It is said that one can take an Indian out of India but not India out of an Indian. This is true even for those Indians who are happy residents and citizens of another country. Every Indian carries with him/ her the heritage and culture of India. They share the joy of Indian music, dance, art, or Bollywood, and if nothing else, Indian cuisine! They may call another part of the world home, but long to visit their roots in India, meet family and friends, and those who are fortunate enough, manage to visit India for shopping, especially at wedding times!
It is heartwarming to see Indians abroad celebrating Indian festivals, observing Indian traditions, building temples, mosques and Gurudwaras, forming Indian associations and taking an active interest in developments back home.
Our compatriots abroad seem as united and as divided as the rest of us in India. In most countries, there is an Indian Association that welcomes all Indians and people of Indian origin. Several years ago, I was somewhat amused to find that the Indian Association in one country served as a kind of South Asian association and included Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, who with their minuscule numbers were happy to share the joys of togetherness with other Indians. The very same people also celebrate their identities as Bengalis, Oriya, Tamil etc, and these divisions are even caste-based in some rare cases.
A commitment to the progress and development of India amongst the people of Indian origin seems to exist across continents. Thus, when the Swachh Bharat campaign was launched in India, we found a number of our people in South Africa taking interest in its implementation in different parts of India. In our outreach, we found some innovative efforts even at the individual level. A number of private individuals and their trusts support various causes in India, including the welfare of women and children, including girls and widows, education and healthcare, skill development and others. In fact, my husband and his Indian-origin friend are engaged in one such effort to make youngsters physically active through TOPYA, the company that promotes this through its online programme.
Earlier in December, I was happy to see another such effort move forward. While in London, I had become acquainted with efforts to set up the BAPIO Training Academy, an associate of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), an organisation representing doctors of Indian origin. In collaboration with UK Universities and Indian Institutions, BAPIO started an Indo UK fellowship programme in different specialities with 2 years of training in India and 2 years in the UK aimed at providing enhanced competencies to Indian MBBS doctors and serving India better on their return.
BAPIO doctors were struck by the pressure put on health systems by globalisation and its impact on social cohesion in many countries. Health systems are key constituents of the architecture of contemporary societies but are often underperforming and unable to deliver levels of national health coverage to meet demands and changing needs. With health systems unable to meet expectations, despite the mounting costs, there’s an urgent need for such interventions. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of the healthcare system almost everywhere. The need for higher outlays to health is not in question, but with economies struggling under lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic, citizens need to come forward as well.
Doctors, nurses and other non-physician clinicians play an increasing role in both industrialised and developing countries. The current pandemic highlights the need for every healthcare system to have sufficient numbers of adequately trained doctors/clinicians. In pursuit of this objective, BTA joined hands with the Ujala Cygnus group in a collaborative effort that will commence at the Ujala Cygnus chain of hospitals. A group of interested doctors already working at Ujala will be recruited for this programme and enrolled in MSc in Acute Medicine, which will provide them with knowledge, hands-on clinical training and bedside medicine by local faculty topped up virtually by a UK based faculty. 40 trainees would be enrolled for the first pilot.
The candidates will also be able to sit for either of the three Royal College exams: MRCGP (UK) from Royal College of General Physicians, MRCP (Acute Medicine) from Royal College of Physicians, and MRCEM (UK) from Royal College of Emergency Medicine, in the UK.
We saw doctors and professionals from BAPIO help numerous Indians stranded in the UK following the lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic last year. It is hoped that this program will contribute to skilling up medical doctors in India and building acumen for treating patients at par with international standards, in yet another example of Indians working for India’s development.
