The Ethics and Medical Registration Board of National Medical Council has written to the Ministry of Health seeking action against IMA President Dr.Johnrose Austin Jayalal. He had abused his position to proselytise Christianity and encouraged Christian doctors to preach the gospel to patients.

Dr.Johnrose Austin Jayalal who headed the Indian Medical Association(IMA)  was found to be abusing his position to spread Christianity. He had openly admitted it in an interview given to Christianity Today, an evangelical portal. He had said, “My primary concern when I work as a Christian doctor is 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. 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 also slandered the government at centre while trying to paint a rosy picture about the missionaries’ ‘social service’ during the Covid-19 pandemic. “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. Two main groups, Jesus Calls and Jesus Redeems, were systematically conducting services at particular times“. 

Jesus Calls is an FCRA missionary NGO run by Tele evangelist Paul Dinakaran. Anti-Hindu hate monger Mohan C Lazarus runs Jesus Redeems which is also an FCRA NGO.

Austin Jayalal spread canards about the Bharatiya government saying, “The government of India, because of their cultural value and traditional belief in the Hindutva, believes in a system called Ayurveda. For the last three or four years, they have tried to replace modern medicine with this. Now, starting in 2030, you will have to study this alongside Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, homeopathy, yoga, and naturopathy. They want to make it one nation, one system of medicine. Next, they will want to make it one religion.”

Much along the lines of Dravidian propaganda demonising Sanskrit just because it’s associated to Hindu dharma he said, “This is also based on a 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 had discredited the hardships of his colleagues, fellow doctors as well. He said, “Not all doctors were willing to come forward and serve in the ICUs or areas where the most casualties were coming from. Many Christian doctors did come and serve in those areas and help“. As the head of IMA he had targeted Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali for criticising Allopathy. 

IMA in its press release used terms like “unscientific illiteracy” to insult him all the while Jayalal believed and preached that only through “the grace of God Almighty” people were protected from Covid-19. More on what else Jayalal ‘revealed’ about his true nature and intentions through Christianity Today can be read here.

IMA is the largest body of doctors in Bharat and was an FCRA registered organisation. Its evangelical nature came to light only after Jayalal’s interview went viral. After Jayalal’s missionary connection was out, Legal Rights Protection Forum, an advocacy group, had filed complaints with the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking to cancel IMA’s FCRA licence and stop funding it. It also wrote to the National Medical Council and the Ministry of Health seeking to revoke Jayalal’s medical practitioner licence.

In August 2021, the Tamil Nadu Medical Council had sought response from Jayalal about his remarks and warned of disciplinary actions if he fails to provide a plausible explanation. But nothing seems to have come out of it. But the Home Ministry revoked IMA’s FCRA licence in January 2022. Now the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of National Medical Council has also sought action against Austin Jayalal and written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.