Political Culture of Health in India: A Historical Perspective

This article from the Economic and Political Weekly, a peer-reviewed journal, examines the political motivations that have historically shaped India’s public health services. It says that while the state was committed to providing healthcare, there were contradictions in its approach, which explain its ineffectiveness. For instance, its ambition could not be matched with its infrastructure and resources, so it relied heavily on foreign aid, which supported mostly techno-centric – and not people-centric – programmes like malaria eradication. It says that the failure of this programme left a huge dent in the India’s commitment to public health.