1.8 Lakh Doctors in Maharashtra on Strike over Govt Nod Allowing Homeopaths To Practise Allopathy
Moneylife Digital Team 18 September 2025
Healthcare services across Maharashtra faced widespread disruption on Thursday as nearly 180,000 doctors observed a 24-hour strike to oppose the state government’s decision allowing homeopathic practitioners with a short-term certificate to be registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) and practise allopathy within a limited scope.
 
The strike, spearheaded by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra, began at 8am on Thursday and will continue until 8am Friday. Outpatient departments (OPDs), private clinics and several hospitals remained shut, while routine consultations, inpatient care and elective surgeries were affected. Emergency services, however, continued to function.
 
The trigger for the protest was a recent government resolution that directed the MMC to register homeopaths who have completed a one-year certificate course in modern pharmacology (CCMP), granting them rights to prescribe allopathic medicines in select cases.
 
Doctors’ associations have strongly objected to the move, calling it an erosion of medical standards and a threat to patient safety. “A one-year course cannot substitute the rigorous 5.5 years of MBBS training. This decision risks patient lives and undermines scientific medicine,” says Dr Santosh Kadam, president of IMA, Maharashtra.
 
Supporting groups included the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), resident doctors from state-run medical colleges, the Bombay Nursing Home Association (BNHA), and specialist bodies like the Maharashtra Ophthalmological Society and the Indian Academy of Paediatrics’ state unit. In a joint letter, AMC Mumbai says, “By standing with IMA, we send a clear message to the government: revoke this regressive decision and uphold the integrity of modern medicine.”
 
The protesting doctors emphasised that they are not opposed to homeopathy as a system of medicine, but believe that blending practitioners into the allopathic framework without adequate training could lead to misdiagnosis, unsafe prescriptions and potential loss of life.
 
IMA has already challenged the government’s decision in the Bombay High Court, where the matter is pending. Meanwhile, its leaders warned of intensifying the agitation if the order is not withdrawn. “If the government does not roll back this decision, we will be forced to take this fight nationwide,” said Dr Akshay Dongardive, president of the Federation of All India Medical Associations.
 
The strike comes just weeks after doctors had threatened similar action which was put on hold following assurances from the government. With the fresh notification issued on 5th September, doctors say their concerns have been ignored, prompting Thursday’s shutdown.
Comments
david.rasquinha
2 months ago
An absurd and foolish decision by the state government that will put lives of patients in danger.
Delhi Court Sets Aside Order Restraining Journalists from Publishing Stories against Adani Enterprises
Prashant Jha (Bar  and  Bench) 18 September 2025
A Delhi court on Thursday set aside a gag order restraining journalists Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das and Ayush Joshi from publishing allegedly defamatory stories against Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL).
 
District Judge...
Ban Loudspeakers across All Religions Since It Affects Public Health: Justice Rohinton Nariman
Ritwik Choudhury (Bar  and  Bench) 18 September 2025
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman recently called for a nationwide ban on loudspeakers used for religious purposes, warning that such practices directly affect public health.
 
Justice Nariman said that religious...
“Judges Forced To Beg for Stationery, Housing": SC Slams Govt over Tribunal Neglect
Moneylife Digital Team 17 September 2025
Coming down heavily on the Union government for failing to provide even basic facilities to retired judges appointed in tribunals, the Supreme Court warned that if such neglect continues, the quasi-judicial bodies should be scrapped...
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Other Journalists Challenge Delhi Court Gag Order on Stories about Adani
Bhavini Srivastava (Bar  and  Bench) 17 September 2025
Updated at 5.20pm on 17 September 2025 to include court proceeding today.

Journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das and Ayush Joshi have challenged the recent Delhi court's gag order restraining them...
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback