Category Archives: Op-eds
Being apolitical doesn’t mean politics doesn’t exist
A few years ago, we had a writer who would constantly pitch articles to us about how the Indian government should be doing X, Y or Z in the fight against this or that disease. Their submissions grew quickly tiresome, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Anthony Fauci, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines, epidemics, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
Comments Off on Being apolitical doesn’t mean politics doesn’t exist
The constructionist hypothesis and expertise during the pandemic
Now that COVID-19 cases are rising again in the country, the trash talk against journalists has been rising in tandem. The Indian government was unprepared and hapless last year, and it is this year as well, if only in different … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm
Tagged biochemistry, complexity, COVID-19 pandemic, disease transmission models, epidemiological modelling, epidemiology, expertise, immune escape, more is different, novel coronavirus, novel coronavirus variants, Philip Warren Anderson, scale, virology
Comments Off on The constructionist hypothesis and expertise during the pandemic
Exporting risk
I’m torn between admitting that our cynicism about scientists’ solutions for the pandemic is warranted and the palliative effects of reading this Reuters report about seemingly nothing more than the benevolence of richer nations not wasting their vaccine doses: Apart … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged AZD1222, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines, Covishield, vaccine apartheid, vaccine nationalism
Comments Off on Exporting risk
Anti-softening science for the state
The group of ministers (GoM) report on “government communication” has recommended that the government promote “soft topics” in the media like “yoga” and “tigers”. We can only speculate what this means, and that shouldn’t be hard. The overall spirit of … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm, Science
Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, COVID-19 pandemic, free press, Gautam Adani, government communication report, Group of Ministers report, independent media, Mukesh Ambani, neglected tropical diseases, Patanjali Ayurved, Principal Scientific Adviser, research and development, S.S. Bhatnagar Award, science journalism, soft topics, tigers, vaccine apartheid, vaccine nationalism, yoga
Comments Off on Anti-softening science for the state
The government’s enblightenment
The GMO debate is a fascinating object, even though participating in it often amounts to nothing but pain, frustration and lost time – especially if you’re pro-GMO foods. It’s fascinating because it’s one of a kind: one party has science … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Baba Ramdev, Coronil, genetic engineering, genetic modification, genetically modified crops, genetically modified organisms, genetically modified seeds, GMO, healthcare, Indian Medical Association, Monsanto, Patanjali Ayurved, transgenics, whataboutery
Comments Off on The government’s enblightenment
What the DNA Bill needs
The following article has been published in The Wire, but since it began as a blog post and because I haven’t published anything else in a while, I’m using it here as well. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on S&T, Forests … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Covaxin, COVID-19 vaccines, Covishield, crime scene investigation, DNA Bill, forensic science, jagatguru complex, Jairam Ramesh, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA, scientific evidence, two-finger test
Comments Off on What the DNA Bill needs
Pandemic: Science > politics?
By Mukunth and Madhusudhan Raman Former Union health secretary K. Sujatha Rao had a great piece in The Indian Express on January 14, whose takeaway she summarised in the following line: Science, evidence and data analytics need to be the … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Central Drug Standards Control Organisation, Covaxin, COVID-19 pandemic, Covishield, criminal negligence, democracy, middle class, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scientism, Tamil Nadu elections, West Bengal elections
Comments Off on Pandemic: Science > politics?
Science prizes, wealth location and social signals
One count on which I almost always find myself to be an outlier in India is my opinion that the Nobel Prizes and their derivatives belong in the gutter. But while many people in other countries share this opinion of … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Arindam Ghosh, Infosys Foundation, Infosys Prizes, Nobel Prizes, Prachi Deshpande, privilege, Rajan Sankaranarayanan, research funding, Social Sciences, SS Bhatnagar Award, Swarnajayanti Fellowships, wealth signalling
Comments Off on Science prizes, wealth location and social signals
Vaccines for votes
A week or so ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar released its poll manifesto, the first point on which was that should the party win, it would make a COVID-19 vaccine cleared by the ICMR available for free to … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar polls, COVID-19 vaccine, Election Commission, ethics, Joe Biden, Nitish Kumar, NYAY scheme, polio vaccine
Comments Off on Vaccines for votes