VOL. 11 NO. 11-12 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 www.civilsocietyonline.com /civilsocietyonline `50 HALL OF FAME 2014 WWWOOORRRKKKIIINNNGGG The Soya Project: Savitri, Prem and Manni of the Samriddhi Mahila FFFOOORRR IIINNNDDDIIIAAA Crop Producers’ Company in their warehouse in Bundi ‘AYURVEDA CAN VILLAGES GET WATER, TOILETS Page 12 CONTRIBUTE MILTON IN HANUMANGARH TO MODERN th Page 14 MEDICINE’ 11 TACKLING CYBERCRIME Anniversary Pages 16-17 Darshan Shankar on the need for SPECIAL ISSUE LOW-FEE COLLEGE IN PUNJAB ethical integrative LEAD SPONSOR Pages 18-19 healthcare in India Pages 6-7 PRODUCTS Pages 47-50 11th Annual Issue VOICES IN THE LIGHT by SAMITA RATHOR the most basic facilities are not avail- will surely turn learning numbers is: why can’t doctors achieve a point able. For plum postings you need into fun. of right diagnosis? Why do most of LETTERS influence. Then, the state of school Suresh Thapaliyal them make the patient undergo such buildings is appalling and many are tests? Why can’t doctors diagnose the unsafe. Would you feel motivated? ailment by understanding the Col. (retd) Arun Mamgain Medical tests patient’s symptoms and by physically This is about your interview with Dr examining him? After all if patients New governments are always given a Balram Bhargava, ‘Medical tests are have to carry out a battery of tests to lot of advice by companies, the media being overdone’. The problem with arrive at a diagnosis then what is the and so on. But very few concentrate ‘too many medical tests’ is that since doctor for? on the critical sectors that your mag- the general public have lost trust in Shambu Goel azine covers like health, education, the medical community, the need for environment, rural development and genuine tests is also being treated Excellent interview. The US has an urban developments. Many experts with scepticism leading to ‘second over-diagnosed, over-treated, over- have given wise and practical sugges- opinions’ which delay in diagnosis priced system – a racket in fact. It is tions in your cover story and it was and treatment, apart from escalating hideous in its hypochondria. The enlightening to read their views. costs. nexus between the medical/medicat- Shreedharan V. Sudipto Roy ing system – I won’t call it healthcare – and the drug industry is deep and Model teacher Today when you go to a doctor he strong. Check out the biggest contrib- Five ministries will at once suggest a myriad tests. All utors to the US political system. Not I really enjoyed reading, ‘The Model the tests, apart from sounding new to for nothing did Lipitor become the With reference to your cover story, Teacher.’ As an Uttarakhandi, I feel your ears, will inflict losses to your bestselling drug of all time and the ‘What to do in 5 ministries,’ my opin- proud that a grassroots teacher, pocket. Almost all the results of the statin mantra gain such strong sup- ion is that absenteeism is common Jagdambha Prasad Dobhal, is going tests will show no negativity. You will port. among government schoolteachers beyond the framework of prescribed feel happy that you are alright. The But there is also a deeper underly- because they are routinely deployed teaching and is a catalyst for making doctor will then give you a pill or two ing mortality-longevity issue. on non- teaching duties. They are children responsible citizens of – mere placebos – and you will go Americans want to live forever, tire- posted in remote areas where even tomorrow. His innovative math lab home in a cheery mood. My question lessly trying to roll back the years or CIVIL SOCIETY, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 3 CONTENTS NEWS Campaigns speak up . 8 R E A D U S. W E R E A D Y O U. RTI On Wheels rolls into J&K . 8-9 Landmines leave deep wounds . 10 11 very quick years Milton in Hanumangarh . .. 14 IME flies and it seems to go especially fast in publications. In Civil Society we transit from month to month in a space that is never short of interesting people and trends. There is always something new to figure out, someone exciting to Low-fee college in Punjab . 18-19 Tmeet. We are blessed with work that keeps us in touch with people living in different Indias: rich and poor, weak and powerful, committed and casual, urban and rural. These are diverse worlds in a single system. It is great to be able to make this journey as Four steps to road safety . 20 only journalists can. It seems just yesterday that we were celebrating 10 years of our magazine. We have done 11 years now. This has been a year defined by serious change. The Congress has been decimated for reasons that go beyond conventional politics. The Aam Aadmi Party rose rapidly and HALL OF FAME then came crashing down when it seemed to people that AAP leaders were no better than other politicians. The Bharatiya Janata Party rose to power on what we believe is a tide of hopes and aspirations in the country. 22-23 The hero in each of us After 20 years of economic reforms, greater visible prosperity and access to empow- ering technologies like the Internet and mobile phone, the hopes and aspirations of Farm evangelists . 24-26 people shouldn’t come as a surprise. We should also recognise that India brims with positive energy. But people trying to get on with their lives are let down by dysfunction- al institutions and a suffocating elitism in the country. Officer on dream mission 28-31 Governments that want to put India on the path of rapid growth will have to work at speedily reforming institutions and making access more equal. NGOs and other social Rockstar at the grassroots . 32-33 sector players have an important role to play in achieving this. We have shown time and again through our stories that they are providers of last-mile solutions. They have done serious work in education, health and environment and governments would do well to The people’s pastors . 34-35 give scale to their expertise by making them part of policy and outreach. As always, we are proud to present the Civil Society Hall of Fame. This year’s entrants to the Hall of Fame are all outstanding individuals and groups who deserve national Calamity specialists . 36-39 attention. We present them as ‘working for India’ and it is our intention that India recognise their contributions. The Civil Society Hall of Fame’s success owes much to our partner, the Azim Premji Foundation and our sponsors. The sponsors are happy just to support a good idea and . 40-45 PORTFOLIO give us all the space to make it a citizens’ initiative. We also have a debt of gratitude to our jury – Nasser Munjee, Aruna Roy, Darshan Shankar, Vir Chopra and Dr DPS Toor – who invest time and effort in choosing the final entrants from a much longer PRODUCTS . 47-50 list. Finally, a big thank you to our readers! Your subscriptions help us remain an inde- COVER PHOTOGRAPH: LAKSHMAN ANAND pendent magazine. It is thrilling that we reach faraway places in the country with our print edition. Of course the Internet’s reach is much more. But the printing, packaging, ANNUAL DOUBLE ISSUE posting and finally receiving of a magazine is quite something else. This September-October issue of Civil Society marks completion of 11 years of the magazine. The next issue will be in November. [email protected] [email protected] Publisher Layout & Design First Floor, Panchsheel Vihar, Umesh Anand Virender Chauhan Malviya Nagar, New Delhi -110017. Advisory Board Get your copy of Civil Society from Printed at Samrat Offset Pvt. Ltd. Editor Cartoonist ANUPAM MISHRA B-88, Okhla Phase II, New Delhi - 110020. Delhi:, Bahri Sons, Central Market,, Galleria Market, Rita Anand Samita Rathor ARUNA ROY News Agency, stalls at Green Qutab Plaza, Sector 14 Postal Registration No. Park market, South Extn Part Market, Sector 17 Market, News Network Write to Civil Society at: NASSER MUNJEE DL(S)-01/3255/2012-14. II, Aurobindo Market, R. K. Sector 54, Sector 44. Shree Padre D-26 Basement, South Registered to post without pre-payment ARUN MAIRA Puram, Vasant Vihar, Vasant Jehangir Rashid Extension Part 2, Kolkata: Oxford Bookstore, U(SE)-10/2014 at New Delhi PSO Kunj, J.N.U. S.D.A. Market, Classic Books. Rakesh Agrawal New Delhi -110049. DARSHAN SHANKAR Registered with the Registrar of Saket, Kalkajee, C. R. Park, Susheela Nair Ph: 011-46033825, HARIVANSH New Friends Colony, Lajpat Bengaluru: Variety on Shayak Majumder Newspapers of India under Nagar, Defence Colony, Hauz St Mark’s Road. 9811787772 JUG SURAIYA RNI No.: DELENG/2003/11607 Khas, Moti Bagh, Sector 62 Lucknow: Ram Advani Photography Printed and published by Total no of pages: 52 UPENDRA KAUL Noida. Bookseller at Hazratganj. Lakshman Anand Umesh Anand from A 53 D, www.civilsocietyonline.com Gurgaon: DLF Phase 1 Chandigarh: The Browser. 11th Annual Issue NEWS nelling of their money, particularly in the social sec- tors, to non-government institutions, who are selected transparently based on explicit public interest criteria related to their governance, compe- ‘Ayurveda can contribute to modern medicine’ tence and integrity. It will be shocking for your readers to know that LAKSHMAN ANAND in government departments like the Department of low-cost traditional solutions for their health needs. Science and Technology, (DST), Department of INTERVIEW This agenda is most important for the empower- Biotechnology, (DBT), Union Ministry of Health ment of civil society in the healthcare sector. (MoH) and the Union Ministry of Environment DARSHAN SHANKAR and Forests, (MoEF), the government disallows How can traditional medicine be inculcated into payment of a salary or an honorarium or institu- Civil Society News India’s health system? tional overheads to Principal Investigators, (PIs) New Delhi The government should establish a network of inte- from non-government, not-for-profit research grative clinical establishments for primary, secondary organisations or, universities for innovative pro- ARSHAN Shankar has been at the fore- and tertiary healthcare both in the government and in grammes designed by them and screened and front of efforts to mainstream traditional the not-for-profit, non-government sectors.