Smt. K.K. Shailaja Teacher, Hon’ble Minister for Health,
Dr. Jollykutty Eapen, Principal, Govt. Ayurveda College,
Dr. Raghunathan Nair. C, Superintendent, Govt. Ayurveda College Hospital,
Dr. S. Gopakumar, General Convener, Inizio '19,
Dear Teachers, Parents,
Graduands, students,
Sahodaree Sahodaranmare,
Ellavarkkum Ente Namaskaram.
I am very happy to address you at INIZIO 2019, the Graduation Ceremony of the 44th batch of Doctors at the Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Let me at the outset, congratulate all the 63 young men and women who have qualified to become medical practitioners today. To be educated in a reputed institution like the Government Ayurveda College is a privilege that only very few would get and therefore, I would consider all of you as really fortunate.
Established in 1889 as an Ayurveda Paatasala by the erstwhile ruler of Travancore, Sree Moolam Thirunaal Rama Varma, this institution is credited to be the first official education centre for Ayurveda in Kerala. It was also the first of its kind in India to offer a system of training which differed from the Gurukula system of those days.
I am informed that the process of the transformation of the Ayurveda Paatasala to the Ayurveda College began in 1917 and took four years to complete. That free education was provided to the students till 1932, shows the keen interest on the part of the rulers and the government to promote this system of medicine. Ever since this college was shifted to the present premises, it has been on the path of development both in terms of infrastructure and the quality of treatment offered to people.
Today, there are 14 departments in the college and of them, eleven offer post graduate facility. I am glad to know that the Ayurveda College Hospital has both Inpatient and Outpatient wings, Separate hospitals for Panchakarma and for Women and Childcare management with well-equipped laboratories and other facilities. I appreciate the efforts of the teachers and the supporting staff in maintaining high standards in Ayurvedic medical education in the college and expert health care in the hospital.
Dear young doctors, today is a very important day in your life as it marks the culmination of long years of study and hard work. For your parents and relatives, it will be a moment of pride. But, I am sure that you will realize that qualifying the Bachelor's Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery marks only the beginning of a new phase in your life. This convocation is just a preparation to face a series of events which would test your efficiency in your profession.
As we all know, Ayurveda has been modernizing itself and providing wellness to people not only in India but in other places too. This has helped this system of medicine in gaining a better level of acceptance in society. Yet, we see a certain level of reluctance among medical researchers to accept the modern developments in Ayurveda. This situation can be changed only if we have more authentic avenues for research in Ayurvedic and other native systems of medicine.
I understand that though a research section was established in 1956 in the college, we still do not have adequate number of researchers in Ayurveda in Kerala. This calls for enhancing opportunities for medical research based on Ayurveda, by giving thrust to the publication of research findings. I am happy to know that the new generation of Ayurvedic doctors are discussing methods to venture into Emergency medicine through Ayurveda. This is to be seen as a laudable attempt to keep pace with the new developments in medicine.
Fortunately, the National Health Policy has given priority to bring to the mainstream, the potential of Ayurveda. It also places indigenous medical facilities along with modern systems and recognizes the need to standardize and validate Ayurveda to establish an effective quality control mechanism for drugs. The Government of Kerala has also taken serious policy decisions to promote Ayurveda and other systems of Medicine.
I am certain that the International Research Institute of Ayurveda being set up in the north Kerala, will become the flagship centre of research in Ayurveda in the world. Kerala's commitment towards Indian systems of Medicine is also evident in the State encouraging Ayurvedic dispensaries in all Panchayats and districts.
The young doctors sitting here would be aware of Kerala's plans for strengthening the existing Government Ayurveda Dispensaries by making them Primary Health Centers with modern facilities and the establishment of Ayurvedic wellness centers which incorporate Yoga. All these will succeed only if the young graduates of Ayurveda would willingly take up service in the rural areas. I would request all fresh graduates to pledge to serve our village hospitals at least for five years.
In conclusion, I would remind you that a doctor should be an eternal student with a mind open to other streams of science and medicine. We need to encourage collaborative research in Medical science so that different streams can improve their mutual trust through new factual findings.
I would also request the young graduates here to communicate more with society by sharing scientific and factual medical information so that people are not misled by self-styled healers with half baked knowledge. Qualified doctors should always be ready to fight such trends and to ensure that people get only the most genuine and scientific medical services.
Similarly, you can also educate people about the medicinal plants and encourage every family to grow at least two medicinal plants in their homestead. I say this, because in Kerala Raj bhavan, we have set up a good medicinal plants garden.
I wish you the professional excellence, confidence and above all, a compassionate mind to achieve the goal of winning the people's faith in your abilities as doctors.
I compliment the college authorities for organizing this ceremony in a befitting manner. I once again greet everyone present here and wish them success in their chosen fields of activity.
Ellaavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
