Medical Ethics is particularly timely as both the political and intellectual leadership as well as the profession are taking more and more liberties with medical ethics. That this is a global issue is evident from the Round Table on ‘Is Machiavelli a better guide to physicians than Hippocrates? ‘ in an issue of World Health Forum in 1993 Dr. Shethe’s observations on Batra Hospital (Medical Ethics Vol. 1, No. 3, page 11) can open up a vital area on this subject.

(Readers may wish to consult Dr. Banerji’s essay Combating AIDS as a public health problem in India published by the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) and Nucleus for Health Policies & Programmes, New Delhi in 1992. Copies of the 23-page document ,are available from VHAI.)