There has been no response from sevenhills to the allegations made. Probably the management is quite aware that the things which have been pointed out are facts. It is possible that they are looking for a better political dispensation to carry out their plans. Until that time one can try to pull on. I have been informed that the Management has paid money to practicaly everyone, even to the hawaldar on the streets! The lament is that, despite all this the work is getting stalled! In fact one of the main, in fact in the Chairman’’s words, the only mistake he has made is in not calling Mr. Uddhav Thackeray to inaugurate the hospital instead of the President of India! He is correct, in a way. In India. one needs to be sycophants to the right people. Probably only then will corrupt practises be condoned.

I must express my sadness that practically no doctor from the hospital has had the guts to stand by me, atleast publically. Dr. Lalit Kapoor, medicolegal expert with the AMC, had warned in the latest issue of ’’Grasp’’, the official publication of the AMC: Consultants need get sensitised to the--- issues and to put their act together before they are relegated to being non-entities. Associations need to be empowered by the energising of the dormant majority of its laid-back, disinterested, or shall we say self-centred members who remember the Association only when they have problems. We can ignore all this only to our jeopardy.’’’’

I actually wonder how doctors as a group have can have so little loyalty to their own colleagues when they are in trouble or they need help. Dr. Lalit Kapoor was right when he wrote that article. Being an intellectual does not mean one cannot stand together or stand up and be counted when the need arises. That just smacks of cowardice, selfishness and self-interest. There is no virtue in that. One has to learn to forego of one’s pride and highly opiniated selves for the common good. We cannot all be leaders. Most of us so called intellectuals think very highly about our own opinions. But very often, for the common good, we have to let go of our pride and self-importance. Everybody cannot be leaders. Most of us are followers and should accept the role of being followers, if only to have the graciousness to allow someone else to lead. Otherwise, no movement, no action for justice, no social change can take place.