| The author, addressing the 16th general assembly of the World Medical Association held in India, outlines the present level of health in India and compares it to that in 3000 BC and in 1947 after independence. He draws upon his 10 years experience as minister for health and upon the teachings of Gandhiji. He concludes that only through health and education services can India's rural populations become productive, but acknowledges the difficulties in introducing quality education because of the low professional status and pay afforded to teachers. He calls upon the medical profession to heed the concept of service to humanity that underlies the Hippocratic oath and to "strengthen the voice in demanding what are the birthright of every child, education to prepare him for a complete life and health to enable him to live that complete life." |