The place of indigenous and western systems of medicine in the health services of India

It is preferred to use the terms indigenous systems of medicine to traditional medicine and Western system of medicine to modern medicine. Interrelationships of these two categories are a function of the interplay of social, economic and political forces in the community. Western medicine was used as a political weapon by the colonialists—to strengthen the oppressing classes, and to weaken the oppressed classes by denying them access to the Western system of medicine and by contributing to the decay and degeneration of the pre-existing indigenous systems of medicine. This Western and privileged class orientation of the health services has been actively perpetuated and promoted by the post-colonial leadership of India. The issue in formulating an alternative health care system for India is essentially that of rectifying the distortions which have been brought about by various forces. The basic premise for such an alternative will be to start with the people. Action in this field will lead to a more harmonious mix between the indigenous and the Western systems of medicine.