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Dean Removed After Tamil Nadu Medical Students Take Controversial Oath
Writer: Snehadri Sarkar
While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
Tamil Nadu, 2 May 2022 8:26 AM GMT
Editor : Ankita Singh |
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While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
'Charak Shapath' is a specific passage of text in Charaka Samhita, a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda. This oath, which has numerous contentious conditions like practising asceticism during student life, is a precondition to being oriented in the science of medicine.
In Tamil Nadu's Madurai, the Dean of the government medical college was put on "compulsory wait" and transferred after he allowed first-year students to take a controversial pledge in Sanskrit instead of the traditional Hippocratic Oath. The health authorities of the state stated that medical students then took the Sanskrit oath "Charak Shapath" English translation during their induction ceremony on April 30. Meanwhile, the Dean has claimed that these students took the oath independently.
On the back of this incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Narayanan Thirupathy stated that the decision to remove the Dean was a political move.
"Hippocratic oath is a westernised way of taking the pledge. NMC recommended the old Indian way of medicine (Maharshi Charak Shapath). Unnecessary politics should be avoided," NDTV quoted Thirupathy as saying.
He also added that the central government has said that it is optional, then why should they suspend Dean? Thirupathy also claimed that DMK has "always loved the westernised model".
However, state health authorities claimed that the Dean, A Rathinavel, should have been painstaking in this "sensitive issue".
"His claim that medicos chose to do this on their own is unacceptable. Even the medical commission says medicos will not be forced to take oath in Sanskrit," it stated.
Hippocratic Oath Controversy
'Charak Shapath' is a specific passage of text in Charaka Samhita, a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda. This oath, which has numerous contentious conditions like practising asceticism during student life, is a precondition to being oriented in the science of medicine.
One of those instructions is to treat females only in the presence of a Brahmin/a male member of the family. The Tamil Nadu Health Minister has already instructed the Director of Medical Education in the state to kickstart an investigation.
Meanwhile, the state government has also released a circular to medical hospitals and colleges to only take the age-old Hippocratic Oath.
During this above-mentioned induction ceremony, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, District Collector Dr S. Aneesh Sekhar, Medical College Principal, Dr A Rathinavel and Minister of Commercial Taxes P. Moorthy were all present.
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