The esteemed British medical journal 'The Lancet, which is its 200th year of publication, will now be available in Hindi. It was announced by Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang in Bhopal, a development that coincided with 'Hindi Diwas'. For the first time ever, the illustrious international English medical journal will now be available in the widely spoken language of Hindi, marking a significant milestone in the realm of medical literature.
Known as 'The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia,' this edition will be meticulously translated into Hindi through collaboration with experts from the Gandhi Medical College (GMC) based in Bhopal and the Madhya Pradesh Directorate of Medical Education (MP-DME). The Hindi version will be published bi-monthly, marking the first time that any Lancet publication will be available in Hindi.
Fiona Macnab, Deputy Publishing Director of The Lancet, emphasised that this initiative aims to enhance accessibility and inclusivity of scientific content for researchers and students. Currently, The Lancet is published in multiple languages, including Spanish and Portuguese, alongside English.
Minister Sarang highlighted that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is actively promoting the use of Hindi in medical education, particularly for students who are more comfortable with this language. He described this collaboration with The Lancet as a "landmark" event aimed at advancing Hindi in the field of medical education. Last year, MP-DME took the significant step of translating the first-year MBBS course into Hindi.
In the coming weeks, 13 medical subjects encompassing the entire MBBS curriculum will also be made available in Hindi, furthering the goal of expanding Hindi-language resources in medical education.
Fiona Macnab emphasized The Lancet's mission of providing the "best science for a better life." She noted that this move is a significant step toward making medical research more accessible to a broader audience.
'The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia' has its editorial teams in Chennai and Mumbai working in collaboration with the global editorial team. The Hindi Lancet will feature a selection of the finest articles, reviews, comments, and editorials chosen by the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Southeast Asia. After translation, the content will undergo review by subject experts and senior researchers, followed by a final assessment by Hindi-speaking experts at Lancet Southeast Asia.
While The Lancet has previously experimented with non-Latin script publications, like the short-lived Chinese version, this Hindi version represents a milestone. It will enable more inclusive and comprehensive medical research in India, as mentioned by Shankar Kaul, the Managing Director for India at Elsevier, the publisher of The Lancet.