Kiran Kumbhar
@kikumbhar.bsky.social
Historian. Physician. UPenn South Asia. History of medicine, public health, science; Indian history; health policy & global health.
"A sensible approach for viewers is to consider every period film to be, by default, filled with historical inaccuracies, some having less, some more... 'Mangal Pandey' actually seems to have gotten right many details about the mid-19th century medical & health context."
thewire.in/article/arti...
thewire.in/article/arti...
August 8, 2026 at 1:16 PM
"A sensible approach for viewers is to consider every period film to be, by default, filled with historical inaccuracies, some having less, some more... 'Mangal Pandey' actually seems to have gotten right many details about the mid-19th century medical & health context."
thewire.in/article/arti...
thewire.in/article/arti...
Two themes in South Asian history that need more critique are: needless,endless wrangling over the migrations of Indo-Aryan-speaking ppl 4kya; & the recent hero-worship of genetic studies (which sure do much good)
I distilled my thoughts on these topics in an @aeon.co essay:
aeon.co/essays/ancie...
I distilled my thoughts on these topics in an @aeon.co essay:
aeon.co/essays/ancie...
aeon.co
May 8, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Two themes in South Asian history that need more critique are: needless,endless wrangling over the migrations of Indo-Aryan-speaking ppl 4kya; & the recent hero-worship of genetic studies (which sure do much good)
I distilled my thoughts on these topics in an @aeon.co essay:
aeon.co/essays/ancie...
I distilled my thoughts on these topics in an @aeon.co essay:
aeon.co/essays/ancie...
Using the example of a recent econ history paper, I urge scholars to not gloss over the realities of European colonialism. There's little point in carefully quantifying the white man's "burden" if we're also simultaneously pampering the white man's sentiments.
thewire.in/society/when...
thewire.in/society/when...
When Academic Scholars Refuse to Acknowledge European Colonial Exploitation
Just as one can’t write a meaningful academic analysis of the metrics and economics of Europe’s Industrial Revolution by skipping foundational concepts and terms like “efficiency” and “productivity”, ...
thewire.in
April 19, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Using the example of a recent econ history paper, I urge scholars to not gloss over the realities of European colonialism. There's little point in carefully quantifying the white man's "burden" if we're also simultaneously pampering the white man's sentiments.
thewire.in/society/when...
thewire.in/society/when...
Reposted by Kiran Kumbhar
INDIA IN TRANSITION:
"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"
CASI Postdoc @kikumbhar.bsky.social argues that India no longer suffers from a shortage of doctors, and for meaningful future health policy, this new reality must be taken seriously by policymakers & experts casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-ku...
"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"
CASI Postdoc @kikumbhar.bsky.social argues that India no longer suffers from a shortage of doctors, and for meaningful future health policy, this new reality must be taken seriously by policymakers & experts casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-ku...
Does India Have Too Many Doctors? | Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI)
In 2025, while researching the recent rapid increase in the number of medical colleges in India, I discovered that this aspect of the country’s medical education policy was based, shockingly, on a non...
casi.sas.upenn.edu
April 13, 2026 at 3:52 PM
INDIA IN TRANSITION:
"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"
CASI Postdoc @kikumbhar.bsky.social argues that India no longer suffers from a shortage of doctors, and for meaningful future health policy, this new reality must be taken seriously by policymakers & experts casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-ku...
"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"
CASI Postdoc @kikumbhar.bsky.social argues that India no longer suffers from a shortage of doctors, and for meaningful future health policy, this new reality must be taken seriously by policymakers & experts casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-ku...
The good folks at India's The Wire have recruited me to write a regular column on history. In this inaugural essay, I talk about the myths around the history of plastic surgery and the Sushruta-samhita, & about the semi-famous Cowasjee who got a "nose job" in 1794.
thewire.in/history/the-...
thewire.in/history/the-...
The History of Sushruta and the Famous 'Indian Nose Job'
The famous Cowasji’s unknown “plastic surgeon” was not an elite Ayurvedist, but was nevertheless a skilled practitioner, and belonged to the larger traditions and knowledge-systems of medicine in the ...
thewire.in
January 17, 2026 at 2:18 AM
The good folks at India's The Wire have recruited me to write a regular column on history. In this inaugural essay, I talk about the myths around the history of plastic surgery and the Sushruta-samhita, & about the semi-famous Cowasjee who got a "nose job" in 1794.
thewire.in/history/the-...
thewire.in/history/the-...
On the importance of Tolerance as the very bedrock of the freedoms we so love: "We don’t think twice before listing freedom as an essential value and as a fundamental right. However, we often forget the other side of the civic coin – toleration."
Drawing on the writings of the philosopher C E M Joad and @kikumbhar.bsky.social’s childhood memories of living in crowded, intimate proximity with others, this Idea is an illustration of tolerance as a civic virtue, something we can gradually cultivate through practice and attention
Tolerance isn’t just nice, it’s a civic virtue we all can build | Psyche Ideas
At a time of rising intolerance, the century-old work of C E M Joad reminds us what tolerance really is and why we need it
buff.ly
December 13, 2025 at 2:24 PM
On the importance of Tolerance as the very bedrock of the freedoms we so love: "We don’t think twice before listing freedom as an essential value and as a fundamental right. However, we often forget the other side of the civic coin – toleration."
For years, public health experts (incl me) believed that India suffers from a severe scarcity of doctors, that the WHO says 1:1000 doctor-population ratio is needed.
The reality, as it turns out, is far more complex. And there's NO WHO norm of that sort.
www.theindiaforum.in/education/co...
The reality, as it turns out, is far more complex. And there's NO WHO norm of that sort.
www.theindiaforum.in/education/co...
A Costly Number is Behind India's Medical Education Woes
A rapid expansion in medical colleges has been justified by India’s poor doctor-to-population ratio. The shortage of doctors, though, might be an invented figure.
www.theindiaforum.in
August 17, 2025 at 4:25 AM
For years, public health experts (incl me) believed that India suffers from a severe scarcity of doctors, that the WHO says 1:1000 doctor-population ratio is needed.
The reality, as it turns out, is far more complex. And there's NO WHO norm of that sort.
www.theindiaforum.in/education/co...
The reality, as it turns out, is far more complex. And there's NO WHO norm of that sort.
www.theindiaforum.in/education/co...
Requesting folks to check out the website "University of History". My attempt - just one among many others by so many good folks - to serve as a helpful guide to how scholarly historians think, analyse and write. Here's a recent article from there: historyprofessor.in/2024/12/27/h...
Historiography 101: Examples from South Asian History
Consider this quote from an article on Indian/South Asian history: “It has been only in recent years that the influence of ideologies on the interpretation of Indian history has been recognized; pe…
historyprofessor.in
December 28, 2024 at 4:44 AM
Requesting folks to check out the website "University of History". My attempt - just one among many others by so many good folks - to serve as a helpful guide to how scholarly historians think, analyse and write. Here's a recent article from there: historyprofessor.in/2024/12/27/h...