The Indian Medical Association (IMA) headed by Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal, most noted for issuing letters after letters, has launched yet another scathing attack on Yog Guru Baba Ramdev by filing a Rs 1000 crore defamation case over his statements dissing allopathy. Indian Medical Association is the country’s largest professional council of healthcare personnel.
This comes after Baba Ramdev had fired 25 questions at the IMA demanding permanent cure and treatments for common ailments.
However, it is imperative to note that this is not the first time Baba Ramdev has come under fire by the IMA especially their head Dr Jayalal. Not just slamming Ramdev, but Dr Jayalal is a habitual Ayurveda and BJP hater as well.
Here’s what his social media profile looks like
While one might think that a social media profile of a Doctor heading a medical organization would talk about healing, cures and medical advancements, one will be taken by surprise upon viewing Dr Jayalal’s Twitter profile.
Dr Jayalal has consistently targeted the leaders of the Bhartiya Janta Party including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by sharing news (some even fake), cartoons and hashtags revealing his ideology.
As can be seen, Dr Jayalal shares frequent anti-Modi posts and cartoons to take a dig at the PM. As head of the IMA, he has made his political leanings quite clearly. What is to say that his statements do not reflect his ideology?
The Christian doctor has been actively and aggressively hounding Baba Ramdev and his company since the onset of the pandemic for his contribution against the battle. From calling him a quack to discrediting Ayurveda completely, Dr Jayalal has been at it since quite a while. Ayurvedic medicines as well as Yoga over centuries have been proven to help patients with chronic illnesses along with other medical science. For one to work, other need not be totally discredited.
He has also led concerted attacks on the Ayush Mantralaya and was the one who initiated protests against the Centre allowing Ayurveda practitioners to perform surgery. Calling it a ‘SayNoToMixopathy’ campaign, he spent months giving interviews, lectures and seminars slandering Ayurveda under the garb of the new rule amidst the raging pandemic.
The IMA doctors went on a hunger strike to protest the new notification and even held ‘meme and poster’ contests thereby distributing ‘gifts’ to the winners to fuel the protests. A worrisome screenshot shared by Dr Jayalal himself reveals how a plan was being brewed to make it an anti- Farm Bills like protest since “nothing could happen from this hunger strike.”
Dr Jayalal also extended support to the farmers’ protest wanting to show the government in a poor light.
His other retweets also show similar mindset.
Dr Jayalal wants to promote family medicine
Nothing could be more ironic than the Christian doctor wanting to protest one ‘holistic medical treatment’ by promoting another ‘holistic healing’ method.
Dr Jayalal in his interview with Christianity Today made absolutely shocking and bizarre statements while talking of his plan to use the Indian Medical Association to plant more Christian doctors.
Some startling remarks made by Dr Jayalal in this interview include:
The doctor who has been running a campaign to advocate “real science” said, “It’s only the grace of God Almighty that helps us to get over the crisis and stay safe, and it was his grace that protected us.”
“I am able to see, even amid persecution, even amid difficulties, even amid the control by the government, even among the restrictions we face in openly proclaiming the message, by various means and ways, Christianity is growing,” he told CT. CT later on edited out this portion.
Disdain for Ayurveda
Dr Jayalal said that the government has faith in Ayurveda because of their cultural value and traditional belief in the Hindutva.
“The government of India, because of their cultural value and traditional belief in the Hindutva, believes in a system called Ayurveda. For the last three or four years, they have tried to replace modern medicine with this. Now, starting in 2030, you will have to study this alongside Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, homoeopathy, yoga, and naturopathy,” Dr Jayalal said.
Dr Jayalal contends the renewed focus on the Sanskrit language is a way through which the government wants to introduce the language of Hindutva into the minds of the people.
“This (Ayurveda, Unani, homoeopathy, yoga etc.) is also based on the Sanskrit language, which is always traditionally based on the Hindu principles. This is an indirect way for the government to introduce the language of Sanskrit and the language of Hindutva into the minds of the people,” Dr Jayalal had said in an interview with Christianity Today.
Claims God saved India from the pandemic
“I personally feel God must have been distracted with the US and now he is focusing on India, and he is having some grace on us in India [laughing]. So we want to proclaim the message that it is the grace of God, and it is not by our power, not by our might, but by the grace of God along with the good health care delivery system, that we are getting that positive response,” he claimed.
IMA chief aims to cultivate more people to accept Christianity
Dr Jayalal had revealed, “After this lockdown, may God’s grace cultivate more people to look into the church as the place of blessings for them…Indian Christians can practice the message of the goodness of God Almighty and the hope of salvation in their life.”
In an interview, when asked what is Christian community’s relationship with Hindu nationalists, Dr Jayalal suggested that Hindus should accept Jesus and Muhammad as their Gods because their religion is based on polytheism. Since Hindus believe in multiple Gods, Dr Jayalal believes it is not difficult for them to exhibit tolerance and internalise Christian and Islamic practices.
“One of the things we must always remember is that Hinduism or Hindutva is different from other religions because of polytheism. They accept different gods. They have no difficulty in accepting or proclaiming that Jesus is one of the gods or Muhammad is one of the gods. So religious restrictions are less when comparing them with systems of other countries. I personally feel that it is not that difficult in India,” Dr Jayalal said.
On promoting “family medicine”
“As a Christian, one opportunity which I was able to include in the medical association is the concept of family medicine. I feel this is a good opportunity to lead the country with an example of Christianity under the principles of servant leadership. Though Christians make up less than 2.5 to 3 percent of the population in this country, as a Christian doctor, I have the privilege to lead this organization. I pray to God Almighty to give me the wisdom, knowledge, and courage to lead this country in the medical profession,” he added.
Use hospitals to convert Hindus to Christianity
Dr Jayalal had claimed that Christian doctors are blessed with a special ability to provide “holistic healing”, which includes spiritual, mental and social healing.
“Normally in the medical profession, we talk about the physical curing. But as a Christian, I believe we are not just here to physically cure, but God Almighty has called us to give holistic healing, which includes the spiritual healing, the mental healing, and the social healing,” he had said.
What Dr Jayalal is implying here is that by the virtue of their faith, Christian doctors are gifted with a paranormal ability to effect just not physical curing but mental and spiritual healing as well. He then goes on to say more Christian doctors are required to work more in secular institutions, mission institutions, and medical colleges, who can impart “Christian healing” to the patients.
If Dr JA Jayalal’s utterances are to be believed, he harbours missionary zeal to convert the weak and the vulnerable to Christianity in “secular organisations” that he serves and has contempt for Hindu nationalism and the Government of India.
Further, he said that the coronavirus pandemic has provided “the urgent need of the proclamation of the Gospel to people who are suffering from the virus has allowed us to share the Gospel even in secular institutions”.
The modus operandi
Dy Jayalal in the interview said, “We need more Christian doctors to work more in secular institutions, mission institutions, and medical colleges. I am working as a professor of surgery in a medical college, so it is also a good opportunity for me to carry on the principles of holistic healing there. I also have the privilege of mentoring graduates and the interns.”
Dr Jayalal is also a member of the Christian Medical Association Of India, Good Samaritan Club and Red Cross Society Of India as per his website.