On "Missing the Revolution" & the Lokpal Bill

One of the most well-known and influential medical anthropologists is Paul Farmer. As an MD/PhD, he balances the line of medical authority as well as legitimacy in the field of anthropology. His name resonates across multiple disciplines for his work on structural violence. Structural violence is felt by individuals who are at the complete mercy of the society's structure and are unable to help themselves. Individuals are more likely to endure unnecessary illness and disease and have little or no access to adequate care. It is violence to the body, internal and external, the mind, and overall wellbeing.

In Infections and Inequalities, Farmer writes about early anthropology and ethnography which involved university-educated anthropologists entering the field--most likely a poor, peasant population (where 'authenticity' is found)--gathering information about rituals and then leaving. 'Objectivity' intact, these anthropologists are said to have "missed the revolution."  While they were able to describe the Peruvian method of harvesting crop, marriage rituals, and male/female kinship patterns, they missed the Shining Path guerrillas bringing revolution to the peasants, while also creating a dangerous atmosphere for the Peruvians who were now at the mercy of the government & Fujimori as well as the Shining Path. They had no voice. However, as educated anthropologists failed to note this, they, again, missed the revolution.  So the argument goes, could these anthropologists have been a voice to these individuals? Beyond describing their rituals and beliefs, could they draw a more critical perspective on the peasant social position? Could they write about how outside failures are what contribute to the health of the individual? By this, Paul Farmer calls for a more critical view of social structure when conducting anthropological study.

Baba Ramdev

I, by no means, am equipped to write about structural violence in India. To stay in this country for only three months, it would be insulting to say I have any better insight. However, as I am here to study health and health care, I have noted some political ideology that pertains to my project. India suffers from a great deal of government corruption and 'black money.'  I even sheepishly asked my mom if she had ever bribed a cop in India (she has not, but it was not as awkward as I thought it would be to ask. Almost obvious).  This corruption has been around as long as this country and before (see: colonialism). A bill, titled the Lokpal Bill seeks to mitigate corruption by creating a third party entity that will have government oversight. It is proposed to even have oversight over the Prime Minister. What is interesting about this bill isn't that India is attempting to end corruption, but how they are doing it and the major players in the battle to get the bill before parliament for the upcoming session later this summer. Well, as luck would have it, one high-profile media presence is Baba Ramdev, a yogi with a large following has gone on a hunger strike, here in Bangalore. I also have his yoga DVDs. This guy is no small fry, he has an island in Scotland that's meant to  be a yoga retreat. 

PM Manmohan Singh, INC party

Well, not only is it interesting that in India, many government issues reach the media only though this obvious spectacle, namely with a man who is thought to be a religious leader. It can't be compared to Pat Robertson in the US, because the pervasiveness of Hindu ideology is more obvious here, whereas Christian revivalists are a loud minority. It's another breed of extremism, but one that seems oddly reasonable. He is ready to lay down his life in order to promote an anti-corruption movement, relying on his influence as a popular yogi. What really caught my interest wasn't that it was the only news story that was on the Indian channels (or the deranged elephant in Rishikesh that gored a cow). The Lokpals would use 'educated' individuals as the ombudsmen, meaning doctors and engineers. The idea that scientists are better at being anti-corruption watchdogs. The idea that an academic would somehow be un-corruptable speaks to the Indian faith in knowledge as a prime mover of modernity. It seems naive to me, but I can't make a properly formed opinion of the anti-corruption efforts just yet. I have seen minor effects of this movement on the streets and on tv, but who can say what kind of success it will have. I wouldn't characterize this as a "revolution" per se, but I will keep my eyes on this issue, as I believe it has a lot to do with my topic.