– Shakilur Rahman
New Delhi, Feb. 15: All India Unani Tibbi Congress (AIUTC) hosted a national symposium on “Career in Unani Medicine: In India and Abroad” under the chairmanship of Prof. Mushtaq Ahmed in Delhi.
National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), Government of India held a workshop in the first session of the national symposium. Dr. Vaidya Rakesh Sharma, NCISM President participated as Chief Guest, while Guest of Honor was Dr. Vaidya DC Katoch (Former Advisor, Ministry of AYUSH). NCISM members Dr. Narayan Jadhav, Prof. Muhammad Mazahir Alam, Dr. Kadri and Tejlal Bharti participated as Distinguished Guests. Dr. Syed Ahmed Khan delivered welcome address.
Dr. Rakesh Sharma appealed to Unani doctors to get their registration with NCISM as soon as possible as registration therefor is free. Dr. Rakesh announced that when the registration was completed, the list would be digitalized.
Gandhi Vadi leader Tejlal Bharti, while highlighting the life and services of Hakim Ajmal Khan, recalled that the country should be run according to the dream of secular India which was seen by Mahatma Gandhi and Hakim Ajmal Khan. He further said that today the world knows India as the country of Mahatma Gandhi, so it is need to spread his ideology to the world. He happily reported that he is nonagenarian and take Unani treatment and supervising the institutes established by Hakim Ajmal Khan.
Presiding over the second session of the symposium, Professor Mushtaq Ahmed said, “We have to further advance the activities of Unani medicine with positive thinking so that it will be more beneficial for the next generation to come.”
He expressed special gratitude towards Hakim Ajmal Khan, the son of the soil, whose movement for Ayurveda and Unani medicine got the legal right and today the people are benefiting therefrom. “Hakim Ajmal Khan was the one man with all kinds of abilities. He was simultaneously a virtuous Muslim, a national leader, an excellent doctor and a freedom fighter, who went forward against oppression,” he added.
The second session of the symposium was attended by Padma Shri Prof. Akhtarul Wasey. Dr. Syed Farooq, Prof. Nafast Ali Ansari, Prof. SM Arif Zaidi, Prof. Zulkafal, Dr. Pervez Mian etc. participated as Guests of Honor. Prof. Akhtar-ul-Wasey emphasised to focus on teaching and treatment of Unani medicine and research on the subject. He appealed to make Unani treatment more popular by attracting students towards admission in Unani Medical Science. In order to attract students to Greek practice, they must be brainwashed first, so that they may overcome inferiority complex to purely Unani medicine.
Dr. Syed Farooq imparted healthy and important suggestions for the development of Unani medicine in the present context, asserting that the future of Unani medicine is bright. “There is an urgent need of hour for proper promotion and publication of Unani medicine among the students and public,” he apprised. He said people are again turning towards Unani and Ayurvedic medicine, leaving aside modern medicine.
Dr. Syed Ahmed Khan, AIUTC Secretary General, brought a proposal before the participants of the symposium that Hakim Ajmal Khan, the son of the soil must be honored with Bharat Ratna as soon as possible and the Tibbiya College at Karol Bagh, New Delhi, founded by Hakim Ajmal Khan, should be given university status. This proposal was unanimously approved and it was decided that this movement will be carried forward with full force.
During the symposium, the commemorative magazine containing the life and services of Professor Altaf Ahmad Azmi was released.
Meanwhile, selected Unani doctors from all over the country were honored with awards: Dr. AU Azmi Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Muhammad Akhtar Siddiqui, Hakim Abul Qasim Zohrawi International Award to Professor SM Arif Zaidi, Ibn Sina International Award to Professor Muhammad Ahsan Farooqui, Hakim Ajmal Khan National Award to Maulana Hakim Abdul Razzaq Qureshi Qasmi, Hakim Altaf Ahmed Azmi National Award to Dr. Neelam Quddusi, Hakim Shakeel Ahmed Shamsi National Award to Dr. Abdullah, Hakim Ayanatullah National Award to Dr. Naseem Akhtar Khan, etc.
Also, Hakim Ajmal Khan Superstar Award was bestowed upon a number of Unani doctors and Unani laboratories.
