AMMOI demanded an apology from Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DG-AFMS) for defaming and giving biased opinion on the Indian traditional system of medicines. This demand was made by the association in response to the controversial statement made by Lt Gen Mandeep Singh, DG-AFMS in which he claimed that introduction of Indian systems of medicine in the armed forces is not agreed upon because of some 'considered' scientific reasons.

In his statement, Lt Gen Singh contented that though the issue of introduction of Indian systems of medicine in the armed forces has repeatedly been considered it is not agreed upon due to valid scientific reasons.

He said, “The AFMS has in existence a very stringent system of medical audit and the other systems cannot lend themselves to such an audit. The process in the AFMS is monitored very closely by allopathic qualified doctors, which form the hierarchy. The Indian systems of medicine are completely different and the monitoring progress of patients is outside the purview of allopathic system. Any deficiency or resultant complications would lead to legal problems. Most importantly the option of permitting an individual to choose the system of medicine they desires is not in the interest and ethos of a disciplined forces like the armed forces where sometimes strict measures have to be enforced to ensure that a person is free from any infectious disease, which may jeopardise the health and well being of his fellow combatant.”

The association stressed that such statement is totally baseless aimed at bringing down the goodwill of the industry at large. Dr Ramanathan Devaraj Iyer, general secretary of AMMOI, pointed out that it is a matter of shame that the Indian system of medicine which is tried and tested over years of practise have been put to question. This is inspite of the fact that it is one of the recognised system of medicines in the country which is supported by the law as well.

He added, “We strongly oppose to statement made by Singh as it is a defamatory claim aimed at sabotaging the goodwill of the ASU industry. Such thoughtless comment passed by a person sitting at DG-AFMS position cannot be tolerated as it can affect the morale and trust of the people. Most importantly it can act as a trigger for creating negative publicity for the industry causing a huge setback to its reputation.”

Dr Iyer further added that the industry fears that there is some hidden agenda at play that is aimed at monopolising AFMS by ignoring to acknowledging the importance of  Indian systems of medicine and refusing to include it in the AFMS.

“We strongly feel that there are some discrepancy in this whole issue, as there  are no factual data to support his so called claims and is just a prop to deny the introduction of Indian systems of medicine in the armed forces. We want the government to take urgent steps to clear all the confusion and initiate a probe on this whole issue as ASU's deserves to be recognised as a serious and valid system of medicine. But most importantly we want the DG-AFMS to clarify his stand and apologise to the industry for is controversial statement,” Dr Iyer demanded.