Students of government Nizamia Tibbi College in Hyderabad’s Charminar have been on a hunger strike since Monday morning to protest against a recent government notification, which the students and medical practitioners claim will end the different traditions of alternative medicine: Unani, Homeopathy and Naturopathy. The students are likely to continue for another 24 hours.
As per the government order, candidates who studied Unani, Homoeopathy and Yoga are not eligible to apply for the positions of Mid-Level Health Professionals (MLHP) and the existing MLHPs with the same background will be terminated from duty after their term ends.
This move is being done to promote Ayurveda, the students and medical practitioners allege while concurrently abolishing other alternative practices. They claim that this is going to be the end of careers for several practitioners of the traditional disciplines, leaving them unemployable.
“We have come here fairly through competitive exams. We wrote NEET to come here but now we are being sidelined,” a final year Unani student of Government Nizamia Tibbi College, Hajra Fatima, told the Siasat.com.
Students of GNTC on Wednesday had given a letter to Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi which he later submitted to the Centre.
Remarking that cancelling other forms of alternative medicine and only retaining Ayurveda under ‘AYUSH’ is nothing but discrimination,” Dr Zubair Alam, a house surgeon, told Siasat that they are protesting against the scheme of the National Health Ministry (NHM). “Until now ‘AYUSH’ and ‘Allopathy’ were given the same importance and students were recruited equally but this year those who study Unani, Homeopathy and Naturopathy, etc. are being termed ‘not eligible’ in AYUSH, and those who are on jobs related to these fields are being terminated.”
Dr Susherita from homoeopathy, who was appointed as a CHO under PHC Srirangavaram in Malkajgiri district has been terminated from her job alongside other colleagues. She told Siasat.com, “The government took all the services from us in the last one and half years and they are now saying that they don’t need our services. This is not fair.”
Telangana commissioner of AYUSH, Dr Prashanti, has visited the campus of GNTC on Friday, explaining the students that the matter is not in the hands of the state government.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
