President calls for strict action against Ayurveda quacks

Speaking during the inaugural function of the centenary celebrations of the all India Ayurveda congress, President Pratibha Patil spoke on the need to take strict action against quacks practising Ayurveda and bringing a bad name to the age old alternative medicinal system.

 

She said that while people in India have respect for this system of medicine, the false practitioners do a lot of damage to the image of Ayurveda and need to be strictly acted against.

 

As counter steps for curbing such malpractices, Patil said that all Ayurvedic ‘vaidyas’ should be properly registered with details of their educational qualifications and training. She also emphasised upon the need to properly document and certify all Ayurvedic therapies and treatments available, which is possible only if all practitioners are ready to share their medicinal formulas with others and not keep them a secret within their own families.

She also discouraged the practice of mixing up the modern methods with the age old Ayurvedic medicines, leading to decreased effectiveness of the medicines. She said that Ayurveda has specific methods of crushing, mixing and preparation of certain drugs and formulas. When these are done by using modern methods the efficacy of the drugs is lost.

 

She therefore urged the practitioners to follow the standardised methods stringently

As per statistics, India has over six lakh registered Ayurvedic practitioners. However, there are many who pose as ‘vaidyas’ and fool the common people giving them wrong medications. This eventually results in the loss of faith in this system of medicine.
 

Patil believes that there is a huge need to patent these Ayurvedic drugs in order to have them accepted as an age old Indian knowledge.