Shades of Gray

Never before in the history of independent India, we have had a minister who is known more for controversies and foolishness than his policies. I am talking about about health minister Anbumani Ramadoss. Here are some examples:

After his support for caste-based quotas in medical colleges, he proposed one-year compulsory rural posting for government doctors. The logic: they pay dismally low fees for their education. While the minister’s idea for improving the quality of medical services in rural India certainly seems noble, he has conveniently disregarded the infrastructure that is needed to provide good medical service to villages. Sending doctors to far flung villages will not have any impact, if dispensaries and hospitals located in these parts of the country continue to face shortage of good quality equipment and medicines and other supplies. This move will only end up depressing the new breed of medical practitioners. He must also ensure that if compulsory rural posting is implemented, it is government’s responsibility to ensure that the doctors are provided good living quarters and safety is ensured.. Houses with thatched leaking roofs are hardly an incentive to someone who has toiled hard to get this education. The service motive has to be there in a medical student ideally but let’s get real here.

Indeed, this was visible when many junior lady doctors asked Ramadoss to marry them and accompany them to villages. “Be our husband and come with us to the villages to protect us. If he (Ramadoss) is so keen on sending us to the villages then he should also be there to support us,” a student said.

Hon’ble minister created another stir by claiming that Delhi media hauls him up for any issue concerning AIIMS because he belongs to the Most Backward Caste (MBC). Ramadoss was clearly referring to the flak he faced after introducing the bill on the retirement age of AIIMS head, aimed at removing Dr. P Venugopal as the director. This behaviour and mindset highlights an important aspect that is often ignored when we discuss reservations. Ramadoss, a man belonging to the MBC category has reached great heights and is now a minister in the Union government. Still, whenever someone speaks against him, he cries foul and considers it a casteist attack. Clearly, reservations and all the incentives has not changed the caste-based mentality. Even for a highly educated person like Ramadoss, caste comes before logical reasoning. If this is the state of affairs, how can we say that continuing caste-based reservations will make everyone equal? How can everyone be equal if caste is linked to each action and decision?

Some of the other remarks which were equally crazy range from criticizing the BPO lifestyle for all ills of the modern day society to asking every member of the family before lighting up a cigarette.

And the latest in a never-ending saga of PR disasters is a remark that a doctor from Bihar was the sole cause for Britain de-recognizing MBBS degrees. After several protests and customary burning of effigies, Ramadoss defended himself by saying “I am also a doctor. I will be the last person to denigrate or defame any doctor from any state. It is a noble profession and I respect everyone coming from any state – be it Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. I have always said that Indian doctors are the best in the world. I have lot of respect for doctors from Bihar.” As is the norm Dr. Ramadoss later blamed media for misquoting him and projecting as if he had denigrated the image of the doctors from Bihar.

This story will not end here. The coalition dharma of the UPA government will ensure that Ramadoss continues in office. And knowing him, the entertainment would just keep coming.