Homoeopathy In India
by Dr. Farokh Master
My birth into homoeopathy was by breech presentation. I joined regular medical school way back in 1976, and later I transformed myself as a student of homoeopathy. I served as a member of Central Council of Homoeopathy for more than a decade, thanks to my friend Dr. Sunny Bakshi President of the Central Council of Homoeopathy,who provided tremendous help to me in the course of learning and understanding all about the study of Homoeopathy.
Let us begin our journey from the history of homoeopathy in India. Travelers, missionaries, and military personnel from the West brought Homoeopathy to India as early as 1810. The credit of receiving official patronage goes to Dr. John Martin Honigberger who was called to the Court of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1839 for his treatment. After treating Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Dr. Honingberger settled in Calcutta. This paved the road map for the development of Homoeopathy in this country. It was the state of Bengal which nurtured Homoeopathy in its early period through certain training institutions and treatment centers. The Homoeopathic hospitals in Calcutta were famous for the treatment of intractable diseases. The success of controlling epidemics like cholera and enduring efforts of several stalwart prescribers helped its acceptance in other parts of the country.
Though it is now more than 180 years since Homoeopathy was introduced in India it was only in 1973, when the Homoeopathy Central Council Act was promulgated and the formation of the Central Council of Homoeopathy, that homoeopathy really got a head start in our country. Steps towards standardization of education began only after 1983, when homoeopathic education regulations came into force. In India at present we have more than 180 recognized homoeopathic colleges which are affiliated to respective state universities. To streamline the research in Homoeopathy, a need for planned and organized research was encouraged by the Government of India. As a result, the Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (CCRIMH) was established in 1969 to carry out researches in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani medicine, Yoga and Homoeopathy. The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), one of the successor organizations to the erstwhile CCRIMH was established as an autonomous organization in New Delhi in 1978. Ever since, CCRH remains a unique organization engaged in various research studies in Homoeopathy. These Institutes and Units are carrying out research work as follows:
• To formulate aims and patterns of research on scientific lines in Homoeopathy.
• To initiate, develop, undertake and co-ordinate scientific research in fundamental and applied aspects of Homoeopathy.
• To collaborate research studies with other institutes of excellence towards promotion of Homoeopathy.
• To exchange information with other institutions, associations and societies interested in the objects similar to those of the Central Council and especially in observation and study of diseases.
• To propagate research findings through monographs, journals/workshops & develop audiovisual aids for dissemination of information to the profession & public.
MILESTONES OF DEVELOPMENT OF HOMOEOPATHY IN INDIA
1948: Govt. of India constituted Homoeopathic Enquiry Committee (HEC)
1949: Homoeopathic Enquiry Committee report presented, which recommended constitution of Central Homoeopathy Council
1954: Homoeopathic Advisory Committee formed which advised the Govt. on all matters pertaining to Homoeopathy including education, research, regulation of practice, pharmacopeias, drug manufacture, hospitals & dispensaries, etc.
1955: Special postal cancellation on 10th April, to commemorate Bicentenary celebration of birth anniversary of Dr. Hahnemann, the father of Homoeopathy
1962: Nomination of Honorary Homoeopathic Advisor to Govt. of India
1962: Formation of Indian Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Committee
1964: Rural Homoeopathic Medical Aid Committee formed
1969: Govt. of India established Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (CCRIM&H)
1973: Homoeopathic Central Council Act passed in the Parliament
1974: Formation of Central Council of Homoeopathy to regulate Homoeopathic education and practice
1977: Hahnemann Stamp released in India
1978: CCRIM&H dissolved to form 4 independent research councils, including Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy
1995: Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) formed under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India.
2002: National Policy on Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy formulated
2003: Department of ISM&H renamed as Department of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga & Naturopathy and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
The Truth
It is a sad fact that after 34 long years after the formation of the Central Council of Homoeopathy, the only achievement which we can point out in this area is the stoppage of the Diploma course and the starting of unified Degree Course and P.G. courses. It is unfortunate that not even one of the 183 Homoeopathic Colleges in India today has fulfilled the requirements stipulated in the Minimum Standards of Education Regulations. It may be said that about 1/4th of these colleges have provided some of the requirements stipulated.
More than half of these colleges are still in a pitiable condition. They have neither the infrastructure facilities nor the required staff. Even in those institutions where some infrastructure facilities are available, the arrangements for clinical training are mostly insufficient. Even in the older institutions, the inpatient departments are not functioning nor are the outpatient departments attended by an adequate number of patients. Since clinical training is the most important element in medical education, its absence from Homoeopathic colleges is a serious lacuna in our educational system. Likewise, the scarcity of learned and competent teachers in these colleges is another major shortcoming that we are facing. The profession is not able to attract talented and dedicated teachers because of the prevailing meager salary and poor service conditions.
In early 1990’s an M.D. course in homoeopathy was introduced by the Central Council of Homoeopathy. Unfortunately the present outcome is that it has become more of a money churning racket, where one can procure a degree by just paying a hefty tuition fee, and without even attending lectures or without having seeing a single patient one can directly pass the exam, the results being always above 90%!
The president of Central Council Dr. Sunny Bakshi has really worked hard for more than two decades to up root this corruption for which I give him all the due credit but still it is far from the culmination of the standardization of homoeopathic education in the country.
Summary:
My critical analysis of the state of Homoeopathic education in India today is as follows: Many students who take admission in Homoeopathic colleges do not join out of their own free will and desire. In fact, because they are rejected by the allopathic colleges, they seek admission in homoeopathic colleges. A majority of the students seek admission in homoeopathic colleges as a back-door entry to practice illegal allopathic medicine. As soon as the student finishes his graduation, about 30-40% prefer to work in allopathic hospitals as a house physician, the next 30% work directly as an assistant to allopathic physicians, another 30% takes employment with medical call-centres and still another 10-20% will work in insurance companies doing a clerical job, and the rest, i.e. only 10-15%, practice Homoeopathy. Hence, ultimately it boils down to a select few who heal the patient with homoeopathic science. Since the past one and a half decades, there has been a big turmoil in the field of Homoeopathy. The method of practicing Homoeopathy by the new theories of Kingdoms and Sensations and the method of Predictive Homoeopathy has had a big impact on the new generation, especially in larger Metropol areas where in the beginning practitioners are enthusiastic in pursuing the above methods but later as they mature and see that the results are not persistent or only in a few cases, they lack the enthusiasm to continue and may either quit homeopathy or have to study more in the fundamentals of homeopathic practice. Today we have reached a stage where seats in Homoeopathic colleges are running empty. In the academic year 2007-2008, totally 2000 seats were empty in Homoeopathic colleges all over India.
Dr. Farokh Master was born on February 24th 1957, in Mumbai, India. His email address is: sairam@bom4.vsnl.net.in
He studied homeopathy at the L.C.E.H.(Goldmedallist) and M.D.(Hom.) (University of Rajasthan) Dr. Master practices classical homeopathy full time since 1980. He has taught since 1980 in India, UK, USA, Canada, Norway, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Germany. He is affiliated with the Hahnemann College of Homoeopathy (UK, Canada), London College of Homoeopathy (UK), Norks Akademi for Natumedisin (Oslo), Small Poland Homoeopathic Physicians Associations (Krakow), Magyar Homoeopata Orvosi Egyesulet (Budapest), Osterrichische Gesellschaft fur Homoeopathische Medizin (Vienna).
He is professor of Homeopathic Materia Medica at the Homeopathic Medical College in Bombay. He has authored over 30 books on various homeopathic subjects. Dr. Master is the editor of Homoeopathic Heritage, India. He is also a member of the Central Council of Homoeopathy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Government of India.
Editor’s Note:
It is very interesting to get this perspective from Dr Farokh Masters. Many of us here in the West quote statistics regarding the popularity of homeopathy in India and we all have been influenced by the wealth of information coming from India from many different practitioners over the years. There is no doubt that many Indian homeopaths are making a unique contribution to homeopathic practice. However, it seems that the fundamental structures of homeopathic education are not good and that many people practicing and calling themselves homeopaths are not well trained and do not understand and do not have a deep commitment to homeopathy. It is more a situation of economic necessity. This is not too dissimilar to the state of homeopathy in the United States at the end of the 19th century, when in spite of larger numbers of doctors practicing homeopathy, few were really doing it well. We should hope that the organizations in India can improve on this situation and create excellent teaching institutions to produce the next generation of classical homeopaths.
