In December last year, there was a change of guard at the helm of affairs at the prestigious Indian Medical Association, the country’s largest professional council of healthcare personnel. Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal was appointed as the new national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for the year 2020-2021 at its 95th annual national conference held in December 2020.

Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal now heads the Indian Medical Association, the best-known guild of doctors in the country.

Dr Jayalal proclamation of being a devout Christian and his reverence for controversial figure Mother Teresa

In his presidential address after being anointed as the chief of the Indian Medical Association, Dr Jayalal did not flinch from expressing his Christian evangelism and hailing controversial characters such as Mother Teresa, regarded by many as a predatory Christian proselytiser responsible for industrial-scale conversions of the indigenous people to Christianity.

“I firmly believe what I am today is the Gift of my almighty God Jesus Christ and what I become tomorrow will be my gift to God. With gratitude, I salute you for giving me this opportunity unanimously. I affirm the statement of Mother Teresa once “You can do what I cannot do, I can do what you cannot do but together we can do great things.” Shall be my modus operandi,” Dr Jayalal said.

But from his latest actions and utterances, it seems when he walks in with his scalpel, and his patients have much to save, particularly their faith and identity.

Dr Jayalal has been at the forefront of protests against the Narendra Modi government’s decision to integrate Indian medical systems like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, homoeopathy, yoga and naturopathy with western allopathic healing. This annoys Dr Jayalal no end. For him, a healthy mix of allopathy and Christianity should suffice. He considers Indian healing systems deeply inferior.

Dr Jayalal accuses the central government of advancing Hindutva through promoting Ayurveda and Sanskrit language

“The most common system is modern medicine based on scientific evidence. The government of India, because of their cultural value and traditional belief in the Hindutva, believes in a system called Ayurveda. This (Ayurveda, Unani, homoeopathy, yoga etc.) is also based on the Sanskrit language, which is always traditionally based on the Hindu principles. This is an indirect way for the government to introduce the language of Sanskrit and the language of Hindutva into the minds of the people” he said in a recent interview with Christianity TodayDr Jayalal’s opposition to Ayurveda and Vedic methods of medical treatment stems from the fact that most of it have been catalogued in the traditional Indian language Sanskrit, which according to him is the language of Hindutva. Dr Jayalal contends the renewed focus on the Sanskrit language is a way through which the government wants to introduce the language of Hindutva into the minds of the people.

“For the last three or four years, they have tried to replace modern medicine with this. Now, you will have to study this alongside Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, homoeopathy, yoga, and naturopathy.”

The devout doctor’s grouse seems to be with Hinduness.

“They want to make it one nation, one system of medicine. Next, they will want to make it one religion. This is also based on the Sanskrit language, which is always traditionally based on the Hindu principles. This is an indirect way for the government to introduce the language of Sanskrit and language of Hindutva into the minds of the people,” he said in the interview.

“I am able to see, even amid persecution, even amid difficulties, even amid the control by the government, even among the restrictions we face in openly proclaiming the message, by various means and ways, Christianity is growing.”

He is steadfast in his mission. “As the leader of the Indian Medical Association, I need to continue filings against the government. We have organised various demonstrations and protests. In the last 14 days, I have organised a hunger strike across the country, and most of our modern medical doctors have participated. But at the moment, I am also seeking the wisdom and guidance of God Almighty about what I will do in this difficult time.”

It looks like for Dr Jayalal, the only syncretism that passes muster with medicine is Christianity. And that takes him to murkier and more dangerous territory of proselytising at secular spaces like hospitals.

‘God Almighty has given us the holistic way of healing people’: Dr Jayalal on being a “Christian Doctor”

While he dismissed Ayurveda and other Vedic medical treatments as “quackery”, Dr Jayalal was unabashed enough to claim that Christian doctors are blessed with a special ability to provide “holistic healing”, which includes spiritual, mental and social healing.

“Normally in the medical profession, we talk about the physical curing. But as a Christian, I believe we are not just here to physically cure, but God Almighty has called us to give holistic healing, which includes the spiritual healing, the mental healing, and the social healing,” he said.

“I work as a Christian doctor to ensure that I have time to talk about the mental well-being and spiritual healing of the person. We need more Christian doctors to work more in secular institutions, mission institutions, and medical colleges,” he said.

“I am working as a professor of surgery in a medical college, so it is also a good opportunity for me to carry on the principles of Christian healing there. I also have the privilege of mentoring graduates and the interns,” he added.

What Dr Jayalal is implying here is that by the virtue of their faith, Christian Doctors are gifted with a paranormal ability to effect just not physical curing but mental and spiritual healing as well. He then goes on to say more Christian doctors are required to work more in secular institutions, mission institutions, and medical colleges, who can impart “Christian healing” to the patients.

Discarding the efforts by the government or secular, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain NGOs, Dr Jayalal believes it is only Christianity that came as the saviour of the Indian poor during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The majority of people who got sick were from the middle or top socioeconomic statuses. The people on the lower level — yes, it was a problem, but most of the time it’s really the churches who were taking care of them. The government has not come forward to support them,” he told Christianity Today.

In a bizarre defence, Jayalal said in a release under the IMA banner that he had been quoted out of context in the interview. Begs reason how one can be quoted out of context in an interview published in the question-and-answer format.

If Jayalal restricted himself to being a zealous pastor or an exploring evangelist, the problem would be limited. That he heads a very large and respected association of doctors and hides behind that exalted role to sneak in his bigotry is dubious and problematic.

It also casts serious doubt on his agenda to stop the integration of ancient and time-tested Indian cure systems, many of which like yoga and Ayurveda are immensely popular the world over. With such bias, one wonders if he is fit to objectively treat every patient, leave aside head a national medical body.

Hindus in India should accept Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad as one of their Gods because Hinduism is based on polytheism: Dr JA Jayalal

When asked what is Christian community’s relationship with Hindu nationalists, Dr Jayalal suggested that Hindus should accept Jesus and Muhammad as their Gods because their religion is based on polytheism. Since Hindus believe in multiple Gods, Dr Jayalal believes it is not difficult for them to exhibit tolerance and internalise Christian and Islamic practices.

Dr Jayalal’s idea of being a serious Christian

According to the Indian Medical Association President, being a serious Christian does not require one to be a pastor or a minister or in a Church. “You can be a Christian police officer or work in the revenue department. The place does not decide how you are going to be a Christian. It is your relationship with God Almighty. When we have a relationship with the Father above, we know who we are and who is our master,” he said.