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A two-day National conference on ‘Ancient wisdom of Siddha medicine in preventive and promotive health care’ was organized by Central Council of Research in Siddha in association with National Institute of Siddha, Minister Ayush, Govt. of India and Directorate of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy, as a part of seventh Siddha day post event on 28 &29th of Feb 2024 at Kalaivanar arangam, Chennai.
Dr. S. Selvarajan-Program officer CCRS (RO Siddha/Sci-IV) welcomed the gathering and issued opening remarks, followed by Dr. N.J. Muthukumar (Director General CCRS), who delivered keynote address. He emphasized that its time to look into traditional ways of healing and apply them in modern practices. He mentioned Siddha system as a guiding light to take care of ourselves in a holistic way in order to attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual asset of wellness.
Special guest Prof.Dr.K. Jagannathan, President, NCISM, in his talk appreciated the conference to be an eye opener and brainstorming event and updated the gathering on the recent steps taken by NCISM to improve education, research and practice of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems of medicine, to provide students with interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary research options, upcoming planned internship programs and orientation programs for PG students and principals/education administrators, respectively. He also added about the PG guide orientation program focussing publication ethics, scientific writing and research integrity.
He also made a mention about upcoming MOUs with Research Information system for orientational policy framing, AICTE for technology development, BITS Pilani to promote Artificial Intelligence in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems, financial assistance to UG/PG students and research publication grant. He shared the commission’s plan to induct virtual reality in Siddha system, conduct National Teachers Eligibility Test for PG scholars, National Exit test and many other initiatives to improve Medical Education, Research and practice.
Miss. Bhavna Saxena, IPS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, special guest in her talk appreciated Ayush ministry as one of the focused ministries as our prime minister Sh. Narendra Modi has insisted in promoting Indian system of medicine to global level, urged Siddha students and scholars to come up as brand ambassador of their system by highest dedication. She appreciated the schemes of NCISM taken up to develop Traditional Medicine sector and mainstream Siddha system to the next level. She has appreciated different activities of CCRS like AHIMS, ICD 11, 75 IMR projects etc. She added that traditional system of medicine is incorporated in our daily life and it is not sufficient for us to enjoy the benefits alone but to convey the world, make policies, by branding the system so as to be accepted and embraced by everyone. She emphasized that duty of the student community to contribute and carry forward the researches developed and documented by yogis long ago to the whole world. Finally, she congratulated DG CCRS to have successfully organized the event in a very short notice and futuristic planning through the institutes.
Prof. Dr. V. Bhanumathi former director of NIS, in her felicitation address, advised to use household spices to balance three vital humors. Padma Shri Dr. G.Veluchamy shared his knowledge about prevention of disease to ensure longevity and improve formulations on mercury, pashanam like metals as therapeutic agents and metallic preparation, especially for non-communicable disease.
Honorable Cabinet Minister Sh. Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ayush & Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Govt. of India greeted the gathering with his message to follow the footsteps of Siddhars to ensure healthy living.
Plenary lectures were conducted as planned on a wide range of topics including Need for Paradigm Shift – Scope and Challenges by Dr. G. Sivaraman (Siddha Physician, Member, State Planning Commission, Govt of Tamil Nadu), Predictive Siddha Medicine and its impact on proactive & promotive health by Dr. V. Balamurugan, (Siddha Physician, Amrutha Centre for Siddha Medicine), Strategies for implementation of Siddha System of Medicine Evidence in Preventive and Promotive Healthcare by Dr. Syed Hissar (Scientist – E (Medical) ICMR – NIRT), Historical development of Public Health by Dr. G. Thangavel (Senior Lecturer Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research, Historical development of Public Health), Research Perspectives to take forward Preventive and Promotive Health care through CCRS by Dr. Eugene Wilson (Research Officer (Siddha), Central Council for Research in Siddha) and A discussion on Karai Soolai – Siddha Prespectives of Ancient Wisdom with Scientific background by Dr. S. Balaji, Associate Professor, Maria Siddha Medical College.
Dr. G. Sivaraman in his plenary session appreciated CCRS and NIS for their 45 publications on Nilavembu kudineer and Kabasura kudineer. He emphasized the impact of climate change on human health and zoonotic diseases. He shared his thoughts on integrating Ayush and biomedicine, and stressed the need for further research on the Siddha system of management to make it more accessible to the general public. He concluded by sharing his experience of preparing 44 traditional rice varieties with a glycemic index.
The conference had huge response from students and research community with over 1000 delegates and 258 oral/poster presentations
Herbal expo was also organised as a part of the conference with 200 medicinal plants and their uses and Siddha stalwarts who have contributed to this ancient wisdom