The AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) pharmacists in Telangana State, formerly known as compounders, are protesting the State government's Government Order (GO Ms No 65) dated March 28, 2025.
The order proposes to fill AYUSH pharmacist positions in government hospitals with qualifications of Diploma in Pharmacy, Bachelor of Pharmacy, and Doctor of Pharmacy, all of which are Allopathy disciplines.
According to the Government Order, selected Allopathy chemists would be hired following completion of a six-month Certificate Course in AYUSH.
There have been 62 AYUSH pharmacists working on a contract basis since 2005 in Telangana State government hospitals, and another 275 AYUSH pharmacists working under NRHM since 2008, Telangana Today reports.
Protesting against the move, the AYUSH Pharmacists (Compounder) Welfare Association informed Telangana Today that when they had been taken as AYUSH compounders, their qualification eligibility had been just intermediate.
Later, in 2017, their nomenclature was changed from compounder to pharmacist, and the qualification was revised to a two-year diploma in AYUSH pharmacy. However, they stated that such a course had not yet been established in Telangana State.
“Now, in 2025, the State government says Allopathy pharmacists should be recruited in place of AYUSH pharmacists,” they complained.
They add, “How can an Allopathy pharmacist become an AYUSH pharmacist in six months? What about the 25 years of experience that we have gained by working as AYUSH pharmacists in Government hospitals? Does that mean nothing? What about our families? By releasing this Government Order, overnight, we have literally become jobless.”
