NEW DELHI: In a move likely to intensify the debate over the status of traditional medicine practitioners, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has warned that calling duly registered AYUSH doctors “quacks” or “bogus doctors” has no legal basis and could violate their legal and constitutional rights.The commission said it had come to its notice that qualified practitioners holding recognised degrees in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa were being subjected to harassment, defamation and false characterisation through public notices, print and electronic media, social media platforms and other public forums.The NCISM said practitioners registered with the appropriate State Medical Councils for Indian Medicine and recognised under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and the NCISM Act, 2020, are legally recognised medical practitioners. It said the NCISM Act provides the statutory framework for regulating education, ethics and professional practice in Indian systems of medicine and confers legal rights and responsibilities on registered practitioners.”There is no legal basis for describing such registered practitioners as ‘quacks’ or ‘bogus doctors’,” the commission said, adding that any individual, institution, media organisation or authority publicly using such terms may be acting contrary to the legal recognition granted under the NCISM Act, 2020, and may be infringing upon the practitioners’ professional and constitutional rights.
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Reiterating its position, the commission said all duly qualified and registered practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine are legally recognised healthcare professionals and are entitled to the rights, protections and professional respect accorded to them under the law.The NCISM’s stand is also consistent with the Centre’s responses in Parliament, where the Ministry of AYUSH has repeatedly distinguished between unrecognised persons posing as AYUSH practitioners, who are liable for penal action under the law, and duly qualified and registered practitioners recognised under the NCISM Act.
