April-June 2009 Vol 6 Issue 2
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Ragging: human rights abuse tolerated by the authorities
Every year, students joining professional colleges all over India start classes with the excitement and trepidation that accompany a new venture, particularly one that will shape their lives. However, very often, the initial euphoria of getting admission into a coveted course gives way to feelings of subjugation and possible humiliation and fear. The new students fear not the difficult course, nor the exams nor even the strictest of teachers. They fear harassment by a group of people who are just one to four years older than them-their seniors in college. At a time when students feel most vulnerable, having left a protected school environment and, often, their parents and homes, this can be a harrowing experience.
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Ethical issues in treating pregnant women with severe mental illness
Severe mental illness tends to occur and recur among women in the reproductive period. Both the disorders and the treatments may have effects on the mother and the foetus. The clinician hence is often in a dilemma when treating pregnant women with severe mental illness and is challenged with ethical issues related to decision making in this regard. Both treatment and non treatment are not without risks and this is particularly challenging if the mother has active symptoms and cannot make decisions because of impaired capacity. This paper highlights some of these ethical and clinical dilemmas through case vignettes based on data from a specialised perinatal psychiatry service.
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Migrants and medical refugees: a short report
“What is the catchment area of your hospital?” the well-meaning person from the funding agency asked. I responded with our oft-quoted figure of people from over 1,500 villages coming to us for healthcare, including many from the adjoining parts of Madhya Pradesh. But what I did not tell him then were the life experiences of some people from these villages in an era where all aspects of rural life seem to be in a crisis. As the harvest season of the single rain-fed crop draws to a close, and no other employment is in sight, an annual exodus begins that is all too visible at bus stops, railway platforms, and in the general compartments of trains bound for Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The migration, to which according to some administrators the people of these parts are habituated, has begun. And as the monsoons draw closer, the return journey home begins. For many, however, the work so far away is interrupted by what is unexpected for the well-to-do, but always close at hand for the poor- illness, and very often, a serious illness. (...more)
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