Focus equally on all streams of traditional health systems: PIL in SC seeks direction to Ayush Ministry

New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking a direction to the Ayush Ministry to focus on all traditional systems of health equally, as streams like naturopathy and acupressure, etc are being eclipsed by excessive commercialization of Ayurveda.

Lawyer-cum-petitioner, Shailendra Mani Tripathi, recently filed the petition before the Supreme Court and sought appropriate directions in the naturopathy and acupressure case.

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Tripathi in his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) sought a direction from the Supreme Court to the Union of India (UOI) to establish parameters for products to qualify to be labelled as Ayurvedic, as all kinds of chemicals are being sold in the name of Ayurvedic or herbal products.

Tripathi, in his petition, a copy accessed by ANI, sought to increase the budget for AYUSH and to establish separate branches of Meditation and Shathkarma and research institutes under AYUSH.

Tripathi also sought that the UOI, UTs, and all States should disseminate adequate information about 'Neti' and 'Diet healing science' of Ayurveda to common people.

Tripathi in his petition filed before the Supreme Court also sought a direction to the UOI to establish Ayush TV Channel and social media platforms to adopt and promote naturopathy, yoga, and meditation among the masses.

"The ancient wellness systems and medical sciences available in India have the potential to fight pandemics like Covid-19. These Health Practices can be very useful and instrumental in the fight against the third wave of Covid-19. Immunity can be increased manifold by practicing Yoga, Naturopathy, Meditation, Shathkarma, etc. which in turn can shield the body from the negative effect from any virus and bacteria," Tripathi said in his petition.

Ayurveda is not a single-dimensional medical system but a holistic approach to a healthy body and balanced mind. The word Ayurveda translates as 'Ayur' (Life) and 'Veda' (Science or Knowledge) which is Science of Life. In earlier times, Ayurveda was imbibed in the lifestyle of common people but unfortunately, this knowledge has almost vanished from the day-to-day life of common people of India, the petition said.

We have started considering medicine and surgery as the only form of treatment, whereas these are opted for as a last resort in the Indian Medical tradition. In the Indian ancient medical system, there are numerous ways to lead a healthy life, like Yoga, Dhyan, Naturopathy, Panchkarma, Shadkarma, Acupressure, Acupuncture, etc, the petition further said.

This kind of system is highly effective, tested for thousands of years, and accessible to people from all strata of society. After acquiring the basic knowledge, any person can practice this at home and obtain a healthy body and mind. The ongoing pandemic has proven that our immune systems are way too fragile to fight pathogens even in young generations, the petition said.

Ayurveda can be the solution to address this problem as it emphasizes boosting immunity and reducing the vulnerability of the body to diseases by improving resilience and strength, the petition said.

Every physical ailment affects mental health to a certain extent, depending on the severity of the ailment. The modern medical system does not take this into account, it deals with mental health separately, the petition said.

It merely focuses on the physical aspect when it is dealing with the physical disease, whereas our traditional systems such as Ayurveda take an integrated approach that includes both, healthy body and a healthy mind. Therefore it is imperative to propagate these mentioned health systems to the masses. At present, the budgetary allocation of Ayush is extremely inadequate. There is an urgent need to focus on Ayush and make it more viable, the petition said.

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