A question in the ayurveda paper set by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science (RGUHS), in which women are allegedly referred to in a derogatory manner, has created a controversy.
A question in the paper for the fourth-year Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree exam, held on Thursday, asked students to write a short essay on “Stree as a Vajikarana dravya” (literally meaning “woman as a aphrodisiac item”).
This created a controversy, with many on social media platforms slamming the use of such a “regressive” reference to women and their “objectification”.
However, university officials said this was part of textbook and should be seen in a context.
Ramakrishna Reddy, Registrar (Evaluation) of RGUHS, told The Hindu, “The question paper is set as per the syllabus. These are things taught in the textbook and are one of the methods of treatment. The university has no authority over adding or removing the contents of the textbook as it was set by the Central Council for Indian Medicine.”
