Indians to teach Ayurveda in US schools

Indian experts may soon start teaching medical students about Ayurveda in some of America's best colleges.

In a bid to make alternative medicine more popular in the US, Indian experts may soon start teaching medical students about Ayurveda in some of America's best colleges.

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"The proposal is in the pipeline. We want to make Indian alternative medicine more popular in the west," Shiv Basant, Joint Secretary in the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy(AYUSH), said.

The Ayurveda experts are likely to take a short course for the US medical students under the Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) in 16 colleges.

Basant said for the past two years they have initiated international exchange programmes to promote India's traditional medicinal system.

"For the past two years in Connecticut our experts have been teaching medical students and graduates about alternative medicines. This programme would be an extension,"he said.

Navin Shah, who is the founder and past president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in the US and who has been trying to promote this programme, said that as India has not been able to advocate their alternative system, Chinese and Koreans are benefiting in America.

Shah, a famous urologist based in Washington DC and who was here in connection with the programme, said he has already attended a meeting of 16 college deans and their representatives at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC on the matter.