The Central Government is planning to introduce orientation courses in Ayurveda and Naturopathy, in the MBBS curriculum. The move is the background of strong view held by the Union health minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, for integration of traditional and modern medicine systems. Both Ayurveda and Naturopathy are also becoming increasingly popular in countries like Italy, France, Germany and USA.

Supporting the government’s decision to integrate traditional and modern medicine, Dr. Ashok Vaidya, medical and research director, Bhavan’s SPARC said, “India is the most advanced nation for the pluralistic approach to health care. This decision has been taken to evolve an integrated health-care for the people, utilising the best principles and practices of diverse systems of medicine. China has done this already and the results are so commendable, in terms of the health indices like infant mortality, maternal mortality, etc. India is late, despite official recognition of several systems of medicine, in reducing the horrific figures of mortality and morbidity”.

Dr. Vaidya further explained that Ayurveda is considered as the mainstream medicine in India with more than 65% of population take this treatment. Despite this, most of the allopathic physicians are totally ignorant about Ayurveda. There is an urgent need to have orientation and foundation courses for the medical college students of all the systems. Such an exposure will curtail the costly high-tech path of medical care, even difficult to sustain for a nation like the US. Instead, positive health and prevention diseases, as emphasised in Ayurveda would be the path for Indian health care delivery.

Medical fraternity on other hand has objected the introduction of these traditional medicine systems in the MBBS course. Speaking to Pharmabiz, Dr. Ajoy Saha, allopathy practitioner and secretary for BIMA, IMA, said, “If Ayurveda and Naturopathy are so popular then why not revamp the institutions that teach exclusively these systems of medicine. These graduates of respective systems will have greater valuation abroad and at home then MBBS graduate with some workable knowledge of Ayurveda and Naturopathy”.

“Further, MBBS degree will lose its authenticity as an internationally accepted degree in modern medicine if the government implements its plan to integrate traditional and modern medicine systems. We, allopaths on our part should be purists and stick purely to the system of medicine that we have been trained in to deliver the best of our professional skills,” elaborated Dr. Saha.

Commenting on the objections by IMA, Dr. Vaidya said that all the objections of medical councils or associations against integration emerge from vested interests of lucrative practice and a lack of understanding of Ayurvedic knowledge. New India is emerging soon and such integration will make India a world leader in health care. The fundamentalists of allopathy and Ayurveda are fighting their last pitched battles. The future will not vindicate them. Scientific and evidence-based health care has to utilise all the system of medicine, notwithstanding the current professional prejudices due to ignorance.