Practice and Praxis: A Critical Look at Medical Anthropology in India

Abstract

Medical anthropology in India has been parallel with world medical anthropology. The publication and research work in Indian medical anthropology started early; research papers and full-length monographs meticulously cover ethnomedicinal details. It has been inspired primarily by the American medical anthropological traditions. Indian medical anthropology has catered principally to the India-specific problems, as is evident in the researches coming out of India from time to time. Indian medical anthropology is keen on initiating studies on the clinical aspects of Indian spiritualism and mysticism besides subjecting Yoga to medical anthropological experimentations. Indian medical anthropology is facing the daunting task of protecting and promoting traditional medical systems. In the Indian context, while the hegemony of biomedicine remains, more recently, the hegemony of AYUSH, an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, and recently added Sowa-Rigpa over the traditional healing system persist. Indian medical anthropology now has newer vistas to understand the challenges posed by Ayushisation besides the increasing threat of media corruption. The AYUSH, in the process of documenting and preserving the traditional knowledge, further patronises, and there are possibilities of not sharing the benefits with the healers’ looms large.Keywords Ayushisation AYUSHMedical anthropologyIndiaMedical hegemony