The Union government’s recent order to rename over 1.61 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) as “Ayushman Arogya Mandir” has irked several people in the health fraternity.
“How does the supposed revolution in rural healthcare emerge from changing ‘Arogya Kendra’ to ‘Arogya Mandir’? The functionality remains the same.” Says Dr KR Antony.
The Union Health Ministry’s directive, released on 25 November, involves an expenditure of close to ₹50 crore, has sparked widespread debate and raised several crucial questions.
The very use of the term “mandir” is being questioned. Dr Gupta pointed out that the term “mandir”, even as per Wikipedia, refers to a place where Hindus go to worship.
Experts feel that the new name could affect the ease of access and comfort level of people from minority religions, especially in areas where “mandir” is not culturally relevant.
Experts also argued that this is in contrast to Article 15 of the Constitution, where the state should not discriminate against any citizen based on religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or similar grounds.