Indian Medical Association

New Delhi: On National Doctors’ Day, a seemingly heartfelt tribute by chess Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi to members of his family spiraled into a fierce online debate, after well-known hepatologist Dr Abby Philips, popularly known as ‘The Liver Doc’, reacted to the post with a question: who truly qualifies as a doctor in India.

It began with Gujrathi’s post on ‘X’, wherein he shared a selfie with his family—his father, an ‘Ayurvedic migraine specialist’; his wife, a homeopathy MD; his mother, a cosmetologist; and his sister, a physiotherapist—wishing them on Doctors’ Day.

This remark kicked off a pointed exchange between the chess champion and the outspoken liver specialist, turning the platform into a battleground over the legitimacy of alternative medicine systems like Ayurveda and Homeopathy.

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Grandmaster Vs Liver Doc: A Twitter brawl

Vidit responded firmly, saying his family members were certified doctors who had sacrificed successful careers to support his journey. He criticised Philips for using mockery as a tool to build an online persona and said that while his family heals quietly, Philips was chasing online attention. “They’ve helped more people than your ego can count,” Vidit wrote, adding that the Liver Doc should “stay in his lane” and try “being useful”.

Philips replied with a lengthy note, clarifying he meant no personal disrespect to the family but stood by his professional stance. He said Ayurveda and Homeopathy were not scientific or evidence-based medical systems and accused Vidit of spreading medical misinformation by elevating pseudoscience.

“Alternative medicine is medicine that is not proven to work,” he wrote, adding that his criticism was grounded in public health concerns, not personal insult.

The exchange closed with Vidit reiterating that he had spoken out only after his family was mocked. “You don’t get to decide who’s a doctor,” he wrote, adding that he would now return his focus to things that matter. Philips responded one final time, declaring he “decided to quit playing chess on social media with science illiterates” on social media and would continue doing what he does best, being a clinical doctor.

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Who qualifies as a doctor?

What followed next was a conversation about what qualifies as legitimate medicine, who gets to be called a doctor, and how public figures influence health narratives.

Dr Dhruv Chauhan, spokesperson for the Indian Medical Association (IMA), called the entire debate “unnecessary” and said both sides were partly at fault.

“Cosmetology is not a medical degree. A diploma after Class 12 does not entitle anyone to the title of doctor, legally or ethically,” he said. However, Chauhan added that Vidit’s post appeared to be a personal, sentimental tribute and not an official claim.

Chauhan pointed out that Ayurveda and Homeopathy practitioners are legally recognised in India, which confers the doctor title on them. “We have no right to say they aren’t doctors if the Government of India recognises them as such,” he said, adding that Ayurveda predates modern medicine and continues to be practised widely.

In India, these traditional medicine systems are regulated under the Ministry of AYUSH. Practitioners earn recognised degrees, BAMS for Ayurveda and BHMS for Homeopathy, and are registered professionals with the authority to use the title “doctor” within their respective systems.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, regulates their practice, with specific provisions such as the Homeopathy Central Council Act and amendments to license and control AYUSH medicines, Chauhan said.

However, there is very little ambiguity when it comes to legal boundaries.

Courts have consistently held that AYUSH practitioners cannot prescribe allopathic medicines unless specifically authorised by state-level provisions.

The recent establishment of integrated AYUSH universities and mandatory registration of mental health facilities (including those offering Ayurveda or Homeopathy) highlights increasing formalisation in the sector.

Ayurveda is similarly recognised and regulated in neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka, with official bodies overseeing education and licensing.

But some Western nations have significantly restricted or even banned Homeopathy. For example, France ended public reimbursement for homeopathic treatments in 2021, and several European countries permit only fully licensed doctors to practice it. Sweden and Norway have moved to ban or heavily regulate Homeopathy over concerns about efficacy.

The issue, Dr Chauhan said, lies in cross-practice. Many Ayurvedic practitioners prescribe modern medicines for quicker results, which is unethical and has led to distrust. “The genuine ones who stick to their discipline deserve respect,” he underlined, “but the majority practising mixopathy have damaged the credibility of Ayurveda.”

Chauhan also noted that physiotherapists were recently granted the ‘doctor’ title after much lobbying, but this doesn’t necessarily equate them with clinical physicians. “If massage therapists or chiropractors start demanding the same title next, where do we draw the line?”

He further criticised the term “Ayurvedic migraine specialist” as misleading and pointed out that calling someone a doctor just to lend credibility is problematic.

On safety concerns, the IMA spokesperson admitted that Ayurvedic drugs, when misused, have led to liver and kidney injuries due to toxic metals, just as modern medicine can cause harm if misprescribed. “It’s a double-edged sword. Whether it’s Ayurveda or allopathy, harm comes from negligence, not from the system itself,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Dr Sadath Dinakar, a former general secretary of the Ayurveda Medical Association of India emphasised that Ayurveda and Homeopathy are recognised medical systems in India, governed by Parliament-approved laws under the Ministry of AYUSH.

“Once registered, BAMS or BHMS degree-holders are as much registered medical practitioners as MBBS doctors,” he told ThePrint, adding that all systems are regulated through independent statutory bodies that define curriculum, training, and scope of practice.

He noted that while Ayurveda practitioners should stick to Ayurvedic medicine, all modern diagnostic tools like sonography, lab tests, and IT-based technologies are legally used across systems.

He criticised the repeated labelling of Ayurveda as “pseudoscience,” calling it a violation of medical ethics and existing regulations. “No registered doctor is permitted to publicly demean another system of medicine,” Dinakar, a member of the Kerala State Medical Council, said, referring to the social media comments that sparked the recent debate.

(Edited by Tony Rai)

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