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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Fatal Negligence

Newborns dying in a fire inside a government hospital is a devastating indictment of a system that is supposed to protect its most vulnerable patients. The Amravati District Women’s Hospital tragedy, where a blaze killed three infants, joins a long list of preventable institutional failures. Thirty-nine babies were inside the three-compartment facility when the fire erupted after a ventilator in the neonatal unit caught fire. Thirty-six were eventually rescued. Parents and eyewitnesses have...

Fatal Negligence

Newborns dying in a fire inside a government hospital is a devastating indictment of a system that is supposed to protect its most vulnerable patients. The Amravati District Women’s Hospital tragedy, where a blaze killed three infants, joins a long list of preventable institutional failures. Thirty-nine babies were inside the three-compartment facility when the fire erupted after a ventilator in the neonatal unit caught fire. Thirty-six were eventually rescued. Parents and eyewitnesses have alleged that the fire alarms did not sound and the automatic sprinklers failed to activate even as the district administration has said the hospital underwent regular fire audits and had applied for this year’s audit. An audit is meaningful only if it establishes that equipment works when lives depend on it. Maharashtra has already witnessed the deadly consequences of fire-safety failures in public hospitals. In 2021, eleven Covid-19 patients died in a fire at the Ahmednagar district hospital even though a fire audit conducted months earlier had recommended a firefighting system. The Amravati tragedy demands more than the familiar ritual of a high-level inquiry, compensation and promises of “strictest action”. The announcement of ex gratia payments cannot compensate parents who have lost a child they had barely begun to know. The investigation must establish not merely what ignited the fire, but why it was allowed to become fatal. Was the ventilator properly maintained? Were electrical and medical devices routinely inspected? Did alarms function? Were sprinklers operational? Was the NICU appropriately located and equipped for evacuation? Were staff trained and drills conducted? And most importantly, who was responsible for ensuring that every safeguard worked? There is another troubling detail: the neonatal unit was reportedly housed on the third floor, rather than at ground level, and questions have arisen over whether the unit was part of the building’s original plan. The state has built an elaborate architecture of laws and child-protection standards which seldom matches the situation on ground. Whether in government hospitals, schools or anganwadis, safety has become a box to be ticked rather than a responsibility to be lived. The most vulnerable children are consequently left dependent not on systems, but on the vigilance and heroism of individual staff members. That is an appalling way to run the childcare infrastructure of one India’s most developed states. A NICU is perhaps the worst possible place for institutional complacency: its patients are immobile, medically dependent and extraordinarily vulnerable to smoke, heat and even brief disruption of life-support equipment. The government must ensure that the Amravati deaths do not become another entry in the grim ledger of hospital tragedies followed by inquiries, outrage and forgetting. The real test will be whether the state can prevent the next newborn from dying in a hospital that was supposed to save him.

Sanskrit for Patents? Reviving an Ancient Language for Modern Innovation

Updated: Feb 14, 2025

If India’s premier classical language can facilitate legislative debates, it certainly has the potential to serve as a precise medium for intellectual property documentation.

Sanskrit

Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, has long been revered as the custodian of profound knowledge. With its precision, adaptability, and unparalleled capacity to express intricate ideas concisely, Sanskrit has remained integral to philosophical and scientific discourse for centuries. In today's fast-evolving technological landscape, where intellectual property is pivotal to innovation, could Sanskrit be revived as a language for patent documentation? This proposition offers intriguing possibilities while posing notable challenges.


The recent initiative by the Lok Sabha Secretariat to provide simultaneous interpretation of parliamentary proceedings in Sanskrit is a significant step toward the language's revitalization. This move underscores the government's commitment to preserving and modernizing Sanskrit, reinforcing its potential utility in various domains including intellectual property protection. If Sanskrit can facilitate legislative debates, it can certainly be adapted for patent filings, thereby safeguarding India's technological advancements while reaffirming its cultural identity. Patents serve as repositories of protected knowledge - a role Sanskrit has historically excelled at. Ancient Indian texts, from the Charaka Samhita in medicine to the Surya Siddhanta in astronomy, exemplify how complex knowledge systems were encoded in Sanskrit with exceptional clarity and brevity. The language’s unique structure allows for precise expression, making it an effective medium for patent claims. A well-drafted patent in Sanskrit could enhance legal robustness by reducing ambiguities and safeguarding against misinterpretation or infringement.


Furthermore, Sanskrit’s capacity for succinct expression makes it a strong candidate for patent drafting, minimizing convoluted descriptions. For instance, Ohm’s law, stated in English as: “The current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points, provided the temperature remains constant.” can be rendered concisely in Sanskrit as:


“यद्यपि तापमानं अपरिवर्तनशीलं भवति, तदा प्रवाहः विभवस्य समानुपाती भवति।”


Similarly, a patent claim for a biometric authentication system: “A biometric authentication system comprising a fingerprint scanner for capturing user fingerprints, a database for storing fingerprint data, and an algorithm for matching the captured fingerprint with stored data.” can be effectively encapsulated in Sanskrit as:


“जैवमितिसत्यापन प्रणाली यः हस्तलाक्षणिक संग्राहकं धारयति, संग्रहणं सूचनाविभागे सम्पादयति, मिलानं निष्पादयति।”


This linguistic efficiency could streamline patent documentation, reducing redundancy and enhancing technical clarity.


Developing new Sanskrit terminology for contemporary scientific and technological advancements is not insurmountable. Sanskrit news broadcasts on radio and television have already demonstrated this adaptability, seamlessly incorporating modern terminologies. Words such as vidyut (electricity), yantra (machine), and doordarshan (television) illustrate its evolutionary potential. Extending this adaptability to patent law could be highly feasible. For instance, a patent claim for an AI-powered translation system: “An AI-powered translation system that processes input text, identifies linguistic patterns, and generates accurate translations across multiple languages.” can be concisely expressed as:


 “कृत्रिमबुद्धियुक्त भाषा-अनुवाद प्रणाली यः पाठस्य विश्लेषणं करोति, भाषाप्रवृत्तीनां चिन्हानि परिज्ञाय, यथार्थ अनुवादं सम्पादयति।”


These examples illustrate Sanskrit’s ability to integrate with cutting-edge computational technologies.


Introducing Sanskrit into the patent system could be implemented in a phased manner. Initially, it could be an optional language alongside English and Hindi, the two official languages currently recognized for patent applications in India. This transition would allow inventors and legal professionals to adapt gradually. Under existing Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) regulations, applications not filed in English require an English translation within a stipulated timeframe. Sanskrit could be integrated within these frameworks, ensuring a structured and efficient adoption process. Globally, countries such as China, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, and Korea file patents in their native languages. By incorporating Sanskrit, India would align itself with global best practices while showcasing its rich linguistic heritage. Just as Latin once served as the lingua franca of European intellectual discourse, Sanskrit could reclaim a similar role in India’s intellectual and technological landscape.


Despite its potential, certain challenges must be addressed. Since Sanskrit is not widely spoken today, training inventors and legal professionals in its technical applications would require dedicated efforts. Additionally, while Sanskrit’s interpretability is a strength, it could also introduce complexities in legal proceedings. For instance, a dispute over whether a Sanskrit shloka describes a wind turbine or a ceiling fan could become legally intricate. Furthermore, translating Sanskrit patents for international filings might necessitate additional resources. However, India possesses a vast pool of linguistic scholars and software developers who could develop advanced translation tools, ensuring global compatibility.


The recent adoption of Sanskrit interpretation in the Lok Sabha demonstrates the government's commitment to reintegrating the language into contemporary discourse. If Sanskrit can facilitate legislative debates, it certainly has the potential to serve as a precise medium for intellectual property documentation. Reviving Sanskrit for patent documentation is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a practical and ambitious proposal that bridges India’s historical legacy with modern technological needs. By integrating Sanskrit into the legal framework, India could reaffirm the relevance of its linguistic heritage while enhancing the protection of intellectual property. The idea may be ambitious, but ambition has always been the driving force behind innovation.

 

(The writer is a former Director of the Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute and Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Views are personal)

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