Need to link ancient knowledge of curing serious illness with modernity: PM

Follow us on

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India has rich literature, dating back to thousands of years, on the cures for serious illnesses but the country has had little success in linking this ancient knowledge with modernity.

But work is under way through the Ayush Ministry for five years to change this approach by validating the ancient research in laboratories and presenting it in a way medical science can understand, he said.

If India's healthcare system has to be transformed, Modi asserted, the approach has to be holistic — by strengthening the combined power of traditional and modern medicines.

"We have literature dating back to thousands of years. Vedas have references of cures for serious illnesses. Unfortunately, we have achieved little success in linking this ancient research, the treasure trove of knowledge, with modernity.

"In the last five years, we have tried to change this. We prepared a scientific basis of it by validating it in laboratories. We presented it in a way the medical science can understand," he said at the Yoga Awards ceremony here.

Drawing attention to the changing eating habits, Modi said the food now off the table of many Indians is being adopted by several people in the world. In this context, he said cereals like jowar, bajra (millet), ragi were once a part of diet of Indians but they gradually vanished as eating these grains became synonymous with the "poverty tag".

"The attitude of forgetting our tradition and adopt it in a new way when someone else says it, has to be changed," the prime minister said.

Calling for revival of this nutritional wealth, he said the country must work towards having a "millet revolution" which can be produced for the whole world.

This will not only make India a brand for preventive healthcare but also serve the humanity and help in the earnings of farmers. Emphasis is being laid on making Ayush an important part of the country's healthcare system, he said.

The prime minister said 1.5 lakh healthcare and wellness centres are being built, of which Ayush is also a critical component.

"We also have the target of building 12,500 Ayush centres, of which 10 have been inaugurated in Haryana today. Our endeavour is to establish 4,000 such centres this year which means every block would have one such centre," he said.

The centres, inaugurated by Modi via video-conferencing, are in Panchkula, Ambala, Kaithal, Karnal, Jind, Hisar, Sonipat, Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh.
He also stressed on the need to create a homogenous system by creating an "Ayush grid" on the lines of One Nation, One Tax and One Nation, One Mobility Card.

Modi said after ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, sidda and homeopathy, sowa rigpa is being added to the Ayush family. An international centre to promote sowa rigpa is being built in Ladakh, he said.

Sowa rigpa is a traditional Buddhist medicine practised in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas of West Bengal.

Modi released commemorative postal stamps of 12 personalities who contributed to naturopathy, ayurveda, sidda and other Ayush streams. Among them was a commemorative stamp on Dinshaw Mehta, who was the personal physician of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi used to stay at Mehta's nature cure clinic in 1933-34.

"Gandhiji used to say naturopathy is the way to live life. It is not a mode of treatment. The logic behind what Gandhiji said was we have a rich legacy of preventive and curative healthcare," he said.

The prime minister said poor people have saved nearly Rs 12,000 crore by availing free treatment through Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

Referring to his Cabinet's decision of approving the construction of 75 new medical colleges in the country, he said the endeavour is to build one medical college in every district.

This, he said, will not only help in treating major illnesses but also lead to increasing 16,000 MBBS seats in the country.

ALSO READ: Government to set up over 12,000 Ayush centres across India: PM

ALSO READ: Students in UP government schools to do yoga

ALSO READ: IITs, IIMs to include yoga in curriculum in Uttar Pradesh