The Hindu : Kerala News : Traditional medicine practitioners discriminated against

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 10, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Traditional medicine practitioners discriminated against

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM, MAY 9 . Commercialisation of the traditional medicine sector, especially after the trend to promote it as a tourism product, has led to strong rivalry within the sector. This has even led to litigations questioning the authority of a person, who otherwise enjoys the trust of the patients, to practise the medicine. As a result, some of the expert traditional medicine practitioners today continue their profession under fear, which gives rise to fears whether some of the valuable medicines in use for centuries together would go extinct.

A recent study by a professional group had stated that 75 per cent of the people in India use traditional Indian medicines. These comprise those who alternatively go in for allopathic and traditional medicine treatment. The traditional medicine sector has several branches and prime among them are Ayurveda and Siddha. Expertise in Ayurvedic and Siddha treatment is got either through studying the courses at the respective medical colleges or learning the treatment and the secrets of manufacturing the medicines under the gurukula system or other traditional ways.

There are families in Kerala who have been traditional medicine practitioners for generations. Yet, on the other side, there are quacks too.

The State president of the All Kerala Siddha Vaidya Federation, Manu Vaidyan, told The Hindu that it was unfortunate that many of those who had acquired knowledge of traditional medicines in the traditional way and had earned the faith of the people were also being viewed as quacks in the eyes of the law. This in spite of the fact that there is a provision in law to recognise reputed practitioners by way of an exemption on the basis of their credentials. However, the Kerala Government authorities concerned, for reasons best known to them, were reluctant to apply this provision of late though the same had been applied earlier, Mr. Manu said.

The practise of medicine is restricted in the country through the Indian Medical Central Council (IMCC) Act, 1970. Together with this, there is the Travancore-Cochin Medical Practitioners (TCMP) Act, 1953, also in force in the State. After the enactment of the IMCC Act, the States were given directions to pass a Medical Bill. But, Kerala is the only State that was yet to pass the Bill. However, a draft Bill, The Kerala Medical Practitioners Bill, has been pending for months before the State Assembly. Sections 21, 23 and 31 of this Bill pertain to granting registration to reputed traditional medical practitioners who have acquired the knowledge in the traditional way. It is the failure to pass such a Bill that is creating all the confusion, Mr. Manu said.

Under Section 38 of the TCMP Act, there is a provision which gives the Government the power to exempt eminent and qualified traditional medical practitioners from the Act and vest them with the power to practise.

Several eminent practitioners in the past had been exempted in this manner. Also, no court has so far ruled that this Section is inconsistent with the IMCC Act in respect of traditional medical practitioners though the court had ruled that the exemption cannot be granted for allopathic practise.

In addition to that, a Division Bench verdict of the Kerala High Court, delivered on January 8, 2003 by the then Chief Justice, Jawaharlal Gupta, and the Judge, Justice N. Ramachandran, mentioned in para 10 of the judgment: "the Government has been given the power to direct that the provision (Section 38) shall not apply to any person or class of persons. It is the power to grant exemption. The power, in the very nature of things, can be exercised for good reason. Not arbitrarily".

Mr. Manu wanted the Government to entertain applications for allowing exemption under Section 38 of the TCMP Act subject to reasonable restrictions based on the need to keep the quacks at bay. Otherwise, steps should be taken to introduce and pass the Medical Bill, he added.

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