Nearly 700 scientists, technologists and practitioners of Indian systems of medicine have sent an Appeal to the Prime Minister requesting full and effective use of Indian Medical Systems for the prevention and treatment of Covid 19 on behalf of the PPST Group. The list of signatories includes 11 Padma Shree and 3 Padma Bhushan awardees.

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The signatories include 210 Ph.D.’s most of them in Science, Technology and Engineering fields and 300 practitioners of the Indian systems of medicine, of which 46 are from the Siddha stream of Tamil Nadu. The practitioners who have signed the appeal are from all parts of India, including from remote towns of several States. Many of them have themselves treated COVID patients in their routine practice. Nearly 20 senior practitioners of the modern system of medicine have also signed this appeal.

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Several of the signatories are leaders within their respective fields of endeavour including retired and serving directors of major institutions, distinguished professors and several retired Secretaries and Chief Secretaries to the Government of India and the State Governments.

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The Appeal lists several highly successful and large-scale initiatives where Indian systems of medicine have been used effectively both for the prevention and cure of the COVID 19 disease. These initiatives have been undertaken both by Government institutions and individual practitioners in different parts of the country. The Appeal suggests that the success of these initiatives should naturally lead to the inclusion of these systems in the regular health-care practice of India. Such large-scale deployment of Indian systems of medicine is necessary for providing the patients with the best available therapies. It shall also provide the synergy to significantly improve our public health care facilities. Most importantly, such large scale use of indigenous systems shall lead to the generation of enormous data to scientifically establish the safety and efficacy of these systems.

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The appeal has been initiated by the PPST (Patriotic and People-oriented Science and Technology) Group. This is a group of mainly scientists and technologists who came together in the early eighties to work towards making S&T in India more functional and connected with the Indian needs and requirement. In the process, they came to believe that to achieve this end, it is important to study and promote Indian knowledge and practice of S&T in various fields. Members of the Group have done significant work in studying the history, epistemology, prevalence and practical efficacy of several disciplines of the traditional Indian S&T.

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From the response that this Appeal has received from different sections of high professionals, it seems that there is much feeling in favour of urgently introducing Indian systems of medicine as part of an integrated health care system, especially during these difficult times. There is a feeling that times of a great calamity are also periods of great national opportunity. We have a rare opportunity to integrate the indigenous knowledge and heritage of healthcare into the formal healthcare systems of India. The signatories to this Appeal feel that the nation should gratefully accept this opportunity and utilise it to the fullest extent.