AYUSH – Non Science or Paramedical Practice or Medical Science?

Why the country that has produced Sir CV Raman, JC Bose, Meghnad Saha, Homi Bahbha, SC Bose, Birbal Sahani, Vikran Sarabhai, S Chandrasekar etc., in the past could not progress in research?

Why have we become one of the leading courtiers in exporting ‘talents’ to US, UK, and other far developed countries? Have we really made any great contribution to science in recent years?

The question may sound highly negative and pessimistic but we must positively search the reasons than be dismissive about the ground reasons or shoot down the messenger.

The possible reasons that points towards our poor progress in scientific research are due to

a) we have not understood the ‘true’ definition of science or
b) we are unwilling to understand the definition of science or
c) we are too patriotic in promoting pseudoscience than true science purely due to vested interest

Today both unknowingly and knowingly we are promoting pseudoscience both in pubic life and at an academic level. Intelligently we have also given a name to such an attempt as respecting and valuing ancient tradition, a sign of patriotism, respect for forefathers’ wisdom, valuing our old culture etc. Such committed effort and patronage only has resulted in the extra-constitutional and extraterrestrial recognition, value, and importance that AYUSH enjoys today.

Since independence until 2014, AYUSH has been receiving tremendous patronage and sponsorship from governments owing to its traditional, religious, regional and linguistic roots. AYUSH was allowed to exist in its own way without asking any questions or may be without expecting anything from it.

But when the new Government assumes office way back in 2014, it has created new ministry with an independent charge called Ministry of AYUSH. It was not just to revive or resurrect the ancient system, but to help the poor people in rural India to benefit from AYUSH only it seems the present Government is promoting AYUSH.

What benefit since independence AYUSH has done to our society, how many diseases we could treat with AYUSH products, how many diseases we could diagnose through AYUSH procedures, the statistics on morbidity reduction exclusively due to AYUSH etc., appears to be only known to God but however we have concluded that AYUSH would greatly benefit poor people in rural India.

Why AYUSH has not benefited a large number of institutionally qualified AYUSH graduates in private practice who are engaged in cross pathy, none of the policy makers appears to have ever asked but how they have concluded that AYUSH would benefit the poor people in rural India is million dollar question?

Thanks to many patriots and ‘neo-scientists specialized more in patriotism’ the pseudoscience got the holy bath (baptism) and so is the sanctity to its great science which obviously God alone could understand.

If AYUSH can really offer solutions to our health problems, how science and science-based allopathy would have entered to our country?

If AYUSH were such rich and glorious science with merit and truth, why most AYUSH graduates want their children to study MBBS or BDS than Siddha or Ayurveda or Unani?

If AYUSH were proven drug and cure based science, why the majority of the modern day AYUSH graduates go after cross pathy?

The point is not about discarding or discrediting AYUSH. But can we afford to venerate AYUSH as evidence-based medical science and go on producing AYUSH graduates as a doctor to practice allopathic drugs?

AYUSH, besides affecting our health care system adversely also has permeated into our research organizations to sideline science may not be advertent. If we scan through the Ph.D. research work of many students from several research institutions we can easily understand the dominance of herbal research with its definite inspiration from AYUSH.

If we read the scientific articles about Neem or Ashwagandha etc., we may wonder as which disease these two plants cannot cure?

The question is why when both the plants are available all over India still we have plenty of health problems as well? Which plant has not shown activity against at least some species of microbes?

The big question is how many effective drugs we have from Neem or Ashwagandha to treat and cure human diseases? Why with so many plants having antimicrobial activity at the laboratory level, no scientist could become Sir Alexander Fleming discovering antibiotics from plant sources that are inherited to us in the form of Ayurveda or Siddha by God himself?

Unfortunately, we are only auditing the ‘activity’ and not its ‘usefulness’ to our society while granting Ph.D. degree. When such doctorates become academicians, they continue the ‘saga’ without any mutation. Ironically the research proposals on herbal research with simple reference to AYUSH not only help these scientists to easily gather research grants but also help them to display their patriotism for political patronage. As a result, we continue to grind either neem or ashwagandha or some other plants from AYUSH. The process of grinding remains unchanged but only the herbal materials differ.

Interestingly the research publications highlighting the medicinal benefits of some AYUSH herbs at an ‘academic level’ provide the much-required arms and ammunition to many ‘neo-scientists specialized more in patriotism’ to the hype and highlight the science, medical and curative benefits of ancient AYUSH. The scientists who have generated such research also get recognition. The ‘neo-scientists’ and ‘the policy makers’ who wants to promote AYUSH gets enough and more scientific evidence to build their logic. Such ‘shadow nexus’ between scientists and lovers of AYUSH envy many scientists to swarm around ‘herbal research referring to ancient AYUSH’.

The biggest churning point is that research on herbs based in AYUSH expands day by day and we continuously gets to know of several untold medical benefits of various ‘AYUSH herbs’ but hardly we get any new drug from AYUSH to cure any single disease.

The gap of plenty of research outcomes with a poor rate of conversion as the drug can be bridged only if we understand the true definition and meaning of research more as scientists than as patriots.

We cannot technically blame either the scientists who generate such voluminous research output or the patriots or neo scientist who are otherwise the true proponents of AYUSH. Our system wants only such science and easily also finds great use of such science. What is more useful only every system would produce. The ‘end user’ (policymakers and proponents of AYUSH) must ask whether the products have quality, merit, science, and evidence. The proponents and policy makers when to succumb to patriotism while promoting AYUSH, genuinely miss asking questions about the merit of all such research supports. Another reason is also hidden in such endeavor. Most of the proponents of AYUSH are promoting AYUSH only for others and not for self. Therefore, they love to cherry pick science and will not be interested in asking questions about the merit of such science.

Who benefits and who gets fooled in this big game? The answer is simple, i.e., poor, innocent citizens who reserve the wisdom and use emotion while casting his or her vote. So the leaders work hard to support the continuous existence of the same system.

When we narrate the problem and its complexity naturally the question would be asked whether we have any real and workable solution to this problem. Certainly the mess can be easily corrected.

The confusion exists today only because we are promoting AYUSH as medical science. AYUSH is perfectly a paramedical practice for wellness and preserving the health of healthy. The graduates of AYUSH in every sense are perfect health and wellness experts than a doctor whose role is limited to treat when people are sick.

We should popularize the truth of the paramedical benefits of AYUSH and must help our society to benefit the wellness and health expertise of AYUSH graduates than treating them as a doctor. AYUSH products are not drugs as per scientific definition. Products that have some medicinal value are different from the drug. This eternal truth only forms the cardinal principle of Siddha system even ‘Food is medicine’.

Once the AYUSH is re-defined as paramedical practice and so are its products, even the export scope of AYUSH products will automatically increase.

The disgrace AYUSH suffers today is because it is promoted as medical science – drug and cured based system. People question AYUSH only due to the lack of its merit as a drug. Many people do benefit purely due to the paramedical nature of several AYUSH products as some health problems can be easily treated through paramedical approach.

Besides signifying the AYUSH, AYUSH must offer some benefit to our society because AYUSH is promoted at the expense of tax payer’s money.

The dignity and respect of AYUSH vaidyas will grow several folds if their service yields results to the patients. If their role is re-defined for paramedical benefits like massage therapy, thokkanam, panchakarma etc., our society would not only benefit from AYUSH vaidyas but also would be ever grateful to them.

Scientists, Pseudo- Scientists, Neo Scientists with specialization in patriotism, policymakers, political leaders and proponents & lovers of AYUSH must promote AYUSH as paramedical practice than as medical science.

Today India largely need paramedical staff, wellness & health experts and a large number of AYUSH graduates in private practice can perfectly fill the niche.

Let us leave the responsibility of treating the sick patients to MBBS doctors who have studied scientifically proven medical science.

Dr S Ranganathan