NGO seeks information on yoga course, receives RTI reply in Hindi

NGO seeks information on yoga course, receives RTI reply in Hindi 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  09.10.2024

Chennai : Can yoga and naturopathy graduates be registered under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and be allowed to practise medicine when the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) Act 2020 does not include the course in its schedule? On Aug 5, the convenor of a Chennai-based NGO, Arappor Iyakkam, Jayaram Venkatesan, sought a copy of the national and state register of licensed medical practitioners of the Indian system of medicine from Tamil Nadu under the RTI Act.

 “I wanted to know if the commission, a statutory body, is the apex body regulating the practice and education of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa-Rigpa (AUS&SR) allows registra-tion of yoga and naturopathy graduates,” he said. While students joining undergraduate courses in Ayurveda, Unani, or Siddha must have cleared NEET, students are admitted to yoga and naturopathy courses based on merit in Class XII marks. When these students graduate, they are registered in the registry of Indian medicine. “Without registration, candidates will not be allowed to practise medicine. 

We want to know under what law they are being registered,” he told TOI. A month later, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicinelaw office and central public information officer Gyanendra Narayan Sah sent a two-point reply written in Hindi. First, he said national registration numbers have not been provided to Tamil Nadu. He also added that data received from Tamil Nadu is third party information and cannot be shared. “The central govt denying this information, that too in Hindi, is highly condemnable. 

When a question is asked in English, the reply must be in English. Several courts have said this already,” Jayaram said. As a mark of protest, Arappor Iyakkam filed its first appeal to the same department in Tamil on Tuesday. “I am hoping to hear information. Students joining such courses and patients going to these doctors must know if the course is recognised,” he said