"Back to the Dark Ages": Chidambaram on NMC re-revised forensic med curriculum

Former home minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram has sharply criticised the National Medical Commission (NMC) over its recent re-revision of the forensic medicine curriculum, labelling it as “unbelievably retrograde”.

The revised curriculum for undergraduate medical students now includes statements categorising sodomy and lesbianism as 'unnatural sex offences'.

Additionally, the updated textbook covers topics such as sexual perversions and fetishism, but omits any distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex between queer individuals.

These changes were re-introduced into the forensic medicine and toxicology textbook after having been removed in 2022 following a directive from the Madras High Court. The amended curriculum also reintroduces discussions on the hymen, its types and its medico-legal significance, as well as definitions of virginity, defloration and legitimacy.

This is surprising, surely, given the Supreme Court has repeatedly spoken of disciplinary action for conducting the antediluvian 'two-finger' test.

It talks about sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism and necrophilia as well.

Chidambaram criticised the revisions in a post on X, questioning how the curriculum could reflect such outdated views:

Notably, the new Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) removed the penalisation of sodomy and 'unnatural sex' as contained in the older Indian Penal Code (IPC) that it replaces.

Yet the updated curriculum also includes descriptions of legal competencies such as the BNS, as well as the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), civil and criminal cases, inquests and cognisable and non-cognisable offences.

The revised curriculum also does away with the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex between queer individuals, a discussion of adultery and offences such as incest and bestiality, which the NMC had introduced in 2022 to make forensic education more friendly to the LGBTQIA+ community

It also omits what used to be a seven-hour course on disability..

The NMC 'explained' that the syllabus was revised to 'relook at all aspects of the various components in the existing regulations and guidelines' as stated in its Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) Guidelines, 2024.

Surprisingly, the commission added that this latest revision aims to adapt to India's changing demographics, socio-economic contexts, perceptions, values, advancements in medical education and stakeholder expectations.

It also claimed that the result is a curriculum focused on outcomes that aligns with global trends.

It also emphasised the curriculum's horizontal and vertical integration of subjects, while still valuing the strengths and need for subject-specific instruction and assessment.

The NMC document also emphasised that the undergraduate medical programme is designed to create an 'Indian Medical Graduate (IMG)' who will possess the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and responsiveness necessary to function effectively as the first point of contact in the community while remaining globally relevant.

The IMG will also be armed with the skills for promotive, preventive, rehabilitative and palliative care and referral services, it said.

The changes have sparked concern among medical professionals and LGBTQ+ advocates, who fear that these revisions may undermine progress toward inclusivity and understanding in medical education.