Ayurveda doctors on Sunday foiled attempts by a group of people, who call themselves practitioners of ‘prophetic medicine’, to organise an academic consultation here ahead of offering a three-year degree course in alternative medicines for Kalarippayattu practitioners and traditional healers.
Functionaries of Academia Medica Alternata, an institute affiliated to Twibbunnabavi Open University, had to cancel the programme after the district administration decided to act tough on them.
P.K. Abijith, leader of the Ayurveda Medical Association of India, told The Hindu on Sunday that they had met District Collector U.V. Jose on Saturday and sent memorandums to the Health Minister, Director of Health Services, Director of Medical Education, District Medical Officer, among others, pointing out the unscientific nature of treatment being showcased as “traditional medicine.” “A direction was issued to the police by the DMO to investigate the activities of the group practising alternative medicines. The Collector also promised us that they would not be allowed to hold the programme at the Town Hall on Sunday.”
Representatives of the university told those who arrived at the Town Hall that the “academic consultation had to be cancelled due to technical reasons”. A pamphlet distributed by them said the programme was to be followed by similar meetings elsewhere. The pamphlet, in the name of the managing trustee of the university, claims that the open university will come into effect in 2021 under a trust. It also claims that efforts were on to revive “traditional treatments” and an executive committee had been set up to pressure the Union and State governments to pass legislation to make it legal.
According to the website of the university, it is “a joint venture of 100 scholars for prophetopathy and other alternative medicine begun as per the alma-ata declaration of the WHO and Indian Central Act, 1882”. Practitioners of prophetic medicine claim to follow the directions as laid out in religious scriptures to cure various diseases.
Mr. Abhijith claimed that only those who register themselves under the Medical Council of India or the Central Council of Indian Medicine could practice medicine in the country. Any institution offering medical education should be affiliated to a recognised university too.
Earlier, Twibbunnabavi Open University had distributed a brochure which claimed to have the recognition of the WHO and the Union Health Ministry to offer the course in Kalarippayattu, ‘nattuvaidyam’, electropathy, acupuncture, and Tao medicine. It had the endorsement of a former member of the department of folklore at Calicut University.
