Geoffrey Van Orden MBE, MEP, speaks at Ayurveda Day 2018 in the European Parliament in Brussel.

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Geoffrey Van Orden. I'm a British Conservative member of the European Parliament. I chair the delegation for relations with India. The aim of that delegation is to promote understanding between the Parliament and India and vice versa. And to if you like, promote the relationship between India and our European nations and indeed between India and the European Union. This year marks the third Ayurveda Day for the Indian government. But today's celebration here marks the first ever Ayurveda Day in the European Parliament. So I'm doubly grateful to all of you for participating in this event. I'd like to thank in particular Amitjeet Bamra who most of you I'm sure will know who's played a huge role in organizing today's event. I'd also like to thank Her Excellency Mrs. Kaytri Isaac Kumar, the Ambassador of India for the European Union and indeed Belgium. Luxembourg. That's it. That's enough. Yes. I must also thank my assistant Juliet Invadale. I don't know if Juliet managed to get back. There she is at the end of the room then who's been running around making sure everyone ends up in the right place more or less at the right time. So thank you Juliet. Amitj Bhamra has played a vital role in promoting and facilitating discussions on issues concerning all Indian traditional sciences through the all party Parliamentary Group at the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. All Party Parliamentary Group for Indian Traditional Sciences. This, if my memory serves me correctly, this group was set UP in about 2004 and now has over 20 members of the House of the House of Commons. And it's helped build cross party dialogue on the topic of traditional sciences and parliamentary awareness through early day motions. I was delighted when Amitji joined India delegation meeting on human health which we held in February of this year when he had an opportunity to speak about Indian traditional sciences. And I was delighted on my part to make an appearance at his APPG meeting in the Commons on Monday 12th of November, a week ago when not only Amarjeet but also Dr. Atik and Dr. Joshi, both of whom are with us here today, most distinguished teachers and practitioners of Ayurveda. They were present but I was also able to hear one of their pupils, a young lady called Selena who. She gave what I thought was an excellent speech but I'm slightly biased because I'm her father. That was a double pleasure. The Indian Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi has been particularly active in promoting Indian Traditional sciences. Indeed, he established a Ministry of Ayush, what we all popularly dub a Ministry for Yoga, and initiated World Yoga Day, which by the way, we've also celebrated for a number of years here in the Parliament. And we had the last time we had the Indian Foreign Minister with us, Mrs. Swaraj, we also had Sri Sri Ravi Shankar here as well, who was a good personal friend. Now, of course, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a plaque in London on 18 April at the Science Museum. And this plaque will soon be erected at a new and first ever center for Excellence for Ayurveda in the United Kingdom. Now, I'm not sure where that plaque is going to end up, but it will certainly end up somewhere quite soon. And Dr. Michael Dickson, who is chairman of the College of Medicine in the uk, will lead this center of Excellence which will undertake evidence based research into Yoga and Ayurveda. To my mind, as both a believer, I'm a Christian, a believer in a Supreme Being, but also as one of life's natural skeptics, if I may say, I think this idea of evidence based research brings us to the nub of the issue, how to make Ayurveda understood and acceptable as a complementary system to the West's allopathic approach. And I think for us this is the key question. I mean, others of you might have other central questions, but to my mind this is key. It's all very well preaching to the converted, as we say, but it's the doubters who need to be convinced. So I think the practitioners of Ayurveda need to be able to face up to criticism and they need to come to terms with that and have answers to criticism. Now I've seen Ayurveda described on the one hand as at best a healthy lifestyle that promotes a vegetarian diet and relaxation. His insight into herbal cures is keen. Some of these herbs are being studied by Indian scientists and turned into reliable medicines. Herbs, after all, are the basis of conventional pharmacology. And at worst, the same person said, ayurveda is a billion dollar business of sham cures based on astrology, gem handling, psychic healing, mantras and pop culture. That's the other take on all this. So this is to me, it seems to me, this is the challenge. So I think as legislators, and I'll only be a legislator until 29th of March next year when I'll be going up this particular profession, but I think for legislators, and I'm delighted to see Joe Lyman here and I'm delighted to see Alois Peter here colleagues, one from Germany, one from Slovenia, former prime minister of Slovenia and Joe Leinen, very distinguished socialist politician from Germany. Have we any other colleagues here from the parliament at the moment? Others I'm sure will join us. So I think the challenge for us is the scientific evaluation of Ayurveda and its recognition as a legitimate and very positive complement to Western medicine focusing particularly on the holistic approach to disease and the fact that the mind and the body are inextricably linked. That is one part of it and I think also and I know this is a matter dear to the heart of my daughter and I'm sure her tutors an approved system for recognizing professional qualifications in Ayurveda. So I think these are the two legislative challenges that we face now. Ladies and gentlemen, enough from me. We have distinguished speakers here and I would like first of all to give the floor to Her Excellency Gayatri Nisar Kumar, Ambassador.