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“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” — Socrates
Today, I lost a good friend. Just two months ago, I lost my best buddy. Both gone—too young, too soon. The cause? Not COVID, not some rare disease, but a dangerous delusion: blind faith in alternative medicine. Despite having high blood pressure, cardiac issues, and documented arterial blocks, they steered clear of proper medical care; and chose to place their trust in pseudoscience.
The longevity of individuals who rely solely on alternative medicine today often mirrors the shorter lifespans seen in the 1950s and ’60s when modern medical science hadn’t yet made key advancements in managing chronic conditions. One of my two forsaken friends was a homeopath from a family of homeopaths. His father, mother, and brother all died in their early sixties from high blood pressure and stroke, conditions that are routinely managed today with conventional medicine. These real-life losses speak louder than statistics and underscore a sobering truth: shunning modern medical care can be a costly gamble with life itself.
Their choices are not isolated. In India, alternative medicine thrives— unchecked and unregulated. From homeopathy to Siddha, Ayurveda to naturopathy, countless lives are quietly slipping away because diseases are being “treated” by systems that offer neither diagnosis nor evidence-based cure.
In the land of Sushruta, where the roots of surgical science were first planted, it is ironic that unscientific alternative medicine continues to thrive. We’ve allowed modern-day alternative systems—many with no anatomical knowledge, diagnostic tools or clinical trials— take centre stage. In a nation embracing AI, digital health, and cutting-edge research, how and why we allow our very own to stray from an evidence-based tradition is baffling.
Homeopathy sells itself as gentle and natural, offering tiny sweet white pills and tasteless drops without listing active ingredients. The “science” rests on the 18th-century theory of “like cures like” and “potentization” which says substances become more effective the more they are diluted.
One of the flaws in homeopathy is its complete detachment from diagnostic precision. Unlike modern medicine with tests, imaging, pathology reports—homeopathy operates on vague generalities. No legitimate system of medicine claims to treat such a wide array of conditions with a single diluted concoction. It is diagnosis without evidence, treatment without targets—a leap of faith that has cost far too many lives.
Ironically, Germany—the birthplace of homeopathy— scaled back funding and recognition of homeopathy due to lack of evidence. In May 2024, the German Medical Association removed homeopathy from the official schedule of doctors’ fees, signalling a push against its special status in medical practice. In January 2024, Health Minister Lauterbach proposed eliminating the reimbursement of homeopathic treatments by public health insurance, citing a lack of scientifically proven benefits. These actions reflect a growing emphasis on evidence-based medicine.
In India, however, these systems have been institutionalized under the Ministry of AYUSH. On one hand, we are embracing digital transformation, and setting up state-of-the-art medical facilities. On the other, we promote remedies that fail to meet even basic scientific scrutiny.
Ayurvedic preparations have been found to contain toxic heavy metals. It is common for gastroenterologists to ask patients with abnormal liver function a routine question: “Have you been taking Ayurvedic medicines?”
These sectors are not bound by the rigorous protocols that govern allopathic (modern) medicine. No requirement for double-blind clinical trials, no non-clinical safety assessments, no stability or accelerated degradation studies.
Conventional medicine offers lab diagnostics, MRIs, CT scans, angiographies, biopsies, and evidence-based treatments. It involves surgeons, pathologists, radiologists—each accountable. There’s a paper trail, a treatment algorithm, a system of checks and balances.
Alternative systems, in contrast, often rely on pulse reading, vague questionnaires, or superficial symptom-matching. There’s no pathology testing, no imaging, and no follow-up data. The result? People delay real treatment until it’s too late.
Hospitals across India are flooded with emergency cases that could have been treated earlier—hypertension leading to stroke, chest pain ignored until a massive heart attack, cancers discovered in their final stages—all because the first point of contact was an alternative practitioner.
My friends didn’t have to die. They were educated, well-read, and sceptical—yet they were convinced by half-truths, social media noise, and misplaced distrust of modern medicine. They chose belief over biology.
The government must act. Not just to regulate these sectors, but to require them to follow the same scientific protocols as conventional medicine. Public awareness campaigns must go beyond promoting yoga and wellness, and focus instead on warning citizens about unverified treatments and long-term harm. It’s time India stopped walking this paradox—between progress and pseudoscience.
We owe it to the ones we’ve lost. And to the ones who still have time.
Sunil Kumar
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.