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The Delhi High Court has wondered why Ayurveda and Allopathy form part of an integrated healing system.

A Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Dattan, while considering a petition seeking integration of the two systems of medicine, asked the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Law and Justice to file their replies to its question within six weeks, and listed the matter for further hearing on July 6.

The petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, points out that a holistic approach in the medical field with a combination of modern and traditional medicine would

improve the doctor-to-population ratio in the country and ensure the right to health guaranteed in the Constitution.

"There are 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors in the country. Their availability, when considered together with allopathic doctors, would give a doctor-population ratio of around 1:1,000," the petition said. 

"Only an integrated healthcare system can ensure sustainable health. Many revolutionary innovations of the pharmaceutical industry have proven to be dangerous with severe and long-term side effects," it said.

As much as 40% of allopathy medicines are made from plant-derived components, which are major constituents of AYUSH as well. Many countries including China, Germany, Korea and Japan have adopted integrated medicine for their population, the petitioner has contended.

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