drug industry has an annual turnover of Rs. 23,000 crores. Similiar amounts are
spent on the upkeep of hospitals and diagnostic clinics both in the public and
private sector. The expenditure is slated to go up at the rate of 30 percent
every year. The lure of profits and not the intention to heal has gripped the
entire medical industry dubbed the "most corrupt industry in the world" by the
Global Corruption Report 2006. Though the Hon'ble Finance Minister of India has
desisted from imposing the health cess the same cannot be ruled out if
corrective steps are not taken. What if the health sector itself is to
partially blame for this spurt in chronic diseases? Statements by ayurveds and
homeopaths all over the world, as well as critics of modern medicine and
hapless patients, seem to imply the same. Reductionist medicine is taking its
toll, they say, as modern doctors tend to treat the patients as machines rather
than as human beings. Modern
physics has long proved the holistic nature of the world but this does not
reflect in the medical industry allege leading scientists of the world. Can
India afford to remain complacent in the face of this danger? We stand to loose
both healthwise and financially if the lopsided development in favour of modern
medicine continues. As far back as 1940, health policy makers have warned that
the Indian systems of medicine and homeopathy can be ignored only at our own
peril. But 66 years have passed since then without the concerned officials
paying significant heed to that warning. Sir, we would like to know how much
out of the Rs. 50,000 crores promised by you towards health care reforms will
go towards improving access to holistic methods of healing. We would also like
to ask what became of the proposal to make available ayurveda and homeopathy at
all public
hospitals and also the proposal to hand over the primary health centres to
qualified BHMS and BAMS doctors. Associations of holistic health care
systems have asked for an allocation of 25% of the health budget as against the
present 3% to six systems of healing; only 1.5% was however released the last
year as pointed out by the Hon'ble CAG. They have also asked for better
management of the holistic medical colleges, filling up of teaching staff
vacancies, hospitals exclusively devoted to holistic methods in every district
and naturopathy clinics in every village. If these thoroughly justified demands
are met then with an improved health sector we can usher in a much better
scenario of positive wellness and also reduce the exorbitant, unnecessary and
unjustifiable health costs. We sincerely hope your goodself will listen to
the voice of the people and initiate more proactive steps in this
regard despite stiff opposition from the medical industry who seem more
interested in warning the public about the "dangers of herbs and homeopathy"
rather than developing permanent cures for chronic diseases.We have great faith
in you Sir and we sincerely feel you will not let us down. Respectfully yours,
Jagannath Chatterjee "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from
life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.
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