The wheel definitely appears to have come full circle, probably the element of acceleration has been watched sprouting from countries other than from its origin, India – in our ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. We are yet to at least take pride in the historical fact that Indian Ayurved system of medicine is the oldest medical institution in the world where it dates back to thousands of years, to be precise more than 5000 years. Why did it not flourish to emerge as the top most, preferred and most successful system of medicine in the world, obviously cannot be dealt with in these columns being due to innumerable causes and historical upheavals including forcible destruction of the recorded manuscripts and varied knowledge about full treatment of even most dreaded diseases. The iconic Ayurvedic medical wizards known by the names of Dhanwantri, Bhardhwaj and others’ contribution in the field of Ayurved and Agnivesh’s developing of fundamental Ayurvedic text of internal medicine, etc may have gone in the oblivion of historical events but they have left reminiscences back which do exist till date though in much negligent measure but enough to be tapped and explored to make Ayurved successfully compete with other existing systems. It is heartening to note that Government of India is determined to give a big boost to this system of medicine in Jammu and Kashmir.
Not only promoting and popularising Ayurved, integrated research on most scientific lines too is proposed to be made so that people of the Union Territory in particular, stood benefitted. Holding of brain storming seminars like the one organised recently by Regional Ayurved Research Institute for Urinary Disorders (RARIUD) on Ayurved and Integrated Medicines and its contemporary relevance on “AYUSH and Integrative medicine- scope and challenges “paves more ways and avenues to popularise, promote and propagate this most ancient system of medicine. The Union Minister of State for Ayush Sripad Nayak who attended this seminar along with MoS in PMO’s office Dr. Jitendra Singh and Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu lent more relevance to the scope and aim of such seminars under the PM’s outreach programme where merely not only discussions and debates on Ayurved took place but certain goals, proposals and targets too were fixed as to how Ayurved could be promoted in a considerable way.
We know that the forests of Jammu and Kashmir were blessed with a lot of potential of medicinal plants, shrubs and trees. These needed to be tapped under a well designed programme, grown in other favourable areas and exploited on commercial lines which was felt and expressed duly by the Union Ministers too and for which a research institute was set up in Bhadarwah in Jammu region. Such programmes under the PM’s outreach ambit are reported to be organised in more numbers where all Ministries of Union Government were scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir one by one so that ultimately people of the UT stood benefitted out of such public welfare programmes. We may add that agreeably such events were laced with focussing on promoting Ayurved but still much was needed in this direction to be done in a sustained manner where targets under various facets and areas of the medicine system were to be set and steps taken to achieve them. That, usual side effects of these medicines and the characteristics of reaching to the roots of the causes of the ailment and allied benefits, needed to be properly propagated. Marketability and research, grading and patenting of such medicines, inducting more members of the farming community in growing these medicinal plants were some of the measures needing more focusand attention.
What happened to the established practice of bringing more and more people “from outside” in the then state to establish Research Institutes and industry in Jammu and Kashmir as in Maharajas’ rule under flexible provisions of the State Subject norms which were later altogether stopped by successive State Governments, was the moot question asked by Dr. Jitendra Singh due to which Ayurved too suffered. In other words, all such accruing benefits were denied to people by such political considerations which now stood reversed and the field was open for more work and investment to be done in promoting Ayurved system of medicine. We only hope substantial turn around in the entire gamut of promoting Ayurved in Jammu and Kashmir.
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