[LIS-Forum] Need for democratizing knowledge

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Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:58:53 +0530
From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun at mssrf.res.in>

Friends:=0D

In the US, there is a growing awareness among scientists, librarians, the g=
eneral public and even the Congressmen that all publicly-funded research mu=
st be available through open access. The UK, Australia and Europe are not f=
ar behind. Ironically, in developing countries where the need for free and =
open access to information is much greater, awareness is rather slow in com=
ing. Enlightened librarians and other professionals can play a central role=
  in not only bringing about such awareness but also in making open access a=
  reality. =0D

Open access to knowledge is especially important in the area of medicine an=
d even more important in areas such as community health and cost-effective =
rural healthcare delivery. The last two days I was listening to some excell=
ent talks at the ICICI Knowledge Park sponsored Conference on "Improving Pu=
blic Health in India: Need for Innovative Solutions in Healthcare Delivery.=
" My friends Abhay and Rani Bang have perfected and IMPLEMENTED a low-cost =
method of delivering babies in remote villages and hamlets of Gadchiroli di=
strict of Maharashtra with the help of LOCAL WOMEN whom they have trained. =
And Mr Amarjit Singh, Commissionar of Health, Government of Gujarat, told u=
s about a public-private partnership (between the state government and priv=
ate practitioners) that has reduced infant and birth-related mother mortali=
ty rates considerably in the first ten months of the programme. Two differe=
nt solutions to the same problem. The Bangs' programme is replicated in UP.=
  The Gujarat programme, which was started as a pilot in five backward distr=
icts of the state, is now being expanded to cover the entire state. To be h=
onest I have known the Gadchiroli programme for about a year, because Abhay=
  was featured in Time. Abhay's work was done in India and I live and work i=
n India and I am considered a very well-informed person and yet I had to kn=
ow his work from Time magazine! I have not heard about the Gujarat governme=
nt programme at all till I heard Mr Singh. I am sure that is the case with =
most of us including policy makers, bureaucrats, civil societies and doctor=
s. =0D

There were two talks on diabetes in India. Dr Mohan from Chennai spoke abou=
t how his own group of institutions - a money-earning profit-oriented hospi=
tal, a research foundation and a charitable arm - is able to deal with poor=
  patients who cannot afford to get diagnosed in the first place and get tre=
ated later on. His team has developed a simple test which includes three or=
  four questions and a waist measurement to predict diabetes. Dr C S Yajnik =
of KEM, Pune, told us that it was adiposity rather than obesity one should =
worry about. Although most Indian babies are thinner (and looking weaker) t=
han babies born in the UK and Europe, our babies have a much higher body fa=
t content. He also told us about the futility of giving high doses of folat=
e to pregnant mothers (after a few weeks of the onset of pregnancy); instea=
d we should be giving them vitamin B12.  Both are excellent research effort=
s and more so relevant to India. I am sure both Mohan and Yajnik have publi=
shed their work in good international journals and it is more than likely m=
any Indian diabetologists and general practitioners do not have access to t=
hose journals. =0D

Whether it is regular academic/clinical research or it is research aimed at=
  democratising access to low-cost healthcare delivery, what we need in comm=
on is to democratise knowledge - making knowledge reach everyone cocerned. =
I am glad that Mr Vaghul and friends who founded the Park called it the ICI=
CI KNOWLEDGE Park acknowledging the central role knowledge plays in industr=
y, economy, healthcare, agriculture and everything else we do and we need t=
o do. =0D

Both Vaghul and Dr Nachiket Mor, the chairman of the Steering Committee of =
the two-day conference, talked briefly about the reach of the ICICI Bank (a=
nd group of companies) in rural India. Thanks to the reach, one could take =
the message (and knowledge) to the rural poor. But there is another great c=
hallenge. Taking knowledge to the educated elite - the scientists and resea=
rchers, policy makers, captains of industry, the professors and professiona=
ls, practising doctors. Fortunately, thanks to developments in the area of =
Internet and web technologies, that challenge could be met in a cost effect=
ive manner. =0D

Each research and higher education institution performing research should b=
e persuaded to set up what is called an interoperable institutional open ac=
cess archive. I will not go into the details now, but will just say that th=
e software for setting up such interconnected archive is ABSOLUTELY FREE an=
d the expertise is available in India. The Indian Institute of Science, for=
  example, has its own institutional archive. Every paper Mohan or Yajnik wr=
ites cn be deposited in such archives {as full text and metadata} and anyon=
e anywhere with an Internet connection can access those papers. Both Amarji=
t Singh and Abahy can deposit a writeup on their work for the rest of the w=
orld to read. =0D

I have made a submission to the National Knowledge Commission and the idea =
has been accepted and I hope will be implemented eventually. I suggest that=
  ICICI Knowledge Park and those who attended the Hyderabad Conference need =
not wait till the government accepts the idea and acts on it and move ahaed=
  and facilitate not only setting up such archives but also other initiative=
s to democratise   knowledge. =0D

Best wishes.=0D

Subbiah Arunachalam=0D