Public Health in India: Policy Shifts and Trends captures transitions in the public health debates in India from different vantage points. It marks the erosions, reflected mainly in policy changes, that have taken place at the national level in the area of public health. The analysis of selected articles attempts to understand the amnesia about the health of people that has pervaded not only the professional and the political class but also those who believe in an elitist, bio-medical perspective, limited to hi-tech interventions at the cost of a balanced view on healthcare. This volume traces the history of public health debates in India over five decades and identifies the paradigm shifts in post-Independent India through contradictory approaches by state strategies and interventions. The transition of health policies and shifts in the state's commitment towards 'Health for All' form part of these debates.



The series 'Social Change in Contemporary India' brings together key texts published in the prestigious journal Social Change, from 1971 till present times. These writings, most of which are considered canonical, address important issues in health, education, poverty and agriculture with special focus on disadvantaged groups. These writings will help readers identify key points in the history of policymaking in India and major discourses and debates and their impact.