Friday, 04 June 2021 | Pioneer
Ayurveda or allopathy, isn’t the basic idea to save lives?
Yoga guru Ramdev recently stirred a hornets’ nest. He said that allopathic medicine had failed to contain Coronavirus and that doctors were no good against the virus as many of them fell prey to it themselves. This did not augur well with the people practising modern medicine. The Government itself has banked upon modern medicine to fight Coronavirus. The Baba’s comment indeed embarrasses the Government as it also shatters the morale of the doctors in the frontline of the battle against COVID. Now, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the premier body of doctors, has taken strong exception to Ramdev’s comments. It has said that he has caused “irreparable damage” to India’s efforts to contain COVID. The IMA said that the yoga guru had created confusion about the national COVID protocol and vaccination programme. The association said it will continue to pursue action against Ramdev. The IMA also supported the “black day” protest against the yoga guru. The premier doctors’ body also called for sedition charges against Ramdev and his prosecution under the Disaster Management Act.
It is indeed true that Baba Ramdev’s comments do not help the fight against COVID. Apart from being a yoga guru, he is also the marketing manager and the brand ambassador of Patanjali products. He has a vested interest in debunking modern medicine as he came up with uncertified Coronil, his concoction to cure Corona. Ahead of the protest, the foot-in-mouth guru retracted his statement. He said that he respected allopathy and doctors practising modern medicine. He also called for an “integrated approach” with the use of ayurvedic and allopathic treatment. His other jibes notwithstanding, to be fair to him, there is a substance in his call for an “integrated approach”. It’s true, many people treated themselves with ayurvedic medicines. To date, there is no cure for Corona; it has been a hit-and try approach. The Government could step in. Remember the Ministry of AYUSH, established in 2014? Promoting immunity-boosting practices of ayurveda could help. But, just like the Baba, there is a large, powerful and commercial lobby for allopathic medicines. Many people could have survived, had they got ayurvedic treatment at home and did not have to run to the hospitals in the second wave. Hope better sense prevails an integrated approach is adopted by the Government. The Government would have to take a lead.
