SPEECH OF HON'BLE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, SHRI BANWARILAL PUROHIT ON THE OCCASION OF INAUGURATION OF AYURVED PARV AT CHANDIGARH ON NOVEMBER 12, 2021

It is hearting that All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi in collaboration with its Chandigarh Chapter is organizing AYURVED PARV at Chandigarh, the capital of both Punjab and Haryana also a Union Territory by itself.

Ayurved Mahasammelan is one of the oldest organizations of Ayurvedic Vaidyas which was founded in 1907 at Nasik by Vaidya Shiromani Shankar Da ji Pade. This organization has been organizing these Ayurved Parvs in Various parts of the country since inception aimed at generating awareness amongst people about our own ancient Ayurvedic System of Medicine.

Ayurveda, as a science, as we all know, belongs to India. It is the oldest surviving system of medicine in the world. Its origins have been traced back more than 5000 years. It is believed that the concepts of Ayurveda were known to the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. The science was significantly developed during the Vedic period of our history. It is unfortunate that Ayurveda, as a science, had been suppressed for a long period when India was under colonial rule - due to which training and education in this ancient science suffered.

Ayurved can certainly play an important role to provide preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care services to the people. It needs to be utilized to its full potential. We have yet to see when we have mobile clinics providing Ayurvedic treatment and medicine in the remote parts of India. I would particularly like to encourage the youth of India to study, safeguard, practice and propagate this ancient knowledge system.

Ayurveda should not be regarded as merely a system of healthcare: it is, rather, a set of disciplines that work together to create balance and harmony within us. It is based on the perception that life represents a relationship between the atma or soul, mana or mind, indriya or senses and sarira or body.

It is a unique combination of science and philosophy for balancing the body?s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components. Ayurvedic doctors believe that this equilibrium is necessary for good health. Creating such a balance helps to heal the sick, to maintain the health of those who are well, and to prevent disease and promote quality of life.

Government of India is emphatically popularising the Ayurved and other systems of Indian Medicine. If people are awakened about the strengths of this System and are convinced about its usage in day to day life, morbidity and mortality can be reduced to a greater extent.

Ayurved health care institutions with adequate infrastructure and human resource need to be strengthened. Capacity building program for AYUSH workforce for this purpose must also be initiated. We need to adopt performance based incentives and promotions to encourage the staff posted in the Government Ayurvedic Institutions.

Similarly Quality and standardization of Ayurvedic Medicines needs to be taken care of to raise the trust of general public in the system of Ayurved. The Ayurvedic Pharmacies should be regulated as per Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and rules 1945. Drug Testing Laboratories, which tests Ayurvedic Medicines, needs to be equipped with required equipment, infrastructure and human resources.

I personally feel the existing Ayurved Education System like other medical systems should be research oriented. Ayurveda students should be encouraged and guided for contributing and presenting their papers in various research journals and conferences.

I hope newly established National Commission for Indian System of Medicine will serve this purpose and refurbish the Ayurved Education System in the country.

I recall, when the then Prime Minister Sh. P.V Narsimha Rao in my presence in year 1993, while addressing the plenary session of All India Ayurvedic Congress at Nagpur, my hometown, announced that there will be a separate department of Indian System of Medicine. The separate department was later established in the year 1995.

Our former Prime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpai ji established AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy and now a full-fledged AYUSH Ministry now successfully functional under the guidance of our Hon'ble Prime Minister Sh. Narender Modi ji.

To conclude, I once again congratulate the organizers for organizing such an event and express my gratitude for having invited me over.

Thank You

Jai Hind.