08/02/2026
It is grimly known as the โCancer Train.โ
Because nearly ๐ณ๐ฌ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐.
Every night, these patients ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ to reach the Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Institute in Bikaner.
One of the few institutions in India that offers ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด to patients and their attendants.
Cancer cases are rising across India.
But one state that has witnessed a particularly ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ for years is ๐ฃ๐๐ป๐ท๐ฎ๐ฏ.
Experts trace the ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ back to the ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
A movement that once turned Punjab into Indiaโs โfood bowlโ and helped the country ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ.
But that success came at a cost:
unchecked use of ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐.
The widespread use of these chemicals ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐น, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, and ultimately harmed the very farmers who fed the nation.
Yet, this tragedy rarely makes it to primetime debates.
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐? Perhaps not.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐? Absolutely.
Because this isnโt just Punjabโs crisis
Source: Acharya Prashant
