The efficiency of homeopathic treatment has been a matter of continued discussion and criticism worldwide for the last many years.
Recently in Kerala, this debate got a sudden fillip on social media platforms, after a blogger Jithin Mohandas initiated a change.org petition asking the Kerala government to stop admitting students to homoeopathy courses.
In the petition signed by 565 supporters, Jithin claims that the 200-year-old medical practice is both unscientific and ineffective. He cites several studies conducted by various organisations in UK, Australia and the US to substantiate his stance.
The petition urges the state government to stop homeopathic courses, convert homeopathy colleges into regular medical colleges (MBBS/MD) and provide training for existing homeopathy degree holders to be able to practice allopathy.
Jithin admits that he does not expect his demands to be accepted blindly by the government, but through the petition, he seeks to create a sort of awareness among the public.
In a debate conducted by Mumbai Rationalist Association and Indian Secular Society in Mumbai, Dr C Viswanathan, an ortho-specialist who has conducted several studies on homeopathy science, has claimed that this branch of medicine is wholly unscientific as well as ineffective.