Drug
patenting is serious business
This refers to the news article Healthcare
TRIPS on Patents Bill (Tehelka, December 4). When
I was a PhD student in the late 80s/early 90s at iit,
Mumbai, we had several debates/seminars on the potential
impact of wto on various sectors in India. Drug patenting
was one of them.
As a scientist myself, I do favour strict regulations
protecting Intellectual Property Rights. However, there
are issues beyond this black-and-white thought process.
More so as India traditionally recognised process patents
instead of product patents in several areas including
pharmaceuticals. This has served our country good for
years. Many global pharmaceutical companies oppose this
and insist that India should recognise product patents
as that will certainly open the floodgates to profit in
the second largest populated country in the world.
What our governments in the 90s ought to have realised
and what the present government needs to realise is that
switching the recognition mode will affect the general
population in two ways. You have already cited one: large
number of retailers cannot simply sell many drugs if a
manufacturer cannot reach them. The other is the cost
factor.
In the US, even though the original patented drugs are
expensive, often times the patients end up buying the
generic versions approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
As we do not have the type of infrastructure for drug
distribution to the end customers (patients) as in the
US, this product patent recognition will amount to half-baked
measure and hurt the entire population. Unfortunately,
like many other approvals by the governments of the day
such as Enron deal, I suspect such decisions were taken
under the influence of ‘greenbacks’.
Dr Gautam Banerjee
Tempe, Arizona, US |
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Losing interest
I am one of the founder members of Tehelka. I was highly impressed
with Tehelka’s appeal, and thought it would be able to fill
the void as a neutral paper. I thought it would represent injustice
and raise vital issues that concern Indians. As a committed well-wisher
I thought I must let you know my feelings. The paper has not lived
up to its expectations. Neither the format, nor the contents are
good. I feel I am losing interest in the paper.
HK Chaudhary
New Delhi
Missing
mirchi
Tehelka’s new look appears to be good, but I fear it may become
a tabloid if it stops raising issues about the downtrodden. Reports
of public concern are fewer in this edition and stories from the
Mahabharata are missing. Also, the Tehelka mirchi is almost half
its original size in the masthead.
Omesh Bharti
bhartiomesh@yahoo.com
Split
unavoidable
This is with reference to Empire Ready To Split? (Tehelka, December
18). After marriage, brothers have separate identities and lives,
so it is natural to split and have independent businesses. Even
if two brothers wish to be together, their wives and children may
not wish so and a split is therefore inevitable. In that context,
the Ambani case comes as no surprise.
Mahesh Kapasi
maheshkp@vsnl.net
Rosy
picture
It is nice that Tehelka has started a series on travel Places In
India.
I happened to be in Dandeli in Karnataka recently. On our journey
back we saw our car glass smashed. It was the handiwork of drunkards.
When this is reality how can I take the advice of Vikram Sundarji
to blow off the candle and meditate. Isn’t that just one side
of the story?
GN Mohan
Bangalore
Talking
peace
The Assamese are fed up with the mindless violence in the region.
They want peace, but it seems all those who matter in the region
are acting in an irresponsible manner.
When people heard that there would be talks between the government
and militants, it looked as if there was a solution to the problem.
But both the Assam government and ulfa refuse to bend. The government
says ulfa needs to abjure violence before it decides to hold talks.
The residents cannot understand these diplomatic moves — all
that they want is peace and development in the region.
Angarag Bhuyan
Morigaon, Assam
Forced
holidays
Secular governance means that the government shall not impose any
particular religion. This secular principle is overlooked in declaring
religious holidays as government holidays, compulsory for all. These
are Id-ul-Zuha, Moharram, Mahavir Jayanti, Good Friday, Milad-un-Nabi,
Diwali, Christmas etc. All these should be called religious optional
holidays — availing of these holidays should be left to the
discretion of the employee.
Dr AS Adikesavan
Chennai
Smriti
retracts
Like her mentor former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Smriti
Irani retracted her bold declaration to proceed on a fast unto death
if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi does not resign by December
25, Vajpayee’s birthday. Vajpayee changed his versions several
times when he was the prime minister, proving that he was not atal
but tal. Smriti did the same too. She was threatened by the bjp
leadership and so beat a hasty retreat.
Dr Aboobakar Thwahir
aboobakarthwahir@yahoo.com
Business
news
Tehelka contains too much of political news. This is very boring,
as the electronic media also focuses largely on political issues.
We expect something different from your paper. Why don’t you
give us more business and entertainment news?
HP Shah
Mumbai
good
look
The new look is brilliant. The paper was always very readable, but
the look was somewhat cluttered. The revamp was a great idea. The
layout is excellent, the sections are well-defined and the new columns
are a treat. The new font is very distinct and easy on the eye.
Writers from across a wide spectrum give the reader a holistic view
on diverse issues. I find the writing a good break from the mostly
pedestrian attempts that pass off as writing in the print media
these days.
Congratulations!
Gopesh Singh
gopesh@soundcentralindia.com
Denying
Justice
I wish to point out the futility of new laws being enacted to bring
justice and equality among the masses. Endless trials are the biggest
deficiency of our legal system.
Gujarat trials are now becoming the biggest mockery of our judiciary.
Those who stand up against injustice are going through hardships,
witnesses are turning hostile, Zaheera and her family are mysteriously
changing statements. Does it all not frustrate the upholders of
truth? Similarly, laws in favour of women are more a matter of competition
between various religious sects. But no good is coming out of it
for women.
Zohra Javed
Allahabad, UP
“The
new energies are palpable in Tehelka. Each page speaks
of the churning within to bring out a sharper, clearer
and better paper”
Abhishek
Joshi,
abhishek1971@hotmail.com |
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