Civil Society Magazine - March 2020

In this issue

Public health services need a big push. A larger spend is required, but it is not merely a matter of funding. What should be pursued are innovative strategies for combining an array of resources available in India.
Traditional systems of medicine provide that opportunity when they are combined with conventional allopathic healthcare and used to increase the reach of the system. Ayurveda, Unani, yoga and an array of folk therapies have the potential to enrich treatment regimes. The question is how to formalize this integration to everyone’s benefit.
When it comes to metabolic disorders associated with lifestyle there is little doubt any longer that traditional systems provide lasting results. Whether it is for the rich or the poor, traditional systems are what is working.
Darshan Shankar, who has written this month’s cover piece on request, has been researching Ayurveda and other local health traditions for several decades. He highlights what could be done quickly to implement the National Health Policy’s suggestions on integration.
The elections in Delhi have ended in a heroic victory for the Aam Aadmi Party. Heroic because it is a young party, poorly funded and it was with great courage that it took on the might of the entire BJP. The AAP victory also comes at a time when there is growing disenchantment over communal politics. Irrespective of what is in our Constitution, we are at heart a secular country. People of different faiths intrinsically know to happily live together.
We also bring to you in this issue an interview with Vidhu Vinod Chopra on how and why he made his new film Shikara on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. In addition, we have voices from the voluntary sector on the new and restrictive curbs being imposed on NGOs. Architect Sanjay Prakash weighs in on why being vegetarian is good for conserving water.