A debate has cropped up in the medical circles after the Undergraduate Medical Education Board of the National Medical Commission (NMC) suggested that a centuries-old code of ethics for medical practitioners, the Greek origin Hippocratic oath, be replaced with home grown ‘charak shapath’ during the graduation ceremony of doctors in medical colleges from the new academic session starting 14 February.

“No Hippocratic Oath. During white coat ceremony (with parents) the oath will be ‘Maharishi Charak Shapath’ present in the NMC website,” reads the minutes of the NMC discussion held on 7 February with all medical colleges of India, and circulated on social media. Another proposal is to have a 10-day compulsory Yoga session.

Expressing strong disapproval, the medical unit of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) vehemently opposed the idea. “The idea of the country’s regulatory body for undergraduate medical education to replace the practice with a narrow nationalistic oath is shocking. The decision, which was taken in an NMC meeting on 7 February, most of which, is unscientific, anti-students and completely motivated. We strongly oppose this,” said Dr Sams Mushafir, the convener of the unit.

A member of the West Bengal state committee of the AIDSO Dr Dipak Giri said the Hippocratic Oath is an ethical code for fresh medical graduates that has been practiced for a long time. “For centuries, doctors across the world have been administered this oath at a time when they are on the verge of entering the world of patient care. It had been updated many times, especially since the Geneva declaration of 1948. The Hippocratic Oath dating back to Greek philosopher and physician Hippocrates, forms the edifice of modern medicine. It has a universal appeal.

“The oath is taken during the convocation ceremony as a guide to conduct medical practice. But the BJP-RSS are encouraging the charak shapath, displaying the traditional system of Indian medicine, while darkening the future of medical students,” Dr Giri said.

Some doctors argued that the ‘charak shapath’ was unsuitable for ethical practice of modern medicine. They believe that there was a sense of caste hegemony and discrimination in it. Besides taking the ‘charak shapath’, all MBBS freshers would need to go through 10 days of yoga training for an hour a day, as per the proposal.

“It is another attempt in the name of tradition. Everybody knows that yoga cannot be learnt in 10 days. It is a ploy to make medical students take part on yoga day in institutes and thus be part of the BJP-RSS design,” Dr Giri said. He further criticized the other proposals in the meeting like subjects that can be bilingual/ trilingual. “Medical education is completely based on the English language and there is no problem over the years on this. But with the possibility of introduction of the bilingual/trilingual system, they are trying to wedge a division among students,” he added.

The AIDSO also slammed a proposal for an ‘exit exam’, the foundation course for six months or one year. “The move is to demean modern medical science and a conspiracy to saffronise medical education and create fascist mindset. We appeal to the students to step forward for intense movements and teachers to extend their support and participate in the movement,” said AIDSO state council member Dr Soumyadip Roy.