NMC changes its logo, stirs controversy

New Delhi: The new logo of the National Medical Commission (NMC) has now stirred up a controversy with many doctors objecting to the Commission's decision to place the photo of Dhanvantri in the middle.

Dropping the National Emblem, NMC has included the photo of Dhanvantri, who is regarded as an avatar of Lord Vishnu and is mentioned in the Puranas as the God of Ayurveda.

While many doctors have objected to this change claiming that this move will harm the scientific and secular nature of the Commission, the NMC officials have informed that this logo was already in use for almost a year. According to the officials, previously the Dhanvantri logo was in black and white and therefore the logo was not visible in the printouts.

The coloured logo, which can be seen on the NMC website, also mentions the term 'Bharat' instead of 'India'. Notably, there has been no official announcement from NMC regarding the change.

The change in the logo has been heavily criticised by the Kerala State branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Writing to the NMC Chairman, the association mentioned, "This is to bring to your notice that the recent change in the National Medical Commission Logo is not acceptable to the modern medical fraternity. The new logo gives a wrong message and will harm the scientific and secular nature of the Commission. Members of the profession have already raised their voice against this unacceptable move."

"We at IMA Kerala State branch strongly condemns the decision and demand immediate action in this regard," the letter further added.

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Speaking to Medical Dialogues, the State Secretary of IMA Kerala, Dr. K Sasidharan mentioned, "We strongly protest this move. As practitioners of modern medicine, we are all for scientific and secular approach. But such a sudden change in the logo might send a wrong message."

"IMA MSN Kerala Strongly Condemning the Union Government's Decision to Inject Religious Portraits into the Heart of Healthcare Governance," added Vishvanath, the State Convener of IMA MSN Kerala.

Dr. Rohan Krishnan, the National Chairman of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) also opposed this move terming it "an unnecessary step" which might "hurt the sentiments of few people."

"NMC must act as a responsible body to frame guidelines and regulations in the medical colleges of the country & do registration of doctors and work for the betterment of medical healthcare infrastructure in the country. Such steps cannot be welcomed by any of the organisations as it is playing no role in improvement of medical education and healthcare infrastructure. It is rather a show off move by officers to attract attention of political leaders which is unnecessary. Officers must do the duty which are assigned to them and should stay away from unnecessary gimmicks. Some people have also complained to us that the new logo has resemblance with the logo of “NMO” organisation. Which has and association with the ruling party. That aspect should also be examined by NMC. People appointed in NMC should focus on developing the medical system in the country only," he told Medical Dialogues.

Meanwhile, the National Standing Committee member of IMA JDN, Dr. Karan Juneja opined that there are other important issues requiring the attention of the Commission. "This was completely unnecessary. There are several other important issues and problems and NMC should focus on those," he added.

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, NMC has claimed that the Dhanvantri logo has been used for almost a year. Commenting on this, an official added, "Earlier, it was in black and white and, therefore, not visible in printouts. We have simply used a colour photo in the centre of the logo."

Another official pointed out on the condition of anonymity that even the emblem of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has an emblem of the United Nations' symbol overlain by a staff with a snake coiling around it. The official mentioned that the staff and the snake has long been a symbol of medicine and medical profession. According to WHO, its origin is from the story of Asclepius, who was revered by the ancient Greeks as a god of healing and whose cult involved the use of snakes.

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