By claiming that his herbal concoction ‘Coronil’ is a cure for Covid-19, interestingly without any scientific data to corroborate his claim, Baba Ramdev has managed to upset many scientists and medical experts over the past few months.

Additionally, in a video circulated on social media, the Yogi allegedly criticised allopathy treatment and contentiously said, “Allopathy ek stupid aur diwaliya science hai, pehle chloroquine fail hogayi, phir remdesivir, phir anti-biotics fail hogaye, phir steroids inke fail hogaye, kal plasma therapy pe ban lag gaya aur fabiflu bhi fail hai..yeh kya tamasha ho raha hai? Laakhon logo ki maut allopathy ki davaiyaan khaane se hui hai”. (Allopathy is a stupid and bankrupt science, first chloroquine failed, then Remdesivir, then anti-biotics, steroids, plasma therapy was banned yesterday, and fabiflu failed too. Lakhs of people have died because of consuming allopathic medicines).

This statement by Ramdev did not go down well with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) that served a defamation notice on Ramdev for his disparaging remarks against allopathy and allopathic doctors, demanding an apology from him, failing which it said it will demand a compensation of Rs 1,000 crore. After a nudge from the Union Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan, Ramdev was forced to retract his statement against allopathy and modern science, and also tendered an apology. However, he went on to tweet an open letter of “25 questions to IMA” on lines of treatment on not just Covid-19 but also diabetes, hypertension, spondylitis, etc. One question posed to the IMA was about whether allopathy can find a cure for rudeness and violent behaviour!

मैं इंडियन मेडिकल एसोसिएशन व फार्मा कंपनियों से विनम्रता के साथ सीधे 25 सवाल पूछता हूँ- pic.twitter.com/ATVKlDc9tl

— स्वामी रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) May 24, 2021

Ramdev has also been solely responsible for triggering people for his insensitive remarks against Covid-19 patients, mocking them for complaining about oxygen shortage. During one of his live yoga sessions in the beginning of May, The Quint reported him saying, “People are looking for cylinders outside while God has given you two cylinders right here inside you (referring to one’s lungs). Use them, fool! Two cylinders are here (pointing to his lungs), the two doctors are your legs, and two nurses are right here (pointing to his hands). Have some courage, they are just dying. There are no beds, no hospitals, not enough doctors, not enough medicines, no cremation grounds…a negative environment has been created everywhere.”

Ramkrishna Yadav alias Baba Ramdev, has also made objectional statements against vaccines saying that he did not feel the need to get inoculated since he had been practicing yoga-Ayurveda for decades, reported the Scroll.in. In another video from May, Ramdev claimed that 1,000 doctors died even after getting two doses of the vaccine. But in June, he decided against his own preaching and said that he will take the vaccine.

Yoga guru’s legal troubles

Ramdev’s statements are not only unverified and misleading, but attracts criminal liability. Multiple FIRs have been filed against him and Patanjali’s CEO Acharya Balkrishna, in the states of Bihar and Chhattisgarh, alleging that his comments are likely to cause prejudice to Covid-19 control, and dissuade patients to take allopathic treatment.

In Uttarakhand, the High Court is seized with the matter filed against Patanjali Ayurveda for making claims about Coronil vis-à-vis treatment of the deadly Covid-19 virus, in the absence of requisite permission from the Government. According to LiveLaw, the court has already issued a notice to the to the Central Government. On June 23, 2020, Patanjali had reportedly launched “Coronil and Swasari”, what it claims is the Ayurvedic cure for treating Covid, which they said has shown “100 per cent favourable results” during clinical trials on some affected patients.

But the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy), jumped in on the subject refraining Patanjali Ayurveda Limited to advertise/publicise such claims till the issue is duly examined. The Ministry had also clarified those facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to it, and are uncorroborated. The company was also asked by the Ayush Ministry to provide at the earliest, details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for Covid treatment; site(s)/hospital(s), where the research study was conducted; protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, and results data of the studies

Is an apology enough?

The saffron robe clad Ramdev has amassed a lot of support and fan following including within the government over the years. As one of the most prominent faces of alternate medicines in India, his jibe at modern science and doctors has yet not gotten him into any trouble. Coronil, a traditional Indian medicine manufactured by Patanjali and launched in the presence of the Union Health Minister last year in June, was alleged to have been a cure for Covid-19.

Since it failed to scientifically substantiate its claim about Covid-19, the Central Government intervened to stop its marketing as an anti-Covid drug but allowed it to be sold as an “immunity booster”. As per a BBC report, on February 19 this year, Patanjali held another event in the presence of the health minister, at which claims were repeated that it could prevent and treat Covid-19.

Balkrishna told BBC, “It has treated and cured people”, while referring to the scientific trials, the results of which it says have been published in several peer-reviewed journals. It received AYUSH Ministry’s certification as ‘supporting measure’ for Covid-19 treatment in February. Patanjali’s statement read, “Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme.” With some emerging rumours about WHO certification, the international body was forced to issue a statement clarifying their stand against approving any traditional medicine for Covid-19.

.@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19.

— WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) February 19, 2021

Despite the barrage of misinformation and unsolicited claims, Dr. Harshvardhan, who was the Union Health Minister at that time, thought its most appropriate to write him a letter asking him to withdraw all objectionable statements instead of prosecuting him. Is Ramdev above the law? Doesn’t law apply to everyone equally? An apology does not absolve an individual of legal liability, nor does it make the offence less punishable. Even as the medical community is fighting tooth and nail to contain the pandemic and misinformation, health authorities are not proactively taking a stand against the yoga guru.

According to an Indian Express report, the Maharashtra cyber police has arrested 342 people since the beginning of the pandemic last year for circulating misinformation, including in the form of social media posts, creating panic or peddling fake cures related to Covid-19. Self-proclaimed god man Ahmad Siddiqui who also called himself ‘Corona wale baba’ had put up a board outside his shop in Daliganj area, UP, claiming that he had a cure for the deadly virus. He was arrested by the Police in March, 2020 as per media sources. But Ramdev continues to enjoy immunity from arrests despite his scandalous and incorrect claims.

Brazen violations of the law

Some provisions under the Epidemics Act, Disaster Management Act, Indian Penal Code can be (and have been before some courts) easily invoked against Baba Ramdev. When last year, as discussed above, Patanjali had claimed that they have developed 100% cure for the Covid-19 through “Coronil and Swasari” medicines, the Ministry of Ayush had to refrain them for publicising the efficiency of this product. But why did it do so?

The answer lies in the April 21, 2020 directive, in which Ayush had imposed several conditions on the research for Covid-19 treatment using traditional means. As per these conditions, it was mandatory for the institution to apprise the Ministry of Ayush, the government of India about the research developments. An Ayush registered practioneer was also supposed to be a part of the research, but going by Patanjali’s declaration of finding a cure and Ayush’s intervention, it seems like Ramdev’s company missed a couple of steps.

Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA), section 52 (Punishment for false claim) lays down that whoever knowingly makes a claim which he knows or has reason to believe to be false for obtaining any relief, assistance, repair, reconstruction or other benefits consequent to disaster from any officer of the Central Government, the State Government, the National Authority, the State Authority or the District Authority, shall, on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and also with fine; 

Section 54: Punishment for false warning states: “Whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic, shall on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine;

And section 60 states (Cognizance of offences), No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act except on a complaint made by— 

(a) the National Authority, the State Authority, the Central Government, the State Government, the District Authority or any other authority or officer authorised in this behalf by that Authority or Government, as the case may be; or 

(b) any person who has given notice of not less than thirty days in the manner prescribed, of the alleged offence and his intention to make a complaint to the National Authority, the State Authority, the Central Government, the State Government, the District Authority or any other authority or officer authorised as aforesaid. 

In addition to these, section 3 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, states that any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 188 of the IPC covers ‘Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant.’

All these provisions require prior sanction by the concerned public officer, state, centre, district or any other appropriate authority, making it the legal and moral responsibility of the State to initiate actions against Ramdev. He cannot take the defense under Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression), to push his anti-science agenda that can trigger a new level of public disorder. This is not an Ayurveda versus allopathy debate. It is about how the State decides to tackle false claims of thousands of doctors dying despite vaccine shots, or how allopathy has killed people!

Section 505(1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code, penalises people who make, publish or circulate any statement, rumour or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public. Arguably Baba’s statements do fall under this section, making him liable for a criminal offence. The Supreme Court has accepted the higher moral responsibility of people with influence, who are supposed to be careful with the information they disseminate. In Amish Devgan vs Union of India (W.P Crl. No. 160 of 2020), the court said:

“Persons of influence, keeping in view their reach, impact and authority they yield on general public or the specific class to which they belong, owe a duty and have to be more responsible. They are expected to know and perceive the meaning conveyed by the words spoken or written, including the possible meaning that is likely to be conveyed. With experience and knowledge, they are expected to have a higher level of communication skills. It is reasonable to hold that they would be careful in using the words that convey their intent.”

An upstart, so to speak, Ramdev helped launch Patanjali Ayurveda to initially sell herbal medicines, that eventually expanded as a huge business empire selling soaps, noodles, biscuits, diapers, vegetable oil, candles and even cow urine.

Prabir Purkayastha (engineer, science activist and President of Free Software Movement) explains his rise as someone who is not the first to have built an empire out of ‘babagiri’. “Many others have made religion a business, from Puttaparthi Saibaba to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Compare Sri Sri’s Rs. 50 crore annual revenue from his business to Ramdev’s Rs. 25,000 crore turnover from Patanjali Ayurveda, and we begin to see that the primary business of Ramdev is neither religion nor Yoga. It is leveraging his image as a ‘Yoga guru’ to become India’s latest billionaire”, he wrote for NewsClick.

Some people might even argue that Ramdev was one of the most televised Indian characters from hosting live yoga sessions with celebrities to being invited to the pro wrestling leagues and defeating Olympic medallists with his core strength. But Ramdev and Balkrishna preached much more than yoga and medicines. With Ramdev becoming an instant hit amongst the masses, his brand name helped Patanjali’s products to reach almost every household in the country. His rise as a yoga guru has been even more prominent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s win in 2014. According to an investigative report done by Reuters, Baba Ramdev used to allegedly send his followers/supporters into the streets to campaign which ultimately helped propel Modi’s win.

Besides his exponential rise, this is about Ramdev’s slanderous attitude that is worthy of reiteration. This does not only demoralise the spirits of all health professionals, but also disrespects and degrades the efforts of all frontline workers who have been facing extraordinary circumstances since early last year.

Related:

What do Ramdev and Adityanath have in common?
Indian Medical Association seeks FIR against Ramdev
Covid-19: IMA slaps Rs 1,000 crore notice on Patanjali boss Ramdev

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The Indian Medical Association (IMA) will celebrate National Doctors’ Day on July 1, 2021 with a special program at its Delhi headquarters to pay homage to the medical fraternity.

The theme for this year’s event is “Save the Saviours.” Eminent doctors will receive Doctors’ Day Awards during the event. This will be followed by Safe Motherhood Week, starting from Wednesday.

“The IMA lost more than 1,500 eminent doctors during the Covid-19 pandemic. This sacrifice has added its shade of remembrance to the Doctors’ Day celebrations. It is dedicated to the innumerable medical practitioners, who sacrificed their lives while serving citizens and to those numerous professionals, still serving on the frontline,” said the IMA in a press release.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the event at 3 PM. Further, World Medical Association and IMA ex-President Dr. Ketan Desai, NITI Aayog member Dr. V. K. Paul, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria and IMA President Dr. J. A. Jayalal will also address the people.

Related:

EXCLUSIVE: PM must intervene, stop misinformation campaign, recognise Covid martyr medics: IMA chief
594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA
Indian Medical Association seeks FIR against Ramdev
Centre’s paid vaccination policy for 18 to 44 years, prima facie arbitrary and irrational: SC

The post Save the Saviours! IMA’s theme for National Doctors’ Day 2021 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As many as 650 doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) died due to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus, said Secretary General Jayesh Lele on June 10, 2021.

In a state-wise break-up of deaths country-wide over the last two months or so, the IMA stated that as many as 109 deaths were recorded in national capital Delhi. Bihar and then Uttar Pradesh follow close behind, indicating no change in state rank in IMA data.

However, a comparison with the June 2 state-wise break-up shows that Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have shown the highest increase in doctors’ death from 67 recognised deaths on June 2, to 79 deaths in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, and from 21 recognised deaths on June 2, to 32 deaths in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Overall, the two data sets show that at least 56 doctors died in India within eight days of which one death remains unknown. As per the IMA website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives in 2020 while working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, within the first half of 2021, the second wave is inching closer to last year’s toll. During an online workshop earlier, Lele has voiced his concern about the physical assault on doctors that is highlighted in the current health crisis. As per The Hindu, he said the medical fraternity was vulnerable to such attacks in the absence of adequate mechanisms to ensure their safety.

During earlier talks with SabrangIndia, IMA officials said that the family of these health workers could avail compensation via insurance. However, few urban families in Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been able to avail the compensation so far.

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EXCLUSIVE: PM must intervene, stop misinformation campaign, recognise Covid martyr medics: IMA chief
594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA
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Great Number Game of Vaccine Funding: Zero Allotment = Rs. 35000 Crores !!!
Indian Medical Association seeks FIR against Ramdev

The post 650 doctors dead due to Covid-19 in around 2 months appeared first on SabrangIndia.

More that 594 doctors across India have died in the line of duty after being infected by Covid-19 during the second wave, these are official figures released by the IMA. The highest number of fatalities were reported from the national capital Delhi at 107, followed by 96 deaths in Bihar and 67 deaths in Uttar Pradesh. These are numbers that are unfortunately on the rise, as there may be more cases which have gone unreported from remote corners, and even more of those doctors in private practise or those working as volunteers.

On the IMA’s website, around 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives as healthcare workers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic last year. Then there are attacks on doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers which are on the rise, the IMA has written to Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, seeking a law ‘against healthcare violence’. On top of all that, there is targeting of doctors and associations who speak up against misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. The IMA has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently intervene. 

SabrangIndia: Why have so many doctors succumbed to Covid-19? What measures is the IMA demanding?

Dr JA Jayalal: The reason for so many doctors’ deaths is, first the time duration which they have to work is more, demands are high, there is great mental and physical stress. They are exposed to various densities of viral load exposure. Manpower augmentation is the first thing that has to be done. Second, an assurance has to be given that when a doctor is having even a mild symptom they will be tested and comprehensive treatment will be provided at any cost at the nearby government or corporate hospital. Comprehensive healthcare should be given, and doctors, healthcare workers who have died, the government should recognise them as Covid martyrs. Now, the increasing incidents of violence against doctors is making them more tense, that is the situation where the viral infection is more  active in their lives. 

Many announcements have been made for such schemes, what has been done so far?

Nothing has been done, it is only on paper. Through insurance sectors some schemes are there, but with many bottlenecks. Out of the doctors who died last year only 163 families could even apply for that to get approved. So much of red tapism is horrible for people to deal with. Yesterday I met a family in Tamil Nadu where both the husband and wife died on duty, their child is a second medical student who is handicapped, has no support and has a handicapped sibling also. We can’t ask that family to go apply for insurance etc, it is our responsibility to provide support to them. An ex gratia payment from the government must be given. Many states are doing that, Delhi CM has announced, Tamil Nadu CM has announced, but it should be done at a national level by the central government, it is not uniform now. The health ministry has a wing called the central bureau of health intelligence, it will not take them long to identify the people and give aid quickly.

The IMA is keeping records of medics lost to Covid, has the government sought the data?

They are not asking for it, but we are sending them the data, yet they are not responding to it. In the second wave there has been no response. I don’t want to cast aspersions on why they are not doing that, but at least some acknowledgement will help boost the morale of doctors. The IMA does not want to make it political or sensationalise the deaths. It is a responsibility that the government should realise and understand. Everyone’s life is precious, and these are the people in the ward who are dying, frontline soldiers who are taking care of patients. 

What is the reason behind IMA being trolled and targeted by the right wing?

This is to divert attention from the main issue. The IMA has a 93-year-old legacy. It was set up in the period of the Independence struggle by Indian doctors, the first people to break away from British association and start one for Indian doctors. We do not need any certificates from them [right wing trolls]. We are an association, we have not endorsed any products, we have a scientific committee, a constitution, a legal department, we are registered under the societies act, our funds are audited. Whenever an advocacy role is there, we speak up. Now so much assault is happening [on doctors/nurses], we are also prioritising our work. Assault has become a big issue in the last few days, this is happening throughout the country. For example: Delhi, Karnataka and Bihar. 

Has communal targeting against health workers, including you, been seen before?

It has never happened before, and it shall never happen again. The country is going through [a lot]. When your conscience is clear, I don’t think it is worth thinking about it [the targeting]. 

Are you not planning legal action?

We are not planning anything, but they have filed some cases. I have no intention to talk on this petty issue, we have more important issues, people are dying, post Covid complication is going to be another big challenge. People are coming with a lot of respiratory problems, cardiac problems, fungal infections. India cannot be comfortable and say that the number of Covid-19 cases are coming down. There are big challenges ahead to focus on.

What is the status of the Ramdev case? Is IMA against ayurveda or homeopathy?

That is a legal battle. The case is there in the court, we are not against any system of medicine that is good for the country. Every comfort cannot be given by modern medicine, something may be better in the ayurveda system. We are opposing mixology, we will oppose it tooth and nail. The Ramdev case is a police complaint so far, I am not sure the government will be able to convert it to an FIR. We will study the situation and move the court if needed. We have written to the Prime Minister twice as his policies are being questioned. Vaccination is his policy, protocols are central government policy. if someone is objecting it is the government’s responsibility to clarify that we are going ahead with our recommendations. We will write again to the prime minister to intervene and stop this misinformation campaign. Vaccination is the only option in front of us. If someone is spreading misinformation on vaccination that is not good for the country, neither will it help anyone. 

Related:

594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA
Indian Medical Association seeks FIR against Ramdev
Centre’s paid vaccination policy for 18 to 44 years, prima facie arbitrary and irrational: SC
Deaths certificates should clearly state Covid-19 as the cause: SC
Covid-19: Which Indian states failed miserably in tackling the pandemic?

The post EXCLUSIVE: PM must intervene, stop misinformation campaign, recognise Covid martyr medics: IMA chief appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As many as 594 doctors across India died due to Covid-19 during the second wave, said the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on June 2, 2021.

As per state-wise list released by the IMA, national capital Delhi has recorded the highest number of fatalities with 107 deaths, followed by 96 deaths in Bihar and 67 deaths in Uttar Pradesh. These three regions together account for 40 percent of doctor deaths recorded in 2021.

According to the NDTV, 748 doctors died due to Covid-19 in 2020. However, as shown on IMA’s website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives as healthcare workers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic last year.

Meanwhile, India reported 1.34 lakh daily new cases in the last 24 hours on June 3. The Covid-19 India website recorded 3.38 lakh deaths in the country so far with Maharashtra (96,751), Karnataka (30,017), Tamil Nadu (25,205), Delhi (24,402) and Uttar Pradesh (20,787) ranking as the top five states.

Related:

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Deaths certificates should clearly state Covid-19 as the cause: SC
Covid-19: Which Indian states failed miserably in tackling the pandemic?

The post 594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Expressing extreme disappointment with the Health Ministry’s inadequate response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on May 8, 2021 demanded the ministry wake up from its slumber.

The organisation condemned the Centre for ignoring the recommendations of experts along with a plea for a well-planned, pre-announced national lockdown to allow time for the health infrastructure to recoup, replenish both material and labour, and break the chain of infection.

“However, the central government had refused to head to implement lockdown resulting in the mounting of new patients beyond four lakhs every day and the number of moderate to severe cases are increasing to nearly 40 percent. Sporadic night curfews have not done any good. Life is [more] precious than the economy,” said IMA President J A Jayalal in a press release.

The IMA also called for equitable, affordable, universally available vaccines for individuals above 18 years. However, the central government failed to ensure sufficient vaccine stock of vaccines for the same. People from the 18-44 age group cannot avail the free vaccines from the central share of 50 percent, as per the differential pricing system proposed by the union government.

IMA asked, “The jeopardy of private practitioners and states to negotiate with manufacturers for pricing and stock resulted in exorbitant price rise and vaccine shortage. When Rs. 35,000 crores were allotted in the budget, with which the maximum required 200 crore vaccine doses are purchasable, why the central government is shedding its responsibility?” 

It reminded both that small and medium private hospitals have had zero stock of vaccines over the last one week. Further, the IMA talked about the lack of oxygen supply for patients despite adequate production. Members appealed to authorities to address this issue of distribution on a “war footing” as imported oxygen concentrators and plants are yet to reach beneficiaries.

The panic has resulted in judicial activism, even though no medical professionals or organisations were consulted while this situation worsened. Accordingly, Jayalal called for increased testing and tracing, genome sequencing to identify and respond to variants. Voicing a concern that such studies were decreasing, it called for dedicated doctors to focus on the virus mutants and propose measures at the earliest.

Regarding the fatality rate, he argued that the inaccurate counting is affecting Covid-appropriate behaviours and denying insurance benefits for families. He said, “We have lost 756 doctors in the first wave and in the second wave more than 146 doctors have died within a short period. Hundreds of deaths happening in big hospitals are shown as non-Covid deaths and crematoriums are showing housefull boards. RTPCR negative, but CT positive cases are not counted. Why are we trying to hide actual deaths?” 

The IMA also talked about issues of shortage of drugs including steroids, its illegal marketing, hoarding and sale. It mentioned that price capping and systemic tracking could help matters however the government has not removed GST on masks, PPE kits and lifesaving drugs.

Similarly, the IMA demanded that IPC provisions protect health care workers from increasing violence. Further, the health care administration should be revamped with Indian Medical Service cadets, well-versed with technical and administrative skills for effective execution of healthcare.

Notably, the medical association demanded a new integrated Ministry with a dedicated Minister to deal with the pandemic. Members also demanded an increase in the healthcare budget from one percent to 8-10 percent of GDP and to use earmarked budgets to ensure universal vaccination.

Related:

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Covid-19 has completely exposed Delhi’s medical infrastructure: High Court

The post IMA slams Union Health Ministry for failing to curb Covid-19 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Flashback to these series of attacks on doctors by elected representatives of the ruling regime where the association maintained a stoic silence. This Calendar os assaults tells its own story. Switch to the brute abuse of Dr Payal Tadvi in a Mumbai hospital leading to her tragically taking her own life. Again not a whimper of protest from the IMA.

The IMA, established in 1928 calls itself “the only representative voluntary organization of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well being of the community at large.” It has branches in 23 different state and 9 union territories and has over 78,000 doctors as its members.

Health in India has remained an issue which is marred by disinterest, a lack of political will and ill-thought policies. Apart from scientific determinants, the health indicators in India are also impacted by social and political factors.

Caste bias
In the aftermath of the suicide of the 26 year old gynaecologist Dr. Payal Tadvi, who belonged to the Bhil-Adivasi community, the IMA asserted that there was no caste based discrimination in the field.

In their letter, signed by IMA President, Dr. Santanu Sen and General Secretary, Dr. R. V. Ashokan commented on the prevalance of general casteism saying, “As a fraternity the medical profession is miles ahead in overcoming the barriers of caste, religion and politics. There is no discrimination on any ground within the fraternity or with the patients. However individual bias and behaviour can be at variance to this unwritten code of conduct. IMA does not condone any discriminatory behaviour.”

IMA did not recognise the caste based discrimination that many professions in India suffer from. A profession like medicine and health, which is meant to heal, ends up ending the lives and livelihoods of many health professionals because their caste is not acceptable to the dominant castes. Infact IMA consistently termed the issue of suicide of Dr. Payal Tadvi to be arising from workload.

In their letter to doctors, the IMA repeats this multiple times. They say that doctors “especially in government hospitals”, have an “inhuman work load and suffer burn out and depression”. They also say that doctors in government hospitals particularly, have “poor working conditions” and an “abnormal overload of work” and face an “ever present ridicule for deficiency of clinical sills.”

The medical profession in general has been accused of a bias against the policy of  reservation. Doctors and medical professionals on occasions more than one, have said that if reservations are allowed in the education, it will compromise with quality.

In 2006, when the HRD Minister Arjun Singh announced a policy to introduce reservations for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) for 27% seats in central universities which included the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), AIIMS, Delhi University and others, a platform called Youth for Equality with the stated objective of “determination to do something against the reservation policy” came into prominence. The IMA units in Delhi and Mumbai gave call for strikes during this time. This had exposed the inherent casteist bias of the IMA as an institution.

The Pepsi controversy
In 2015, for the first time in the history of medical associations, the IMA, a medical association agreed to endorse PepsiCos Tropicana fruit juices and its breakfast cereal Quaker Oats. It went ahead and called it a “partnership for healths. The then Secretary general SN Misra had said that although the company hadn’t paid money for the endorsement, PepsiCo may sponsor the associations conferences and meetings for three years, the agreement period. Media reports said the company paid the association Rs 50,00,000 for the deal.

The Medical Council of India suspended the licenses of the then president, Ketan Desai and secretary of the Association. The IMA took an adversarial stand here and got Delhi High court to stay the order making a mockery of code of ethics.

An editorial published in a medical journal, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics said, “it is an open secret that financial transgressions are common in medical practice. The classic case is the receipt of kickbacks for referring patients for investigations like magnetic resonance imaging scans”

Congratulating government on charging students with sedition
In February 2016, IMA wrote a letter to the then Home Minister of India congratulating him for the action they had taken against JNU students and warning medical students not to participate in such protests. The JNU students were charged with sedition then. Not only did their letter congratulate, but also they urged the government to take “strict actions against any persons or organizations or group carrying out any anti national protests, speeches, debates or writings in the country”. 

The letter was signed by then national president of the association, SS Agarwal and its honorary general secretary KK Aggarwal. Agarwal was then the co-convenor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s training cell and till 2013 was the national convener of the party’s medical cell.

A practicing surgeon, who wrote to the IMA asking about their stand, notes, “Whilst you showed instant concern over the events in JNU, the IMA has been silent over several issues related to public health problems in the country. Whereas you include the demand for a fair conduction of the NEET exam, the association has never openly attacked the very idea of private capitation medical colleges and deemed universities controlled by powerful politicians that have played havoc with India’s medical education system. In my view, your letter to the Home Minister was nothing but an attempt to curry favour with the new power centre”

Also now, the Govt.’s attempts to replace MCI with NMC
The Medical Council of India is a representative body of the medical profession in India. Roughly 2/3rd of its members are elected through various electoral processes. Any registered medical practitioner in the country can contest the elections and every qualified doctor can vote. The government now proposes to bring another body, which will be an all nominated body.

In June 2019, the IMA filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging that the purpose of Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 was to give permission to “incompetent” medical colleges so that that they could give financial and other support for Lok Sabha elections.
The National Medical Commission is proposed to have non-elected members nominated by the government.

While protesting the new bill the doctors had said “Anywhere in the world, medical profession is bestowed with reasonable autonomy. Patient care and safety are the main benefits of such autonomy. Regulators need to have autonomy and be independent of administrators. The proposed NMC will be a regulator appointed by administrators under their direct control.”

The members had then alleged that the constitution of NMC takes away the voting right of every doctors in India to elect their medical council.

As per the IMA National President, Santanu Sen, the proposed bill, which was passed in Lok Sabha early 2019, aimed at three different aspects. He had said, “First, by reserving 50 per cent of the seats at medical college for management, the opportunity to the poor is being denied. Second, the bill seems to increase the compensation amounts payable to the patients to impossible levels and third, the bill may lead to increased healthcare expenses incurred by common people.”

The editorial published in a medical journal, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics saidunlike “medical associations in countries such as the USA, the UK, and Canada, the IMA has not been prominent in shaping medical policy in India. It has no history of providing leadership in identifying the health problems of India and providing input into how they should be tackled. The pitiful state of health affairs in India, with some of the worst health indicators, has not prompted this large group of health professionals to introspect on the situation and come forward with constructive suggestions. Instead it has stood by as a mute spectator to the chaos in medical care in India.”
 
 
 

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One of the most disturbing and sinister truths about some prominent masterminds behind the Gujarat carnage was the fact that many of them hailed from the medical profession and, despite their professional allegiance to the Hippocratic oath, violated it to lead mobs to rape, pillage, maim and kill and that too, in the most barbaric ways. Dr. Praveen Togadia, Dr. Jaideep Patel, Dr. Amita Patel and Dr. Bhartibehn, Dr. Maya Kotdani (the latter three are BJP MLAs) are all doctors by profession who were named by victims as masterminds and leaders in brutal crimes.
Dr. Praveen Togadia, international general secretary of the VHP, is well- known for his frequent threats of hatred and violence. He is a cancer surgeon by profession and also owns the Dhanvantri Hospital at India Colony, Ahmedabad. Doctors belonging to the Muslim minority testified to the fact that, on February 28, Shri Togadia had put in an ad–slide of his, which was telecast on Citicable in Ahmedabad city, asking all doctors and nurses to report to his hospital. He was making this appeal to all doctors. Many witnesses who deposed before us raised the question of whether this was also part of a master plan, to keep, through threats and warnings, Hindu doctors away from Muslim–run hospitals.

Justice AP Ravani spoke of his personal acquaintance and knowledge of (Hindu) doctors being threatened and told (by the VHP) not to treat Muslims. He knew of one doctor in the Shahibag area who must have attended to 17–20 deliveries for women staying in camps. The doctor was personally threatened by Shri Togadia himself, “Stop this, otherwise consequences will not be good.” Other doctors have also confided to Justice Ravani saying they too had received similar threats.

Soon after the bodies of the kar sevaks had been cremated, from the evening of February 28, the bodies of another set of victims started pouring in, this time bearing another identity. They were Muslims from Chamanpura, Rakhial, Bapunagar, Behrampura, and late, at night, Naroda Gaon and Naroda Patiya. 

The ‘borders’ drawn within Ahmedabad have ensured a severely ghettoised existence. This has been an unfortunate fact for the past three decades and it has had serious implications for inter–community interaction and relations. In the recent state–sponsored genocide, it was used cleverly by large, well–organised and well–armed mobs numbering several thousand, through bloodshed, violence and intimidation, to restrict the passage of ambulances from the inner, old city to either the Vadilal Sarabhai (VS) Hospital or the Sola Civil Hospital. This was another cruel method of preventing victims from receiving urgent medical attention.

At least six injured persons rescued from Chamanpura (Gulberg society), testified before the Tribunal confirming that the VS Hospital had refused them treatment, demanding that a police statement be obtained first. This, from a group of persons who had been brutalised and traumatised, having been witness to 60–70 of their close relations or neighbours stripped, raped, cut into pieces, and burnt alive.

One eyewitness from Jamalpur stated, “The worst conduct was at the Sola Civil Hospital. Here Bharti behn and Anita behn, both BJP corporators (Bharti behn is from Mani Nagar), were actually telling doctors whom to treat or not to treat.” At the VS Hospital, which gave more access to the minorities initially due to the presence of Congress corporators on the hospital’s managerial board, there were attempts to deny treatment to Muslims that were not entirely successful.

Even in the second week of April, while violence in the city of Ahmedabad had trickled down to stray incidents, fear stalked public spaces — hospitals, schools, government offices and even the Gujarat High Court. One witness told the Tribunal that on April 11, groups of 15-20, armed with unsheathed swords, stalked the corridors of the VS Hospital each night and no one challenged them. They did not directly harm or kill but the message spread through nurses and class IV staff was that the area was out of bounds for the marked — the Muslim population in Gujarat.
But no incident can typify the extent of communalisation of hospitals more than the brutal murder of a Muslim who had brought a severely injured person to the VS Hospital by ambulance on May 7, while the Tribunal sat. The youth was stabbed when he alighted from an ambulance carrying a patient who had been stabbed in the Juhapura locality. The assailants were sangh parivar activists who were demonstrating against the alleged “partisan attitude” of the hospital authorities against Hindu patients. 

As bad as the perpetration of crimes by medical professionals during the Gujarat carnage, and the attempts to brutally communalise hospital spaces, were the attempt by the police in Ahmedabad and Vadodara to actually harass and stop ambulance services belonging to the minority community. At the height of the carnage, these ambulance services were the only ones to provide desperately needed medical support, reaching help, saving groups, carrying mutilated bodies, etc. The fact that even they were stopped, as were trucks carrying relief, indicated the premeditation of the carnage at the very top levels as also the genocidal nature of its entire execution.

Several witnesses who deposed before us actually detailed how, in Ahmedabad, one police officer, stopped the Nobel Ambulance Service personnel at Bawa Lababi to prevent it from reaching Danilimda, Char Rasta, Sardarbridge and Calico, despite the fact that they had curfew passes.
The Tribunal recorded the written statement of Dr. Ishaq Shaikh, vice-president, Al Ameen Garib Niwas General Hospital, Ahmedabad. This 40-bed hospital had over-stretched itself in service of the community from February 28 onwards. He described how, from 12.30 p.m., there was a flood of patients – virtually a patient per minute. With this pressure they had to make painful decisions of which patients to treat and which to leave to their fate.

Twice on February 28, when Dr. Shaikh tried to drive a grievously injured patient to the Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital in his ambulance, he was attacked at Raipur between 4 and 5 p.m. When this happened a second time, mayor Himmatsingh Patel helped them out by calling for an ambulance from the Ahmedabad municipal corporation.

A severe strain on community health services was evidenced during and after the carnage, with the state abdicating its primary role. In the numerous relief camps that sprung up across the city/state, there was a severe problem of clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and adequate food. Children were suffering from jaundice, a water-borne disease, diarrhoea and dehydration. One child died in a camp in mid-April. The strain on small privately run hospitals increased. On April 3, Dr. Shaikh was brutally beaten by inspectors Modi and Parmar as he tried to take his ambulance to Shamser Bagh, Gomtipur, where two persons had been shot in the leg. He was pounced upon by the police and beaten badly. 

Justice AP Ravani spoke of his personal acquaintance and knowledge of (Hindu) doctors being threatened and told (by the VHP) not to treat Muslims. 

This most appalling state of affairs can be appreciated and properly understood from the fact that victims and doctors had petitioned the NHRC, pleading for SRP protection within hospitals. This is a sad commentary on the situation in Gujarat during those months, and reflects the depth of communalisation of Gujarati state and society. Muslims were terrified to go to government run hospitals to claim their dead because systematic efforts were made to create an atmosphere of dread and terror there. Menacing groups of Bajrang Dal and VHP youths would stalk the casualty departments of hospitals, 50–60 at a time.

In 1992, this sense of fear did not prevail within hospitals. 
There were countless injuries caused by swords. The mutilation of breasts in the case of women was common. There were some cases of mutilation of the penis. In yet another Vadodara hospital, a doctor conducted 17 post-mortems, the majority of whom were women who had been gang-raped. There were three survivors of gang rape. In one case, the police had intervened and saved the victim from death. A woman from Kheda district who was gang raped, had her head shaved and an Om cut into her head with a knife by the rapists. She died a few days after she was admitted to hospital. There were other instances of Om engraved with a knife on the back and other parts of women’s bodies, as well as of some men. According to the doctors, the deaths of the few Hindus, both men and women, who were admitted to hospital, were of people who had disobeyed prohibitory orders and fell victim to violent circumstances.   

Dr. Ali Shaikh, Vadodara, a witness who appeared before the Tribunal, ran a 15-bed nursing home in a building near the Panigate police station in Vadodara. The building is just five minutes away from the police station, and all the vehicles, mobile vans etc. belonging to the police station were usually parked outside it. Despite this, his clinic and everything inside it, including the ICU and expensive medical equipment, was looted or destroyed on March 1. Two days later, the nursing home was burnt. As of May, the police had not taken any action in the matter. The witness tried to return to the premises about three weeks later and to resume his practice, when he was assaulted by a group of people. He and his son had a narrow escape. 

The Tribunal records with shock and horror that, two-and-a-half months after the crimes, even when insurance officials  visited the building for a survey, the crowd, comprising of local people who lived around the clinic, did not allow them to enter the premises. That these incidents could occur in such close proximity to the Panigate police station makes the whole situation almost farcical. Another community health centre — the Muslim medical centre in Bhoiwada was also destroyed and burnt.

The Gujarat government is culpable of failure to protect the lives of at least 2,000 victims. It is also guilty of failure to provide medical aid and relief to victim-survivors in life–threatening situations. 
To allow the spaces occupied by doctors and hospitals, which are sacred by sheer nature of the job they do, to be vitiated by hate speech and propaganda sounds a serious warning to the extent of percolation of communal ideology in  Gujarat.
The fact that many leaders and perpetrators of the crimes are doctors surely behoves upon the Indian Medical Association to initiate disciplinary action against them for never can the mandate of a doctor, who’s first job is to save and preserve life, become exactly the opposite — of being the one to snatch life away.      

Archived from Communalism Combat, November-December 2002 Year 9  No. 81-82, Communalisation of Public Space, Hospitals

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