Homoeopathy, alternative medicine systems important: President

Kolkata: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday highlighted the importance of homoeopathy, saying it is more cost-effective as compared to modern allopathic treatment and does not have side effects.

Attending the sixth Dr Malati Allen Nobel Award ceremony here, he conferred the Dr Sarkar Allen Swamiji Award for lifetime achievement on Dr Shubhendu Bhattacharya, the world`s youngest MRCP Consultant Intermits, Guinness World Eecord holder and member of sub-committee for medicine/physiology of Nobel Foundation, Sweden.

The President also gave away the sixth Dr Malati Allen Nobel Awards to 16 BHMS toppers from various homoeopathy colleges across the country as well as Bangladesh. On May 27, another 86 promising homoeopaths will be conferred this award in the closing function ceremony.

Mukherjee appreciated the efforts made by G.P. Sarkar, Managing Trustee, Malati Allen Charitable Trust and Sarkar Allen Mahatma Hahnemann and Swamiji Trust in spreading homoeopathy education and a system of medicine which has emerged as a powerful alternative medicine to heal a number of chronic diseases.

"Homoeopathy is more cost-effective as compared to modern allopathic treatment and does not have side effects," he said.

Citing the contribution of John Martin Honigberger, the Romanian homoeopath practitioner who cured Maharaja Ranjit Singh after arriving at Lahore during 1829-30, he recalled how Honigberger introduced the name of Samuel Hahnemann and his healing art to India.

Mukherjee, in this context, also spoke about the efforts of Satish Kumar Samanta, the freedom fighter and MP from Tamluk in introducing homoeopathy widely in West Bengal as an alternative way of treating ailments.

Even in Rashtrapati Bhavan, homoeopathy has been introduced as an alternative medicine for curing chronic ailments along with unani and siddha, he said.