Thrice a year, Prof. Anil Gupta goes for a very long walk – his ‘Shodh Yatras’ can take 10 days each and he and those accompanying him (sometimes as many as 100 people) will cover about 250km. Their quest is startling – unfolding as it does far from the elite university campuses and the corporate … Continue reading
Category Archives: Activists
Minnie Vaid: A Doctor to Defend
In the years since his arrest, Dr. Binayak Sen has won himself thousands of supporters, including the likes of Amartya Sen and Noam Chomsky. But perhaps the most determined among them has been a documentary film maker and journalist, Minnie Vaid. Minnie, who first heard of Dr. Binayak’s case in 2007, subsequently quit her job … Continue reading
Chandima and Anoja Rajapatirana: On Providing E.A.S.E to Sri Lankans with Autism
A single sentence on the back of Chandima Rajapatirana’s t-shirt reads ‘nothing is impossible’. As far as personal mottos go, this one suits its wearer to a tee. Diagnosed with autism and apraxia as a four- year- old, Chandima has defied the prediction of specialists. The man who they recommended should be institutionalised is today … Continue reading
Judge Weeramantry: Tread Lightly on the Earth
When it’s time to autograph his latest book, Judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry is besieged. Admirers crowd around the venerable judge with copies of ‘Tread Lightly on the Earth: Religion, the Environment and the Human Future’. Silver-haired and smiling, he finds time to exchange a word with everyone. The judge who will be turning 83 in … Continue reading
Douglas Biklen: A Champion for Facilitated Communication
When Dr. Leo Kanner first wrote about autism in 1943, he changed the way many people understood intelligence. The first scientist to clearly define autism, Kanner was working with 11 children who appeared to be mentally retarded. Among his many conclusions was included his belief that despite their massive communication problems, some of his subjects … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 