EXTREMELY DEPLORABLE CONDITION OF HOMOEOPATHY IN INDIA.
Will it please your Excellency.
The present condition of homoeopathy in this country deserves Your Excellencys best and most serious attention. Homoeopathy is now undoubtedly a recognised system of medical treatment all over the civilised world. The Republican Governments of the United States of America, France, Germany the birth place of homoeopathy, where its founder, Samuel Fredric Hahnemann lived and made his discovery, and in many other parts of Europe, America, Africa, Australia, New-Zealand, homoeopathy holds an honorable position and is recognised by the State. But, here in India, its condition is extremely deplorable.
Neglect of Homoeopathy in India.
If homoeopathy has not been recognised by the Indian Government as yet, it is not for any intrinsic defects if its own, but decidedly for want of sympathy from those who hold the reigns of the Government in their hands. For the last three or four years, tremendous efforts are being made by all sections of people in his country, to help homoeopathy in receiving its recognition from the State. Sometime back, Mr. Ghyasuddin, a member of the Central Assembly from the Punjab, moved a resolution there which was passed by the majority of the members present but inspite of this, the purport of this resolution remains unfulfilled as yet.
Still homoeopathy, with all its utility and suitability in the treatment of patients who suffer and die in their thousands during the epidemics of cholera, plague and influenza, has not been introduced in the municipal and district board dispensaries and hospitals. Homoeopathy has not got any place upto this time in the civil, military and railway hospitals and dispensaries of this country. This, no doubt, is a very great obstacle in the way of the spread of the true type of homoeopathy in India.
The Government of India as well as the provincial Governments cannot deny that the demand for the recognition of homoeopathy by the State has been very persistent for the last 3 or 4 years both by the laity as well as by the profession itself. Hundreds of M.L. A.S. in different provincial legislatures have put in their resolutions for the recognition of homoeopathy by the State and for the introduction of homoeopathic treatment in the medical institutions of the Government. Homoeopathic Medical Faculty Bills are on the anvils of almost every legislature in the provinces.
Indian Poverty and Homoeopathy
It will have to be boldly admitted that the reasons which the Government are putting forth in this connection are not sound. India is a proverbially poor country. Its industrial and agricultural resources are still undeveloped. As a results of this, the village as well as the city people who fall ill in season or out of season have to go without treatment. It has been observed that homoeopathy in rural as well as in urban areas is doing wonders in relieving and curing the millions of masses even while it is being handled by quacks and men of defective knowledge about Homoeopathy.
How wise it would have been on the part of our Government if it would have introduced homoeopathy at least for the treatment of millions of masses in rural areas whom I have seen during like flies during the epidemics of cholera, plague and influenza and other fell diseases without any sort of treatment for their utter poverty and misery. Injections and quinine treatment are very costly for the poor villagers, however great the safeguards of the medical department of the Government may be to protect them from the ravages of this costly treatment.
It is common experience that these poor villages have to fall a prey into the hands of medical staff and officers who often extract the price of medicine and treatment from these poverty- stricken people in order to show a margin of saving in the expense of the Government. If the much cheaper system of homoeopathy was adopted, there would have been facilities for both the doctors and the patients. It goes without saying that the introduction of homoeopathy as a State-recognised system of medical treatment would at once go a long way to remove unemployment in the educated classes.
Regard must be paid also to the fact that in addition to removing unemployment, homoeopathy, owing to its measured and definite dose of medicine, has saved the people from the disastrously evil effects of medication and drugging. It is particularly on this reasoning that homoeopathy is finding its popularity in western countries such as Europe and America.
Not only homoeopathy, but all systems of Naturopathy such as Leu-Kohini bath treatment and other sorts of Hydropathy, the milk treatment, the sun bath treatment, the whey treatment and open air treatment have received popularity in Europe and America. While here in India, Allopathy and other drugging and medicating systems of treatment have just entered the domain of medicine, in western countries people being tired of them are trying to get rid of them in order to save themselves from the evil effects of the repeated injections and heavy medication and drugging.
Need for recognition of Homoeopathy
May I take this opportunity to draw the most serious attention of Your Excellency to the above phase of medical treatment if Indian and request you earnestly to make use of your prerogatives in making homoeopathy a State recognised system of medical treatment in this country.
Either you should be kind enough to introduce the study of homoeopathy in the existing medical colleges of India by creating special chairs for homoeopathic Materia Medica, philosophy, and practice of medicine and all the syllabuses of study that are prevalent in the college and universities of Europe and America, or new colleges professing to impart education on the art and science of Homoeopathy should be inaugurated in this country at the earliest possible opportunity.
This can be done by passing the Homoeopathic Medical Faculty Bills that are just now pending before the different provincial legislatures, into an Act. There is not other royal road to the recognition of homoeopathy than this. The apathy and indifference of the Government of Indian have proved simply unbearable and homoeopathy is being handled to-day by people who have been unsuccessful in the departments of law, education and other government services.
Men having received no education or scientific knowledge are being seen to-day handling homoeopathy. The idea with them is that homoeopathic medicines, if they would not do any good, then they would not do any harm as they are tiny innocent pills. This is a pure delusion.
There are to-day homoeopathic colleges which sell degrees to those to get them without being required to undergo any training even the ABC. of this science, thus deceiving the public who are ignorant of the real worth of such men. Some of these colleges,in order to play their deception upon the public mind quite surely, are registered by the Government. Here lies the share of the present British Government in the impairment of health and welfare of the public whom these colleges, registered by the Government, dupe very easily.
It is high time that Excellency pay very close attention to these conditions prevailing in connection with Homoeopathy in this country and make amends in it at your earliest possible convenience.
I beg to subscribe myself
Your Excellencys Most Obedient Servant,
Biswanath Mukerjee M.L.A.,
President, All-India Homoeopathic
Medical Association, Gorakhpur.
