Each of the six new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will have an integrated department on Indian system of medicine focusing on Ayurveda, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.
“The old, allopathy orientation of AIIMS is out of sync with the contemporary trend of integrating indigenous and western forms of cure,” he said at Rishikesh after visiting the new AIIMS and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yoga Pitha Besides Rishikesh, five more new AIIMS are coming up in Bhopal, Patna, Raipur, Bhubaneswar and Jodhpur.
While these six are in an advanced stage of completion, another five AIIMS are in the pipeline in Andhra Pradesh, Vidarbha, West Bengal and UP.
“I wish to give yoga, along with Ayurveda, unani, siddha and homoeopathy pride of place in the AIIMS system. All the six new AIIMS will be dynamic institutions of integrated medicine in the years to come,” Vardhan said.
Doctors, who do not wish to be quoted to contradict the minister, have expressed doubt on the utility of unani, siddha and homoeopathy in a super-speciality hospital. On Ayurveda, they are almost unanimous in scientifically validating the medicines described in ancient texts.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks