Leh expedition team to name Tso-Morir peak in honour of RG Kar victim
Titled, SEEMA ( Sustainability Empowerment & Exploration in Mountainous Areas), this year's expedition has a 'profoundly significant purpose', according to the group, 'to honour Abhaya', the junior doctor who was raped and killed at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata.
'Her tragic passing last year deeply affected the nation. A previously unnamed peak, standing at 6,105 meters, will be symbolically dedicated to 'Abhaya' and will be renamed in her honour,' a statement issued by the group said.
'This year, we have assembled a diverse group of professors, scholars, scientists, doctors, and experts from various fields. They will study agriculture, water resources, rivers, lakes, glaciers, climate, and more in the region. Additionally, we will conduct health check-ups for local residents and their livestock, promote education among the younger generation,' read the statement.
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
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The trajectory has not been different in Chhattisgarh, UP and Rajasthan. Yet, proponents of the initiative feel it's an experiment worth pursuing. 'I am not a fanatic (over this project) but I feel it's an initiative that needs to be introduced and encouraged. When countries like Japan, China, France and Germany teach medicine to their students in their mother tongue and can still be competitive globally, why can't we do that?' asked Dr B.N. Gangadhar, outgoing chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC) which regulates medical colleges across India. But few others agree. 'Our realities are different from those countries, where mostly one language dominates,' said Dr Shivkumar Utture, former NMC member and president of the Maharashtra Medical Council. The initiative, he said, has not been thought through or planned well and was started without holding wide consultations to assess ground realities. 'Due to these factors,' Utture said, 'the response is poor among MBBS students'. Breaking barriers or creating them? The argument given in favour of the initiative is that it will empower students from small towns and rural areas. 'The idea is to ease challenges that new MBBS inductees face when they join medical colleges. Being armed with a textbook in their first language is likely to make the navigation easier. I faced a similar problem when I went into medical college decades ago because I was not well versed in English,' Gangadhar told ThePrint. But those studying medicine now have different opinions. In a globalised world, which wants to connect in a common language and exchange ideas on a daily basis, these thoughts are outdated, they say. 'The Hindisation of MBBS curriculum in the current circumstances is a regressive step and it is only a political stunt aimed to appease certain groups,' Dr Amit Banjara, secretary of the Junior Doctors' Association, Chhattisgarh, said. According to Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, a geriatrician based in Delhi, who completed his MBBS from Government Medical College Jabalpur in 2010, pursuing the course in Hindi may limit the students for life. 'It may actually end up creating barriers for doctors rather than opening doors for them because science constantly evolves and as practitioners of modern medicine, they have to be comfortable in a language that is acceptable and usable worldwide, irrespective of our background,' Bhatti said. 'Reaching patients in a language they understand' The advocates for MBBS in Hindi also argue that those studying in Hindi, or in other regional languages once they are available, is likely to help medical practitioners communicate better with their patients. The statistics show that nearly 60 percent MBBS pass-outs prefer to work in the states from which they completed their course, pointed out the outgoing NMC chairman. 'Against this background, it makes sense that they study the textbooks in a language which can also be the language of their communication with the patients,' Gangadhar insisted. Many public health specialists, however, had a differing opinion. 'I am for education in one's mother tongue but I fully disagree about the same in national or state languages. Hindi, for example, is an urban language, which is seldom spoken or understood in most rural areas of what we call Hindi heartland,' said Raman V.R., a public health expert from Chhattisgarh. The lingua franca of Hindi heartland are actually Diaavadhi, Bhojpuri, Brij, Khari boli, Magahi, Maithili, Garhwali, Kumaoni and Pahadi, among others, according to the public health specialist. Further, without having a change in cultural orientation around languages, it is difficult to prepare useful textbooks or reading material in non-English Indian languages, as the broader language structures and vocabulary are heavily influenced by Sanskrit in most local languages, experts also point out. 'As a person who tried to prepare resources and training material in Malayalam and Hindi, I have seen these challenges and I have been struggling myself at times, when it comes to preparing communicative material,' said Raman. He added that unless there is a change in the larger approach across educational, administrative and societal levels about languages and communication, a reform limited to one sector can only lead to a backlash and it's better to orient doctors about the cultural and behavioral aspects of treating the rural population. Those specialising in public health also said that while using regional languages to make higher education accessible is beneficial in itself, it needs to be backed up by research journals in that language. For instance, there are quality scientific journals in languages such as French, German, Swedish, Chinese, Russian journals and Japanese. As medicine is an evolving science and doctors need to constantly upgrade their knowledge, the current push may lead to outdated doctors for rural areas, said Dr Prabir K.C., an independent public health consultant from Kolkata. The NMC chairman, meanwhile, maintained that the progress of the Hindi push in MBBS course and the students' response to it can be assessed only 5-10 years down the line. 'We can then decide whether the intended purpose of the initiative is being fulfilled or not,' he said. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Doctors welcome MP's decision to scrap seat-leaving bond for MBBS students. What the policy entails
