The Kerala Ayurvedic Hospital Management Association (KAHMA) has called for urgent steps by the government to ensure that the allopathic doctors are not prescribing ayurvedic medicines for certain diseases and also to ensure that they prescribe only modern drugs for all the ailments.

Maintaining that all the quack medical practitioners in every healing system should be checked in order to establish a good healthcare practice, KAHMA members said that all the medical practitioners, irrespective of allopathic or ISM, have to confine to their own systems while prescribing medicines to keep up the credibility of each system. Further, the managers of Ayurveda wanted their doctors’ community in the ISM sector to take this issue to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The ayurvedic physicians belong to KAHMA were responding to a news story carried by Pharmabiz on August 31 in respect of a letter to NHRC by a human right activist from Kerala stating that a section of ayurvedic doctors in the state are prescribing modern drugs to their patients. The activist was supported by the Kerala based Qualified Private Medical Practitioners Association (QPMPA), to approach the NHRC.

KAHMA said their complaint also needs to be taken to the NHRC as it is the other part of the petition given to the human rights commission in support of allopathic physicians, since both the issues have the same nature.

According to Dr A Induchoodan, the spokesman of the KAHMA, the government should start institutions with a view to revive surgery in Ayurveda system. Establishment of an ‘Ayurvedic Surgery Research Institute’ will help improve the surgical practices described in the ancient Indian healing system. “Today is the era of equal opportunity to all. So the present generation of ayurvedic practitioners, who are kept away from surgery practice, is asking for equal rights to practice medical science. For this, the union government and the state governments have to frame rules to include surgery practice in the ayurvedic system,” he said.

Dr Induchoodan reminded those who oppose surgery by ayurvedic doctors that the medical equipment and surgical devices invented with the sciences of physics and chemistry are not exclusively for allopathic practitioners. They can be used by any medical system based on their own science or philosophy.

The doctor said the colonial rule in India had destroyed the country’s ancient ayurvedic system and introduced allopathy in place. So it became difficult for the ayurvedic practitioners to continue surgery practice. Besides, in olden days, the brahmin ayurvedic physicians considered surgery as a low grade activity and that also prevented its growth. According to him, ancient sages of India developed surgery through difficult experiments including post-mortem studies. The system can develop in future provided it gets chances for dissection of human bodies.

Dr Sreevals G Menon, national secretary of Indian Homoeopathic Medical Association said the interference of human rights commission will help clean up the Ayush system from the clutches of malpractitioners. If ayurvedic doctors suggest for allopathic medicines, it will ruin the credibility of Indian system of medicines, he opined.