The tall and sky rocketing claims about various recipes of AYUSH by some hyper-AYUSH enthusiast and self- claimed owners of such wisdom and the claim on the ability of AYUSH to treat every disease including down syndrome and other congenital disorders along with secret use and practice of allopathic drugs by the so called institutionally qualified AYUSH vaidyas in their private practice has indeed earned very bad reputation to AYUSH. Today the believability of AYUSH is under question and is even described by some as pseudoscience.
Government of India, especially the Ministry of AYUSH must clearly define and differentiate AYUSH from proven science by limiting and describing AYUSH as ancient traditional wisdom and not proven science.
Several recipes like YOGA, Pranayama and meditation etc., of AYUSH are proven to have significant health and wellness benefits. Similarly the importance of self-discipline and diet restrictions, exercise and health preserving methods have received global acceptance. Therefore promoting and popularizing AYUSH for wellness and preserving the health by designating AYUSH as PARAMEDICAL or PRE-MEDICAL wisdom is needed to save the ancient traditional wisdom from insignificance due to the rampant criticism of AYUSH as pseudoscience.
The question is how the institutionally qualified vaidyas from AYUSH stream such as Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani etc., can be settled in the society when we designate AYUSH as paramedical wisdom? The hyper-national post-independence era blunder that has legally defined AYUSH as medical science and the degree conferred to the viad as valid medical degree with the clear description of Ayurveda vaid, Siddha vaid etc. Some basic exposure about modern science is being given to these vaid in their curriculum but unfortunately some of the vaid use such exposure to justify their supra-competency over allopathic system as well; such reflection the author often receive from several institutionally qualified Siddha vaid in Tamil Nadu during in-camera discussion.
The point of debate is not about whether to continue or discontinue the tag- medical science given to AYUSH but the real problem is how to address the issue of pseudoscience tag and how AYUSH can be saved for our future.
Cross pathy by several AYUSH vaid in their private practice is the giant killer of AYUSH. People in the village often believe traditional recipes and home remedies for managing most of the primary health problems. When the patient consult the nearby institutionally qualified vaid, some of the vaid openly and or deceitfully prescribe allopathic medicine but make the claim of the health benefit to their AYUSH recipe. Unfortunate part of the narrative is that when the patient independently buys the same recipe from the market most of the time finds no effect. Several anti-diabetic AYUSH recipes are the best examples for the above.
The point of debate is not about whether AYUSH recipes are as effective as allopathic drugs. But when the vaid and the system makes claim over several AYUSH recipes similar to that of proven allopathic drugs, naturally the question would be raised over their efficacy under the same optics and yardstick used for allopathic drugs. In order to bridge the gap, some AYUSH vaid use allopathic drugs and trick the gullibility of the patient. But progressively all those cross pathians are earning pseudoscience tag to entire AYUSH.
Time has come we must tell people that AYUSH is meant for promoting positive health, wellness and variety of paramedical benefits. Accordingly all the viad are experts in providing health oriented paramedical recipes. The post-treatment paramedical recipes like physiotherapy, speech therapy etc., are problem centric but AYUSH is total health and wellness centric. AYUSH promote spirituality, faith in God, moral science, spirit of social responsibility, trust in the therapy and treating vaid etc.
Only when we re-define and describe clearly the role of AYUSH for paramedical, health cum wellness benefits and designate the role of vaid for various health centric paramedical values, we can save AYUSH as well as remove the pseudoscience tag. The giant killer cross-pathy by AYUSH vaid in private practice we must legally ban to save the system from auto-phagy or self-destruction.
Cross pathy cause medication health fraud, wrong diagnosis, delayed or wrong treatment and financial loss and prolonged suffering. Further if the disease is communicable, cross pathy also can risk the entire society, therefore cross pathy must be declared as illegal and cognisable offence in medical profession to save both the patients and the AYUSH, the wonderful traditional health wisdom.
