Action Alerts

This page is dedicated to issues that are being debated today and require action in the immediate or short-term. Our goal here is to provide a starting point for discussions and campaigns on these issues by providing op-eds, reports and other relevant resources. The first step of the Gandhian method focuses on understanding an issue from all sides. We hope that this page can become a useful resource in that regard.

Previous Samay Articles which examine current issues:

• Patents Issue:
  • Surrender To Multinationals - India's Patent Ordinance
    by Prof. Arvind Panagariya
    March 12, 2005
    The government of India passed an ordinance on December 31,2004 that amended the Patents Act of 1970. This ordinance, which has to be ratified by the parliament by June 1, 2005, is aimed at bringing India into comliance with WTO regulations. Namely, the intellectual property regime also known as TRIPS. We feel that the government of India has NOT taken advantage of the flexibilities offered by TRIPS and thus have endangered the easy production of critical generic drugs in India and the developing world. If the amendments to the acts pass as they are then among other things the worldwide fight against AIDS will suffer a major setback.
  • Press Release from Indian Activists and Coalition Partners (PDF format)
    March 22, 2005
  • Letter to Parliamentarians regarding compulsory licenses (PDF format)
    March 22, 2005