He is still in search of his clan and probable survivors of Nader Shah’s 1739 invasion of Delhi which wiped-out Akhouris, the soldiers, sent a small bunch of theirs packing on a boat that sailed through the Yamuna and reached Buxer of Bihar via Allahabad. It has been an unbelievable journey since then which crosses through smaller Indian cities like Patna and Ranchi to the USA and then came the honour — a peak of Antarctica for him. Akhouri A Sinha still frequents to his native place every year to enjoy pleasant weather and of course, Holi.
Excerpts of Akhouri Sinha’s conversation with The Pioneer from Minneapolis after the US Geological Survey honoured him for his 1972 biological research expedition which provided critical data about animal populations at the frozen continent by naming a peak as ‘Mount Sinha’ after him. As your initial career had had a significant bond with Ranchi can you share some of your memories with the placeIJ
At that time Ranchi was very small. Rancih College was adjacent to Firayalal and a post office was over there. We used to say where is Ranchi College; it is in front of post office and where is post office; it is in front of Ranchi college! Firayalal was a big store and we used to go Main Road to cherish some sweets. We stayed at Burdwan Compound. CM Shirvastava was one of the colleagues at the college who is still alive.
Most of your colleagues in India have retired but you are still active and that also fantastically! Are you working on any specific project currentlyIJ
I am also retired but here in the USA there is no retirement age. I still work a lot with routine. Though, it is volunteering. I worked for Veterans Hostel meant for war returned. They nudged me to work on diseases common in the USA. I have written a paper on cancer which has been put on the website of the University of Minnesota.
It was a big surprise that pathologists just look in terms of node positive or node negative. If it is positive it means you have death sentence! But it is not true. 70 per cent patients of prostate node would survive for minimum 10 years. I said in the paper that the pathologists should look into how many cells are dying in the nodeIJ I consulted many, including Mayo Clinic and several others and amused that why they are not curious enough. Perhaps medical profession cannot be curious and only scientist can be! I have written another paper which has not been published yet. In 1971 President Richard Nixon had declared war on cancer and National Cancer Institute was setup. But in 2014 more people are diagnosed with cancer and dying with it than in 1971! What have they done after spending $ 150 billion or even more every yearIJ They don’t have an answer. I have been invited in Greece for a keynote address on this.
You must be aware that cancer is spreading like anything in India as well. Are you willing to work with the Government here on this matterIJ
Of course I am willing to work. I visited Patna last year and was shocked to see the number of cancer patients. Tobacco seems to be the main reason behind. Cancer is also a big business, be it in the US or in India.
But in India, cancer is being diagnosed in women and children who do not have much exposure to tobacco. Do you also find food habits and quality of it as a reasonIJ
That is. Now there is so much of contamination of herbicides and pesticides in vegetables. I wrote a paper three years ago on genetically modified (GM) seeds. In India lakhs of farmers have committed suicides due to heavy input cost coming with it.
look at example of the likes of Bill Gates. They have opened foundations, have money and get easy access to policy makers and Government.
I want GM to be banned world over. Now investors like Warren Buffet are purchasing native seeds and storing in a cave in Norway. They fear that this GM seed may collapse and they want to rule again through the stored native seeds. Their motive is not clean. India should ban it outrightly. Their game plan should come before people.
I tried this with Nitish Kumar (former Bihar Chief Minister) but he did not allow. Similarly in the US, a law was going to be passed in California making it mandatory to mention on food packets whether it is made of GM crop or otherwise. They spent $ 42 million just to defeat the measure. Cargill, Monsanto, General Mills and others were involved it this. Media should play a role in the cause.
Now they have opened a new shop named as ‘Whole Food’. It claims that no product in the store is GM. Now people are buying that. But this also differentiates between haves and have-notes.
Being a zoologist are you satisfied with the measures the Government has taken to conserve biodiversity world over and also in India in the states like Jharkhand and in Western Ghats, HimalayaIJ
Government should go for biodiversity. I presented a paper which suggests the USA that Government should preserve Antarctica for the sake of biodiversity. As of 2014, there are 50 states party to the treaty and 29 of them have consultative status. Antarctica has lots of natural resources, including animals, minerals, gas, oil, etc. I estimate that within 10 years conflict will arise between the nations. It already is happening with some countries harvesting whales.
I believe India could play a proactive role in the management of biodiversity and Antarctic resources by partnering with the USA and Europe. There are many ways to manage resources that can be used worldwide without damaging the environment. I would discuss my ideas with anyone in India and other places.
Now Narendra Modi is coming and he should become a partner with the USA with agrees that there is nobody’s claim on Antarctica. So that it can be safe and its resources should be devoted for education and health sector worldwide. Similarly Jharkhand has lots of natural resources and it should be preserved. Public should come united and their voice should be channelised through the media which is necessary glue between public and science.