Charak Shapath for medical students? The conflict with Hippocratic Oath — Tamil Nadu removes dean after students take Sanskrit pledge

The Tamil Nadu government has removed the dean of Madurai Medical College after new students were administered the Maharshi Charak Shapath, in Sanskrit, instead of the Hippocratic Oath in English. The event, attended by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Commercial Taxes Minister P Moorthy triggered controversy, coming on the back of a brewing language row and the state’s tensions with the Centre.

As visuals circulated on social media of students taking the Sanskrit oath, the state government removed Dean A Rathinavel and said he was being waitlisted for future posting.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the state government had ordered a probe, adding that action would be initiated over violation of long-standing policies and practices, IE reported. Subramanian said the government had also written to all medical institutions in the state to follow the Hippocratic Oath.

The National Medical Commission, which replaced the Medical Council of India as the regulator for medical education in 2020, has suggested that medical colleges administer students the Charak Shapath instead of the Hippocratic Oath. The suggestion triggered a row and was seen as part of the BJP government’s agenda of Hindi/Sanskrit promotion.

While Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said Charak Shapath was optional, a modified version of the vow was made available for colleges to use.

The Charak Shapath is from Charaka Samhita, a crucial Ayurveda text on ancient medical practices. In February, it was reported that undergraduates at AIIMS have been taking the Charak Shapath during their convocation for several years.

The Hippocratic Oath originates from Greek medical texts and has historically been taken by physicians the world over. The oath is attributed to Hippocrates, a physician from the Greek island of Kos, from the classical period (4th-5th centuries BC). Hippocrates, the “father of modern medicine”, was a contemporary of philosopher Plato and his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle. Physicians have used the oath, a charter of ethical principles. The earliest available fragments of the original oath date back to the late 3rd century AD.