Modi's 'Yoga ministry' stirs doubts among scientists

November 25, 2014 01:11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thrown his weight behind the India's traditional systems of medicine earlier this month by creating the Ministry for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.

Among its stated goals is to promote educational standards, quality control and standardization of drugs.

Modi -- who is said to begin each day by practising yoga -- made a pitch for declaring an 'international yoga day' in a speech at the United Nations in September. The initiative was backed by 130 countries.

While homoeopathy originated in Europe, and unani is a version of ancient Greek medicine, India also has native medical traditions.

These include siddha, which originated in southern India as early as 10,000 years ago, and ayurveda, which dates back to the sixth century bc or earlier.

The Modi government contends that Indian systems of medicine were suppressed during colonial times and were marginalized after India gained independence at the hands of anglicized elites.

Although many Indians still use such systems along with folk healing practices especially in rural areas, their integration into modern medicine faces high hurdles and stiff resistance.

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