New Delhi: A section of doctors have criticised the new logo of the National Medical Commission (NMC), saying it alters the “secular” face of the government agency.
The Ashoka emblem on the logo has been replaced by a colour photo of Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods in Hinduism and the god of Ayurveda as mentioned in some religious texts.
The Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) — a large network of doctors — has shot a letter to the central regulator, saying the logo was “not acceptable to the modern medical fraternity”.
The letter to NMC chairman Dr B.N. Gangadhar also said, “The new logo gives the wrong message and will harm the scientific and secular nature of the Commission.” It added that medical professionals were already protesting this “unacceptable move”.
NMC spokesperson Dr Yogender Malik, also a member of its Ethics and Medical Registration Board, told ThePrint that the logo was adopted by the commission nearly a year ago, but was in black and white.
He said the image was colourised a month ago because the black and white version was not “distinct and clear enough”.
When asked why the logo had a Hindu deity, Dr Malik replied: “What is the problem with Dhanvantari ji?”
‘Unnecessary controversy’
The IMA’s national president Dr Sharad Kumar Agarwal told ThePrint that he was peeved at the NMC courting “unnecessary controversies while failing miserably at its primary responsibilities”.
“Its main job is to improve the quality of medical education in India and it is performing very badly at that while engaging in issues that are irrelevant,” he said.
Dr Santanu Sen, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) parliamentarian and a member of NMC’s Medical Advisory Council, also wrote to the commission Thursday demanding to know which meeting had decided on the new logo and whether its adoption was approved by provisions of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
He wrote that NMC members across the country were not provided details about the adoption of the logo. The Constitution speaks about secularism, he wrote, adding that India has always promoted the “dovetailing of religions”.
Requesting the commission to reconsider the move, Sen said the symbol of one particular religion in the logo of a national body “goes against the basic essence of the Constitution”.
The parliamentarian told ThePrint that the NMC was the guardian of the whole medical fraternity, and not just of Hindu or Muslim doctors. “Why should, therefore, its logo have a representation that symbolises one particular religion,” he asked.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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