President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday regretted that ”some people” take advantage of people’s faith in Ayurveda and cheat innocent people by spreading misleading information and making false claims about this traditional system of medicine. This not only harms money and health of the public but also defames Ayurveda.

Noting that the people in India have an unwavering faith in Ayurveda from generation to generation, she said more and more qualified doctors are needed so that people do not have to go to uneducated doctors.

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Addressing the seventh foundation day of the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), President Murmu was happy to note that in the past few years, the number of Ayurveda colleges and students has increased significantly. She expressed confidence that in the coming times, the availability of qualified Ayurvedic doctors will increase further.

Ayurveda, she noted, is one of the oldest medical systems in the world. It is India’s invaluable gift to the world. Ayurveda emphasises holistic health management while maintaining a balance between mind, body and spirit.

The President said, ”We have always been aware of the medicinal value of the trees and plants around us and have been using them. In tribal society, the tradition of knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants has been even richer. But as society embraced modernity and moved away from nature, we stopped using that traditional knowledge. It became easier to get medicine from a doctor than adopt home remedies. Now awareness among people is increasing. Today, the idea of an Integrative System of Medicine is becoming popular all over the world. Different medical systems are helping to provide health to people as complementary systems to each other.”

She said ”the development of Ayurveda will not only be beneficial for humans but also for animals and the environment. Many trees and plants are becoming extinct because we do not know about their utility. When we know their importance, we will preserve them”.

The President said that people associated with different systems of medicine often claim that their system is the best. It is good to have healthy competition among themselves but there should be no attempt to criticise each other. There should be a sense of cooperation among people associated with different systems of medicine. ”The aim of all is to do good to humanity by curing the patients. We all pray ‘Sarve Santu Niramayah’ – everyone should be free from diseases.

”We have to focus on research and continuous improvement in the quality of medicines to ensure the relevance of Ayurveda. We also need to empower the Ayurveda educational institutions,” she added.