Patanjali expresses support for petition seeking integrated medicinal system

Ramdev’s Patanjali Research Institute on Thursday (September 8) approached the Delhi High Court to express its support for a petition seeking the adoption of an Indian holistic approach in medical education and practice instead of the colonial segregated way of having different streams of allopathy, ayurveda, yoga and homeopathy.

A bench of Chief Justice S C Sharma and S Prasad noted the intervention application seeking to be impleaded as a party to the petition. It granted one week’s time to the applicant institute to bring the petition on record.

Patanjali said it was supporting the prayers made in the main petition filed by advocate and petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

The high court was also informed the central government has filed an affidavit in response to the petition.

It, however, said even the affidavit was not on record and granted two weeks time to the Centre’s counsel who said the public interest litigation (PIL) was not adversarial, to bring it on record and listed the matter for further hearing on November 11.

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The petition has claimed the adoption of a holistic approach in the medical field which would be a combination of modern and traditional medicine at the level of education, training, practice, and policies and regulations, would secure the right to health guaranteed under Articles 21, 39(e), 41, 43, 47, 48(a) and 51A of the Constitution and improve the country’s doctor to population ratio as well as the health care sector.

The Centre in its affidavit has said the right to practice any profession is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution but that right is subject to any law relating to the professional qualifications necessary for practising any profession.

The regulatory measures on the exercise of this right, both with regard to standard of professional qualification and professional conduct have been applied keeping in view not only the right of the medical practitioners but also the right to life and proper health care of persons who need medical care and treatment. There can be no compromise on professional standards of medical practitioners, the affidavit said.

It submitted that NITI Aayog, Health and Family Welfare Division, has constituted a committee on formulation of Integrative Health Policy vide office memorandum of August 13, 2020 to examine and submit its report on several terms of reference.

The terms are propose framework of comprehensive integrative health policy to achieve an inclusive, affordable, evidence-based health care; suggest recommendations for effective implementation of integrative health care through education, research and clinical practice; propose roadmap for disease preventive and health promotion in national programmes based on modern and traditional integrative approaches.

The petition said, we have an alternative force of medical professionals who have always been neglected by the Government and are capable of providing a supporting hand to uplift our health care status.

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“There are 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors. Assuming 80 per cent availability, it is estimated that 6.30 lakh AUH doctors may be available for service and considered together with allopathic doctors, it gives a doctor population ratio of around 1:1000.

The petitioner has said an integrated health system is present in several countries including China, Japan, Korea, and Germany, and claimed that coordination of all medical systems will benefit patients.

It stated that modern medicine practitioners have remained confined to their niche which has restricted their practice and cannot benefit the diseased individuals by using other therapeutic regimens.

The petitioner has emphasised the negative impact of the expanded pharmaceutical industry and said the so-called revolutionary medical innovations have in long-run proven to be dangerous causing severe and long-term side-effects but Centre is not introducing Holistic Integrated Healthcare System.

An Integrated Health System is the only solution to achieve the sustainable health goal of India. Commonly preferred allopathic medicine is chiefly comprised of approximately 40 per cent plant-derived components (USDA Forest Service 2021).

If allopathic medicine is originally made of constituents of AYUSH then why can we not directly accept them as part of our regular medicinal support system, the petition said.

(With inputs from agencies)