Centre Launches Super-Speciality Courses in Ayurveda, Faces Backlash

New Delhi: The Government of India has decided to start Ayurvedic Super-speciality courses in six medical disciplines including Oncology and Hepatology. However, the move has faced backlash from both the practitioners of Ayurveda and modern medicine.

Issuing a Gazette notification recently, the Central Government authorities specified the Minimum Essential Standards and Minimum Standards of Education for Institutions or Departments offering Super Speciality Programme (DM Ayurveda).

The decision to start super-speciality Ayurveda courses was mentioned in a Gazette notification. Mentioning that Super Speciality Programme (DM Ayurveda) shall be conducted in exclusive department, the notification added that such super speciality Ayurveda programmes would include, DM Manasaroga (Ayurveda Psychiatry), DM Vajikarana (Reproductive Medicine and Epigenetics in Ayurveda), DM Asthi and Sandhi (Orthopedics and Arthrology in Ayurveda), DM Arbuda Vijnana (Ayurveda Oncology), DM Jara Chikitsa (Ayurveda Gerontology), and DM Yakrit Vikara (Ayurveda Hepatology).

"Super speciality Programme (DM Ayurveda) are intended to produce super special's with deep understanding in Ayuveda classics with updated knowledge in contemporary sciences in relevant speciality area, who can conduct relevant diagnostic tests and interpret the results of diagnostic tests; diagnose precisely, able to analyse amshamasa kalpana: administer medical as well as procedural management: able to plan to suggest and administer preventive. promotive, palliative, rehabilitative care related to speciality, but on the lines of holistic health care; able to identify, assess and manage complications (related to speciality): able to communicate effectively with the patients: able to lead the medical teams in conducting diagnostic tests or procedures administering therapeutic or surgical or para-surgical procedures and able to conduct public awareness activities," mentioned the Government notification.

As per the regulations, such super-speciality DM Ayurveda courses shall be three years in duration. The specifications mentioned for these courses in the Gazette notification are as follows: 

(a) The DM programme shall be of three years duration;

(b) the DM programme shall be based on super speciality training for diagnosis and treatment;

(c) the DM programme shall include dissertation and case studies as mentioned in these regulations in addition to the training;

(d) the pattern of the training, thesis work, and case studies shall be such that the candidate shall develop all competencies required to practice as a super-specialist of Ayurveda in a concerened subjects or speciality or diagnosis and treatment.

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Doctors Raise Concerns: 

While Ayurveda doctors have raised questions regarding the role of the traditional system of medicine in speciality and super-speciality areas, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a hepatologist who is popularly known as "The Liver Doc" on X (formerly Twitter) opined that the Government should have preferred improving the science-based educational infrastructure and primary and super-speciality healthcare than get involved in such "wasteful" activities.

Meanwhile, the Deccan Herald has reported that a section of Ayurveda practitioners and professors have questioned the government decision to commence Ayurveda super-speciality courses arguing that the "traditional system has no role in speciality and super-speciality areas".

Commenting on the matter G L Krishna, an Ayuvedic physician and a scholar at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru told DH, "Ayurveda is an ancient science that developed when the methods of collecting and evaluating evidence were nascent. Its understanding of life processes in health and illness was sketchy and often conjectural."

"Ayurveda does not have a major role in speciality and super speciality areas. It is good as a primary care system. There are, of course, no exclusive Ayurvedic treatises extant on psychiatry, hepatology etc.," he mentioned, further adding that even in primary care, traditional medicines should be used "after careful safety netting and with scientific prudence".

Speaking to the Daily, Subhash Lakhotia, a distinguished professor at Banaras Hindu University, who researched on Ayurveda said, "Unfortunately, the Ayush community by and large does not appear to believe that unbiased research and experimental/ clinical evidence are needed. Such courses, without the due academic vigour, would do more damage not only for the patient care but for Ayurveda itself."

"Conceiving a super speciality DM Hepatology course based on a system that had only a vague understanding of liver functions and pathologies is a result of policy-makers’ misdirected zeal," opined G L Krishna.

"Likewise misdirected are plans to start a DM Oncology course based on ancient texts that had not the remotest idea of cancer as a generic pathology. Parity between systems does not come by merely mimicking the academic hierarchy of modern medicine. Medicine is not mimicry," he added.

Meanwhile, a professor of Ayurveda at BHU Kishor Patwardhan said that the current level of evidence was insufficient to justify such courses and added, "You start super-speciality courses where there is overwhelming information about a particular subject, which can’t be contained in a single discipline. It's not the other way when you create the courses first and then look for information."

Concerns have also been raised by a practitioner of modern medicine, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, who criticised the Government's decision to start super-speciality Ayurveda courses.

Pointing out how the Ayurveda practitioners have also expressed concern over this move, Dr. Philips mentioned that 'there is nothing to specialize in Ayurveda. The whole of Ayurveda is based on texts written 2000 years ago that has not changed at all."

Dr. Philips explained that in case of Ayurveda, "for cancer, they teach application of honey over the tumor where flies come and lay eggs and maggots will eat the tumor from within", "for alcohol-related disorders, the treatment was to spend time with sexy voluptous women and drinking light wine, while leeches will suck out bad blood from your system,"for manic-depressive disorder, the patient was placed inside an isolated well and then beaten with sticks made from feathers of birds and forced to inhale smoke from burned snake skin", "for foreign body in bone, the treatment was to tie a horse or donkey to the foreign body and make the animal pull it out," and "for elderly patients, to become healthier and well, they were advised to have sex with younger women."

According to Dr. Philips, these procedures are all mentioned in the classical Ayurveda texts - Caraka Samhita, Ashtanga Hrydaya, Susruta Samhita. Addressing the Government's decision to start super-speciality Ayurveda courses, Dr. Philips added, "I have never seen a more insecure group of people than Ayurveda policy makers and Ayurveda practitioners. Instead of improving science-based educational infrastructure and catering to primary care and improving specialists care by and large, they meddle in these absolutely wasteful activities that destroy the nations scientific temper, medical care quality and global-stage credibility."

"This government may be excellent at winning elections and especially hearts of brainless people, but they are the worst that has happened to this country since the British," he added.

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