MyVoice: Views of our readers 17th February 2022

KTR plays a Good Samaritan

Apropos "KTR offers Rs 5 lakh to poor girl for MBBS" (THI, 15.02.22). Once again KTR has shown his kind-natured personality to the rest of politicians, by offering Rs 5 lakh to a poor girl who secured an MBBS seat in a medical college being run by Malla Reddy group of institutions. The poor girl hails from a village Rajapur of Kamanpur mandal of Peddapalli district met him at Pragathi Bhavan along with her family members and expressed her inability to pay the admission fee. Having heard about her poverty and her inability to join the institute, he offered her help and encouraged her by promising that he would also help her in future. This is a good gesture seen in KTR, and will also inspire others that they should follow a principle called 'payback system.' Don't we need more politicians like KTR?

Dr Venkat Avula, Hyderabad

Include both Hippocratic Oath, Charak Shapath

The National Medical Council's proposal to replace mandatory Hippocratic Oath with Charak sapath that has to be taken by would-be medical practitioners, at their entry into professional course or at graduation ceremony, is unnecessary. Hippocrates is considered to be the father of modern medicine worldwide and the oath in his name is made the pledge for medical practitioners for many generations across the globe. In whoever name it may be, the ethics and values are same for the noble profession. We all Indians can be proud of great doctors like Charak and Sushrut of ancient India, who were equally as great as Hippocrates. But it cannot be right to replace or belittle one for another. Instead the Charak Shapath can also be included with Hippocratic oath, which would take hardly five minutes more to be recited.

Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram

II

Some argue that the contents of both oaths is same, so there is no harm in changing the oath into an Indian one with its culture. Most of the allopathic medicos feel they do not want to deviate from international medical oath. Moreover, they feel that slowly Ayurveda will dominate allopathy with a great threat to allopathy going down as second grade. As a midway I feel it is better to adopt both Hippocratic and Charak Shapath simultaneously so that old system is continued and new one is introduced and this is to avoid confrontation. But before switching to Charak Shapath it is better to involve Indian Medical Association and other stakeholders of allopathic medical sciences and discuss at length and get unanimous decision. None is against promoting Ayurveda but not at the cost of allopathy.

Dr Jayaprakash Reddy, Nalgonda

Biased remark by AIMIM chief

The prediction by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi that one day a hijab-clad girl will become Prime Minister of the country speaks of his Taliban tinted mentality to be overtly communal despite living in India and enjoying privileges as an MP from Hyderabad. Owaisi, perhaps, seems to have forgotten that many talented intellectuals and scientists are already part of the social, cultural and political milieu of the country, without being discriminated against on religious considerations. But the hijab adage used by Owaisi tells of his sick Islamist mindset that is devoid of India's great religious freedom being enjoyed by all religious groups, which Owaisi has unfortunately missed out.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad

Yoga key to health and success

Breath is the key link between body and mind. Effective breathing brings health to our organs, balances the nervous system, and calms the mind. The traditional practices of yoga lays great emphasis on the importance of breathing in the form of pranayama. The ancient practice of meditation with the Gayatri mantra was traditionally done along with pranayama. Yoga is a simple four-letter word that to me means bringing about a change in our body and mind through the medium of breath in order to achieve what was unachievable before. We are bombarded with stimuli and this loads the body and mind with stress. If not dealt with, the stress releases toxins in our body and brings out various diseases. We all know that the body and mind have to work together in balance, to live a healthy life. Asanas, pranayama and meditation are techniques we can incorporate in our daily life. It is time to end all our tensions and live a healthy and stress-free life.

CK Subramaniam, Mumbai