Hippocratic Oath and Charak Shapath

The Dean of Madurai Medical College was removed on May 1 2022 after a batch of new students were administered an oath in Sanskrit attributed to the ancient Indian sage Maharshi Charak instead of the traditional Hippocratic Oath in English.

NMC (which replaced the Medical Council of India as the regulatory body for medical education and practices)  recently suggested that medical colleges may allow their students to take ‘Charak Shapath’ instead of the Hippocratic Oath, historically taken by physicians the world over. This oath is attributed to Hippocrates, a physician from the Greek island of Kos, from the classical period (4th-5th centuries BC). The earliest available fragments of the original oath date back to the late 3rd century AD.

Charak Shapath or Charak’s oath is a passage from the 'Charak Samhita' which is a guideline by the acharya (or a teacher) to medical students. A part of the Shapath comes as a sermon by the Acharya. Charak was one of the principal contributors to Ayurved and was the editor of the medical treatise entitled ‘Charak Samhita’. The compendium serves as one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda. Like many sages in ancient Indian history, Charak’s historicity is unknown. The Samhita however is a pharmacopoeia dating back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. Charak Shapath or Charak’s oath is a passage from the 'Charak Samhita' which is a guideline by the acharya (or a teacher) to medical students. A part of the Shapath comes as a sermon by the Acharya.

The incident triggered a controversy with the language being a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu. The State govt. “will oppose and defeat the efforts to “impose” languages like Hindi and Sanskrit”. Their Health Minister Subramanian said that deans of all medical colleges in the state have been asked to stick to the Hippocratic Oath. 

Undergraduates at All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) — the country’s premier institute for medical education — have been administered the Charak Shapath during their annual convocation for several years now, at least since 2013. The AIIMS oath includes: “Not for the self, not for the fulfilment of any worldly material desire or gain, but solely for the good of suffering humanity, I will treat my patient and excel well”.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reportedly “assured that Charak Shapath will be optional and will not be forced to replace the Hippocratic Oath”.

On May 4, the State Govt. reinstated the Dean of the Madurai Medical College.

My opinion : Tamil Nadu Govt seems to consider itself closer to a Greek Island than to that within India.

https://www.timesnownews.com/education/tamil-nadu-charak-shapath-row-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-from-hippocratic-oath-article-91257708 

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Katchtheevu and India's Territorial Sea Rights

Territorial sea extends to a limit of 12 nautical miles (approx. 22 kms) beyond the coastal landline with full sovereignty over the air space, above the sea, over the seabed and subsoil. Other countries have right of innocent passage through the territorial sea but not of air space.

Katchatheevu is a 163-acre uninhabited island located between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India - traditionally used by fishermen of both countries, and presently administered by Sri Lanka. The island used to be a part of the Ramnad Kingdom in Madurai which, during the British rule, became part of the Madras Presidency. Ownership of the island has been controversial as during the British rule, the island was administered by both countries. In 1921, both Sri Lanka and India laid claims to Katchatheevu.

In 1974, then PM, Indira Gandhi ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement". Another agreement of 1976 was on fishing rights.

The Sri Lankan Navy came into the picture during their Civil War to control the smuggling of weapons by LTTE. With depletion of fish and aquatic life in the Indian continental shelf, more fishermen poached into the Sri Lankan sea area. In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.

The island is important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu and has led to some agitations. The legality of the transfer was challenged in the Supreme Court since the recognizing was not ratified by the Indian Parliament (as provided in the agreement) nor was the State Govt consulted. In June 2011 the CM Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, filed a petition in the Supreme Court that the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka on ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka were unconstitutional. The matter is still sub-judicial.

However, the Indian government had stated, "No territory belonging to India was ceded nor sovereignty relinquished since the area was in dispute and had never been demarcated" and that the dispute on the status of the island was settled in 1974 by an agreement, and both countries took into account historical evidence and legal aspects.

This island Katchatheevu was "gifted" by Indira Gandhi to Sri Lanka in 1974 and is still a matter of dispute with Indian fishermen getting arrested or even killed. Apart from the issue of fishing rights etc. there is, in my view, also the issue of territorial sea extending about 22 km beyond the land, the sovereign rights to the airspace,  over the sea and the seabed below. Distance from India to main Sri Lanka is 55 kms but to Katchatheevu merely 25 kms.

So who has territorial sea rights over the sea between?

https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/katchatheevu-island-a-gift-to-sri-lanka-is-now-causing-fishermens-conflict-564430.html

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Kendriya Vidyalayas

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan aims to set-up  & manage schools under CBSE, for the children of transferable employees of the Government of India, floating populations & others including those living in remote & undeveloped locations of the country. All Kendriya Vidyalayas are co-educational, composite schools. The quality of teaching aims an appropriate teacher-pupil ratio. There is no tuition fee for boys upto Class VIII, girls upto Class XII and SC/ST students and children of KVS employees.

Even today, it's mission statement reads “to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable Central Government including Defence and Para-military personnel by providing a common programme of education”;

https://kvsangathan.nic.in/about-kvs/mission 

Seems anyone and everyone had quotas. Previously, for e.g. an MP was allowed to recommend two admissions in an academic year, increased to five in 2011, six in 2012, and 10 in 2016.  5 seats in each section of class 1 were filled by the children of sponsoring agencies. The Union Education Minister was allowed to recommend admission of 450 students under a separate ‘discretionary’ quota. There were many other “entitlements.” This year’s recommendations apparently exceeded 60,000 with demands for more seats

We in the public sector would recall that admission for our kids, to Kendriya Vidyalayas, was well nigh impossible – our transfers were not recent enough or frequent enough to make us entitled.  

These quotas have now been generally scrapped. 👏👏👏  This is expected to free over 40,000 seats in the centrally-funded schools across India. Some criteria have been added or continue.

KVS will now be having seats for children who have been orphaned due to the covid-19 pandemic. There is provision for single girl children. There are quotas for Armed Forces

Children of serving KVS employees will also be considered for admission  but for class 9, the child has to clear the admission test. No admission to the wards of retired persons.

Children of central govt employees who died in harness, children of recipients of various gallantry wards, meritorious sports children etc can get admission.

https://www.news18.com/news/education-career/kendriya-vidyalaya-admissions-mp-edu-ministry-quotas-gone-covid-19-orphans-added-check-new-rules-for-kvs-5062075.html

Next : Katchtheevu and India's Territorial Sea Rights

Previous : Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

In general, in India, all of us have grown up using home remedies coming from traditional knowledge. To us it is neither unusual nor spectacular. In developed countries however, such usage is limited. A classic example is of the attempt to patent the use of haldi. As also, in part, that of Neem or Basmati rice. These gave all of us quite a shock. 

On 19th April this year, PM Modi, along with WHO DG Dr Ghebreyesus and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth laid the foundation stone for the WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar in Gujarat. The first of its kind, the GCTM will be a global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world

"When India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence right now, this ground-breaking ceremony for this centre marks the beginning of a new era of traditional medicine in the world during the next 25 years," Modi said on this occasion. "Looking at the increasing popularity of holistic healthcare, I am confident that traditional medicine and this centre will help thought  become very important for each and every family of the world after 25 years, when India will be celebrating 100 years of independence

The GCTM is a knowledge centre for traditional medicine. As part of WHO’s overall traditional medicine strategy, it has a strategic focus on evidence and learning, data and analytics, sustainability and equity, and innovation and technology to optimize the contribution of traditional medicine to global health and sustainable development. At the same time, respect for local heritages, resources and rights is a guiding principle.

The WHO anticipate that harnessing the potential of traditional medicine would be a game changer for health when founded on evidence, innovation and sustainability. India’s support for establishing  the Centre as a global good and in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam: the world is one family.

https://www.who.int/news/item/25-03-2022-who-establishes-the-global-centre-for-traditional-medicine-in-india

Jamnagar already has the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, (ITRA). Established in 1967, ITRA or Gujarat Ayurved University is the first university to offer education and training in the field of Ayurveda across the world. The institution was formed by an act approved by Gujarat State legislative Assembly in the year 1965. It is devoted to Ayurvedic studies and Research and is administratively associated with the Health Ministry at State and Centre level. This university is a self-governing institution supported by the Government of Gujarat State.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/foundation-stone-for-who-traditional-medicine-centre-laid-in-jamnagar/article65336264.ece

Next :  Kendriya Vidyalayas

Previous : Endometriosis

Endometriosis

Amrita is a very close friend of my daughter since their school days. She recently underwent endometriosis excision surgery but to get there has been a very long and painful journey. She has written about it in the hope that it spreads awareness about this debilitating condition that affects hundreds of millions of women around the world.

https://medium.com/@amritarajagopal/is-this-thing-on-e0681392ba85

Do read the link

Next : Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

Previous: Some Issues with Halal Certification