The West Bengal health department has restored DMS and DHMS diploma-holding homeopathic doctors’ authority to issue birth and death certificates, following a protest by more than 100 practitioners outside Swasthya Bhavan in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The notification was issued after representatives of the protesting doctors submitted deputations to the Director of Health Services, a joint secretary and the Director of Homeopathy. The campaign was led by members of the All Bengal Homeo Forum, including Timir Das, Jhoton Das, Rabiul Alam and Motilal Giri. Representatives of the Medical Service Centre also supported the protest, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The restoration concerns doctors holding the Diploma in Medicine and Surgery (DMS) and the Diploma in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (DHMS). The authority is linked to the civil registration process, through which births and deaths are formally recorded and certificates are issued to residents and families.
Dr Shyamal Mukhopadhyay, national president of the homeopathic doctors’ organisation Homai, said DMS diploma holders had been authorised to issue birth and death certificates since 1964. The authority was withdrawn after the DHMS course was introduced, but was restored in 1999 following a prolonged movement by the doctors, he said.
According to the report, the authority was withdrawn again through a gazette notification issued on July 9 this year. The latest notification has now restored the right for both DMS and DHMS practitioners. Doctors’ organisations have described the move as a major success for their campaign.
The dispute highlights how professional recognition and administrative rules can affect access to civil documentation. Birth and death certificates are essential for a range of public services, including identity records, inheritance processes, welfare access, school admissions and other official transactions. Any change in the categories of medical practitioners permitted to issue them can therefore affect the functioning of registration systems beyond the medical profession.
The organisations have now sought a consolidated gazette notification covering the restored authority. They have also called for improvements to the infrastructure of homeopathic colleges. A convention on these demands is scheduled to be held in November, according to the report.
The latest notification follows the Kolkata protest and the deputations submitted to senior health department officials. Further details of the consolidated notification and its implementation were not provided in the supplied report.
