'Charak Shapath' to replace Hippocratic Oath?

New Delhi: The Hippocratic Oath - a centuries-old code of ethics for medical practitioners worldwide - may be scrapped in India, in favour of the homegrown 'charak shapath', if reports of the result of a meeting of the National Medical Commission - which regulates medical education in the country - are true. An yet unverified document - minutes of a meeting regarding first year medical students, for whom classes begin Monday - says "no Hippocratic Oath. During white coat ceremony... the oath will be 'Maharishi Charak Shapath'...".

Students may also face "compulsory 10 days of yoga (in the) morning on (an) empty stomach". It is unclear if these changes have already been effected and the government has yet to respond. NMC members, however, have been quoted by some publications as saying nothing has been decided.

Widely seen as establishing principles of medical ethics that remain valid to this day, such as confidentiality and nonmaleficence - swearing the ancient Greek oath is more than symbolic in some jurisdictions, it is a legal requirement and violations can carry criminal liabilities.

The 'charak shapath', meanwhile, is attributed to Maharishi Charaka, who is seen as a major contributor to Ayurveda and the author of the medical treatise 'Charaka Samhita'.

The possibility of the Hippocratic Oath - one of the more iconic texts and symbols associated with doctors anywhere in the world - being replaced has triggered protests and accusations of the 'saffronisation' of medical education in India, as well as messages of support.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was in the former camp, asking why the two oaths could not co-exist.

"Many doctors are expressing concern. I am all in favour of introducing Indian elements into Indian education, but not at the expense of universal values and standards. Why can't the 'charak shapath' supplement, rather than supplant, the Hippocratic Oath that doctors worldwide take?"

The potential scrapping of the Hippocratic Oath also drew a sharp response from the Congress' Kerala unit, which called it an "...attempt to saffronise medical education as per the wishes of RSS. Hippocratic Oath that captures the universal ethics and values can't be changed."

Dr Shama Mohamed, a dentist by training and the Congress' national spokesperson, tweeted: "I took the Hippocratic Oath and ask all future doctors to take the same oath. Say 'no' to 'charak shapath'."