MartinDietrich8 at 02:46, 24 January 2026

2026-01-24T02:46:21Z

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{{Short description|Society of Indian physicians formed in 1928}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Indian Medical Association
| image = Indian medical association logo.JPG
| abbreviation = IMA
| formation = {{start date and age|1928}}
| headquarters = [[New Delhi]]
| membership = 317,458 as of November 30, 2019<ref name="l4pmh">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ima-india.org/ima/|title=Indian Medical Association|website=www.ima-india.org}}</ref>
| location = Indian Medical Association, IMA House, I.P. Estate, Next to [[Vikas Minar]], New Delhi - 110002
| region_served = [[India]]
| website = {{URL|http://www.ima-india.org}}
| leader_title = National President
| leader_name = Dr. R. V. Asokan
}}

The '''Indian Medical Association''' ('''IMA''') is a private, national [[Voluntary association|voluntary organisation]] of physicians in [[India]]. It was established in 1928<ref name="Ghosh_3/2021">{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Abantika |date=2021-03-10 |title='Voice of doctors' or 'den of politics'? Why some doctors swear by IMA, others don't care |url=https://theprint.in/health/voice-of-doctors-or-den-of-politics-why-some-doctors-swear-by-ima-others-dont-care/618614/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref> as the All India Medical Association, and was renamed the Indian Medical Association in 1930. It is a society registered under The Societies Act of India.

==Background==
The Indian Medical Association has approximately 350,000 member doctors<ref name="Ghosh_3/2021" /> in 1,700 active local branches in 29 states and union territories in India.<ref name="gKbnb">{{cite web |last=Rai |first=D. R. |date=2012 |title=Article on Indian Medical Association in Japan Medical association Journal |url=https://www.med.or.jp/english/journal/pdf/2012_06/441_444.pdf |access-date=2020-10-11 |website=www.med.or.jp |archive-date=2021-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022194545/https://www.med.or.jp/english/journal/pdf/2012_06/441_444.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Patel |first1=Jitendra B. |last2=Saini |first2=Narendra |date=2014-08-01 |title=Indian Medical Association |journal=Japan Medical Association Journal |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=238–244 |issn=1346-8650 |pmc=4375268 |pmid=26005621}}</ref> It is the largest association of medical doctors in India.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Prachi |date=August 12, 2020 |title=The Contest Between AYUSH and Allopathy Shouldn't Forget Public Health |url=https://science.thewire.in/health/ministry-of-ayush-mixopathy-ayurveda-allopathy-indian-medical-association-doctors-shortage-rural-areas-public-health/ |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Previously stationed out of [[Calcutta]], the IMA is headquartered in [[New Delhi]].<ref name="Ghosh_3/2021" /> Local branches send representatives to a central council which meets annually.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=What is IMA? And its [sic] History |url=https://www.ima-india.org/ima/left-side-bar.php?pid=299 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Indian Medical Association}}</ref> The council delegates to a working committee that represents all state branches and meets at least three times a year.<ref name=":0" />

The Indian Medical Association is one of the 27 founder members of the [[World Medical Association]],<ref name="dcy6f">{{Cite web |url=http://www.wma.net/en/60about/70history/ |title=History of the World Medical Association |access-date=2016-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609202315/http://www.wma.net/en/60about/70history/ |archive-date=2016-06-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref> joining in 1948.<ref name="Ghosh_3/2021" /> The IMA left the organization in 1985 due to the WMA's retention of South Africa, then a practitioner of apartheid. The IMA rejoined the WMA in 1993.<ref name="Ghosh_3/2021" /> A Reuters investigative report from 2015 found that the IMA had incorrectly told the WMA that charges of corruption brought by the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] against former IMA president [[Ketan Desai (urologist)|Ketan Desai]] had been withdrawn.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-11-05 |title=WMA president Ketan Desai attends court hearing in corruption case |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/wma-president-desai-idINKBN130041 |access-date=2022-04-08}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last1=Stecklow |first1=Steve |last2=MacAskill |first2=Andrew |last3=Kalra |first3=Aditya |date=July 30, 2015 |title=Indian doctor's legal troubles bedevil global medical-ethics body |url=http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/india-medicine-doctor/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

The IMA has expressed opposition to [[integrated medicine]] or the mixing together of systems of medicine in curriculum, practice and research in India, often by using the term "mixopathy".<ref>{{Cite news |title='Khichdi' medical system can put millions of lives at risk: IMA on integrated medicine proposal |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/khichdi-medical-system-can-put-millions-of-lives-at-risk-ima-on-integrated-medicine-proposal/articleshow/79066431.cms |access-date=2022-03-23}}</ref><ref name="Sirur_2/2022">{{Cite web |last=Sirur |first=Simrin |date=2022-02-19 |title=Don't call practitioners of Indian medicine 'quacks', have rights under law, says Commission |url=https://theprint.in/health/dont-call-practitioners-of-indian-medicine-quacks-have-rights-under-law-says-commission/838476/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taskin |first=Bismee |date=2020-12-08 |title='No point mixing all in one' — IMA to fight govt move to allow Ayurveda doctors to do surgery |url=https://theprint.in/health/no-point-mixing-all-in-one-ima-to-fight-govt-move-to-allow-ayurveda-doctors-to-do-surgery/562449/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref> The IMA has held a number of nationwide protests.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 18, 2021 |title=IMA holds nationwide protest seeking central law to protect doctors against violence |work=ANI |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ima-holds-nationwide-protest-seeking-central-law-to-protect-doctors-against-violence20210618143115/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 December 2020 |title=IMA's Call For Protest: Some Doctors Withdrew Services, Others Sported Black Ribbons |url=https://thewire.in/health/imas-call-for-protest-some-doctors-withdrew-services-others-sported-black-ribbons |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=The Wire |publisher=PTI}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=2016-11-16 |title=Indian Medical Association protests against proposal to dissolve Medical Council of India |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/policy-and-issues/Indian-Medical-Association-protests-against-proposal-to-dissolve-Medical-Council-of-India/article16643796.ece |access-date=2022-04-07 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> These have included several protests between November 2016 and March 2017<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nagarajan |first=Rema |date=2019-03-16 |title=Two decades of attempts to cleanse medical education and its regulator the MCI |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/staying-alive/two-decades-of-attempts-to-cleanse-medical-education-and-its-regulator-the-mci/ |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=Times of India |language=en-US}}</ref> that objected to bills raised toward the creation of the [[National Medical Commission]]<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2018 |title=IMA strike: IMA protest against NMC bill tomorrow may hit services in private hospitals |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ima-protest-against-nmc-bill-tomorrow-may-hit-services-in-private-hospitals/articleshow/62325556.cms |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> which replaced the [[Medical Council of India]] on 25 September 2020.<ref name="NMC_2020">{{Cite web |date=September 25, 2020 |title=NMC comes into force from today, repeals Indian Medical Council Act |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/nmc-comes-into-force-from-today-repeals-indian-medical-council-act20200925002735/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=ANI News |language=en |archive-date=2020-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926090254/https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/nmc-comes-into-force-from-today-repeals-indian-medical-council-act20200925002735/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In December 2020, approximately one million doctors attended a day-long strike organized by the IMA to protest a federal government rule that allows practitioners of the Indian system of medicine [[Ayurveda]] to perform minor surgeries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jamkhandikar |first=Shilpa |date=2020-12-11 |title=One million Indian doctors on strike to protest surgeries by traditional practitioners |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/india-strike-idUSKBN28L17D |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref> In early 2021, the IMA held a two-week nationwide hunger strike to protest the government's support for surgical training for postgraduate students of Ayurveda.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Dinesh C. |date=2021-02-13 |title=Indian Medical Association launches hunger strike |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00363-9/abstract |journal=The Lancet |language=English |volume=397 |issue=10274 |pages=567 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00363-9 |issn=0140-6736 |pmid=33581811|s2cid=231885079 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 2022, Sahajanand Prasad Singh was listed as the national president for the organization.<ref name="Sirur_2/2022" /> Singh was preceded in the post by surgeon J. A. Jayalal from 2020 to 2021.<ref name="5mXsK">{{cite web |last=Chattopadhyay |first=Sanchari |date=December 31, 2020 |title=TN Surgeon Dr Jayalal Takes Charge As The New National President Of IMA |url=https://medicaldialogues.in/news/health/doctors/tn-surgeon-dr-jayalal-takes-charge-as-the-new-national-president-of-ima-73064 |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=Medical Dialogues}}</ref> Longtime member and cardiologist [[K. K. Aggarwal (cardiologist)|K. K. Aggarwal]] held several posts within the IMA including president.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 18, 2017 |title=National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill Opposed By IMA: 10 Points |url=https://www.ndtv.com/education/national-medical-commission-bill-move-to-replace-mci-opposed-by-ima-10-points-1788812 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=NDTV |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Economic Times">{{cite web |date=2 September 2014 |title=Dr KK Aggarwal elected as the new IMA general secretary |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-02/news/53480151_1_ima-indian-medical-association-secretary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909124041/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-02/news/53480151_1_ima-indian-medical-association-secretary |archive-date=9 September 2016 |website=[[The Economic Times]] |location=New Delhi |language=en}}</ref> [[Ketan Desai (urologist)|Ketan Desai]] served as the organization's head<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kalra |first=Aditya |date=2016-10-21 |title=Indian doctor accused of crimes becomes president of World Medical Association |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wma-president-desai-idUSKCN12L0S8 |access-date=2022-04-07}}</ref> from 2001 to 2003<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Kalyan |date=2014-09-22 |title=Scam-tainted former MCI chief set to head global body |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/432113/scam-tainted-former-mci-chief.html |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref> following a period when he had been found guilty by [[Delhi High Court]] of corrupt practices and [[abuse of power]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Rohit |date=2001-12-15 |title=Head of the Medical Council of India removed for corruption |journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal |volume=323 |issue=7326 |pages=1385 |doi=10.1136/bmj.323.7326.1385 |issn=0959-8138 |pmc=1121855 |pmid=11744556}}</ref>

==Office Bearers of IMA since Inception==
{{Incomplete list|date=February 2024}}
* [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]] (1929–30)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ima-india.org/ima/free-way-page.php?pid=20 | title=Indian Medical Association }}</ref>
*[[Nilratan Sircar]] (1931–32)
*[[Prem Aggarwal]] (June 1996 to 2000)<ref>{{Cite web |title={{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|Honarary}} Secretaries General |url=https://www.ima-india.org/ima/free-way-page.php?pid=65}}</ref>
* [[Ketan Desai (urologist)|Ketan Desai]] (2001–2003)
*[[K. K. Aggarwal (cardiologist)|K. K. Aggarwal]] (2014–2016)
*R. V. Asokan (2024–''Incumbent'')

==''Journal of the Indian Medical Association''==
The ''Journal of the Indian Medical Association'', (JIMA), is indexed in the [[Index Medicus]]. Published monthly, JIMA has over 240,000 subscribers for its electronic version and is also available in microfilm through [[Bell & Howell|Bell & Howels]], US.<ref name="D71AO">{{Cite web |title=Journal of the Indian Medical Association |url=https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=14672&tip=sid |website=SCImago |issn=0019-5847}}</ref> JIMA was founded in 1930 by Sir [[Nilratan Sircar]], [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]], Kumud Sankar Ray, and others in [[Calcutta]].<ref name="D71AO" />

== See also ==
* [[Indian Council of Medical Research]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.ima-india.org/}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1928 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Medical associations based in India]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1928]]

Indian Medical Association - Revision history

MartinDietrich8 at 02:46, 24 January 2026