய் முற்றியதோ தெரியவில்லை, அந்த அண்ணாவின் பெயரால் அமைந்த அழகிய நூலகத்தை மருத்துவமனையாக மாற்றத் துடிக்கிறார் இன்று அம்மா!
Aloor Shanawaz at his best. Here

How British, American and European firms exploit Indian 'guinea pigs'

Western pharmaceutical companies have seized on India over the past five years as a testing ground for drugs – making the most of a huge population and loose regulations which help dramatically cut research costs for lucrative products to be sold in the West. The relationship is so exploitative that some believe it represents a new colonialism.

Since restrictions on drug trials were relaxed in 2005, the industry in India has swollen to the point where today more than 150,000 people are involved in at least 1,600 clinical trials, conducted on behalf of British, American and European firms including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Merck. There may be more.

While there is no official figure, some estimates suggest the industry may be worth as much as £189m. Regulators have struggled to keep pace with the explosion. Between 2007 and 2010, at least 1,730 people died in India while, or after, participating in such trials. Many of those people, often only eligible for the studies because they were ill, might have died anyway. Yet when there are complications, even those resulting in deaths, there is often a failure properly to investigate.

Andrew Buncombe and Nina Lakhani in The Independent. Here

From tragedy to travesty: Drugs tested on survivors of Bhopal

Secret reports seen by The Independent reveal that drug trials funded by western pharmaceutical firms at the Indian hospital set up for survivors of the Bhopal disaster violated international ethical standards and could have put patients at risk.

Some 14 patients died during the three trials examined by the reports. In one trial, for an antibiotic, five out of seven patients died during the trial or soon after it finished. While there is no suggestion that every death merits compensation, critics say there has been no adequate investigation into whether compensation was appropriate in any of the cases. None has ever been paid.

At least eight other trials were carried out on hundreds of Bhopal gas victims. The Independent has evidence of patients who were unaware that they were taking part in a trial at all. The conduct of the trials has exposed the hospital to furious criticism from activists who say that survivors have been used as guinea pigs without proper informed consent.

Nina Lakhani in The Independent. Here

News can be bought and sold :Seema Mustafa

The story of a country cannot be without its people. The government’s decision to bring in a Food Security Bill cannot be divorced, in the coverage, of what impact it will have on the ground. It is the job of the media to explore not the legalities of the legislation, but whether it will bring relief to the people, and to what extent. These stories are not being covered any more with the media getting away with a couple of quotes from the VIP politicians, and a ‘this party is against the other party’ kind of superficial approach. What has happened to the Women’s Reservation Bill? What does 51% FDI in the retail sector mean for the people? And by people, the yardstick should be poor people, and not just the consumers who determine the advertisements and the TRP ratings.

People do not like to come out on the streets to protest. Not even those who belong to political parties. They do so because they genuinely believe that there is no other course, and the issue is important enough to merit their participation. But when thousands of workers march on the streets of Delhi for justice and rights, the entire media without an exception blocks them out as they are the conscience check for unbridled capitalism keeping the corporates in business.

All that is reported are traffic jams as a result of people’s protests. Of course, if the protests turn violent the media is in full attendance to damn the protestors and their supporters.

The state has realised the importance of controlling the media across the world, particularly in democracies. It has also realised that it does not need to do this through draconian laws (like censorship) and has opted for outright seduction. Big media empires are set up with covert state support, and the pay back is through the manipulation of news that is difficult to detect. This has happened in the US, it is happening in India. Multi media chains are being established by industrial houses, they get full support by the government that even bails them out at later stages through closed door multi-crore deals, so that eventually they can control the news.

The distance between the journalist and the politician has been bridged, and both go to bed with each other to ensure smooth functioning of the new media industry that first creates the news and then disseminates it with admirable ease. The voter cannot be controlled, but the information can. And as the Iraq war and its embedded journalists have shown so successfully to the world, information can be bought and sold.

Seema Mustafa in DNA. Here

The Fast Car

If the life of this world is an illusion, the period of greatest illusion occurs during youth. It is a period of high energy and great enthusiasm, coupled with an air of invincibility and perpetuity. Like the driver of a fast car, one may also develop a disdain for the slower cars on the highway of life. It is difficult to imagine that the car will run out of fuel and that one day the engine will wear out.

For the moment though the car is fast and it can go places!

For this reason there are special warnings for the youth and glad tidings for the person who uses this energy wisely. A famous hadith tells us that on the Day of Judgment no man will be able to move from his place until he answers five questions. "How did he spend his life? How did he utilize his youth? How did he earn his wealth? How did he spend it? And, how did he practice what he learnt?" [Sunan al-Tirmidhi]. While the first question asks generally about one's life pattern, the second especially focuses on the period of youth.

On the other hand, the person who devoted his youth to the worship of Allah will be among the selected seven kinds of people [Bukhari, Muslim].

Hence the profound advice in another famous hadith to value five things: "Youth before old age, health before sickness, wealth before poverty, free time before preoccupation, and life before death."

A fast car is dangerous if it does not have strong controls. And that is where Shaitan targets the vulnerable --- by loosening the controls. It has been his time-tested trick to work through temptations and make desires look irresistible. The path of deviation looks good. It is cool. It is fun. It is endlessly entertaining. The only problem is,it leads to assured disaster.

Compiled From:
"Youth: On Culture, Religion, and Generation Gap" - Khalid Baig