LEH: Ladakh’s two main religious and social organisations, Islamia School Kargil (ISK) and Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) have strongly objected the central government’s move to rebrand Public Health Centres, (previously known as Primary Health Centres in erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state when Ladakh was its part) (PHC) in the Union Territory as Ayushman Arogya Mandir, a day before the India’s Republic Day.
In a statement acting president of LBA, Chering Dorjey said, “The recent order of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare renaming the health and wellness centres as Ayushman Arogya Mandir is unfortunate and tantamount to playing with the sentiments of the people of Ladakh.”
Dorjey raised the objection in a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Councillors of Leh and Kargil chapters of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), twin elected bodies that govern the local issues in the UT.
“India is a secular country and using religious names and symbols in the government departments is unconstitutional and unacceptable,” Dorjey said, while requesting the LAHDC-Leh and LAHDC-Kargil to take up the issue with concerned higher authorities.
Sajjad Kargili, a local politician and a member of the Islamia School-Kargil, said the health institutions, serving as common resources for the people, “require a locally accepted brand that respects the sentiments of all people.” He posted his objections in a post on X (Formerly Twitter) and shared a picture of the bill board erected outside a PHC.
“Public policies and scheme’s names should mirror the diverse intentions of the public, promoting inclusivity rather than favouring any particular belief system or community,” Kargili said in his post on X.
Kargili urged the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor to intervene in the matter. “We urge the consideration of the Ladakhi community’s demand and request to refrain from any branding or changes that incorporate names or symbols associated with a specific belief system on public properties, policies, and institutions,” Kargili said.
At least 10 councillors from Leh, in a joint letter, warned that this decision might become a hindrance to health centres being universally accessible. “We request the Lt. Governor for considering repealing the order, keeping in mind the religious and cultural sentiments of the residents of Ladakh,” the letter reads.
In an order issued on January 23, the Ministry of Health and Welfare had directed the use of the name, Ayushman Arogya Mandir, for local public health centres in Ladakh.
The experts in the country had questioned the renaming and rebranding of the Health and Wellness Centre in November 2023 when the proposal for a change of name was made by the central government.
Doctors, public health experts expressed their concern over the name change and asked whether these are health centres or religious places.
Background of the directive
The Union Health Ministry’s directive, released on 25 November, 2023, mandated state health secretaries to implement the renaming with specific guidelines on format, font, and size.
The directive stated, “To realise the dream of Ayushman India, the competent authority has decided to rename the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres as ‘AYUSHMAN AROGYA MANDIR’ with the tagline ‘Arogyam Parmam Dhanam’.”
The directive asked the states to rename all sub health centres (SHCs), primary health centres (PHCs), urban primary health centres (UPHCs), urban health and wellness centre (UHWCs) with this name written both in English and Hindi, respectively. The specific font and size were also mentioned.
Interestingly, it said that if any script other than Devnagri/English has to be used for branding, then the full and exact title can be translated in state languages, but the tagline has to be transliterated in the state language. The deadline given by the government to do the same is 31 December.
This move, involving an approximate expenditure of close to ₹50 crore, has sparked widespread debate and raised several crucial questions.
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