A New Taj Mahal
Posted by webmaster on August 22 2009 02:50:04
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today at 0100 hours (Aug 12th 2009), I inscribe a new sentence on the milestone of our specialty in India. The Medical Council of India has recognized the Specialty of Emergency Medicine! This is the beginning of a new era. Yes, this day marks the end of a long walk through the tunnel of uncertainty. The pages, in the book of time, have indeed turned very slowly over the past 15 years. We have waited patiently, so close to the Finish Line, for so long, that we have forgotten the taste of sweet victory!
Some moments in our lives are distinct. This is one such. when we are summoned to the threshold of a new horizon, a new millennium for the fledgling fraternity of Emergency physicians in India; the fraternity, which will carve the image of our hopes and dreams, the fraternity of young lions and lionesses, who will salvage the deplorable state of emergency care in our country and raise it to the high ground which I have prayed for, since 1994.
On this day, let us remind ourselves, not to be torn by divisions of geography, language, pride or ego; not to be wooed or inflated by self-centric agencies that promise more than they can deliver. I pause on this gloomy note, since the shadow of rhetoric darkness descends periodically on our country; a shadow which threatens to splinter our forces and prevent us from being one. Let us lower our voices, strengthen our shoulders, raise our hands and stand together to garner the inner strength which prevails in all us, to address the common goal of advancing our specialty, through our thought, word and practice.
As trainers and trainees, let us learn not to force but to impart, not to transplant but to transform, not to teach but to inspire, the hundreds which are to follow us in the future. Let us balance technology against affordability, forced clinical practice against realism and resources.
Our task is to build a new Taj Mahal, because we can do it; because we have done it, in the past! We have endured the long night of waiting; as we glimpse at the emerging rays of dawn, come, join with me, as I dance with joy, this moment of awe and jubilation!
Prof. Suresh David, MS, FACEM
Department of Accident & Emergency Medicine
Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.