The faculty association writes to the health minister opposing the proposal for renaming AIIMS

Faculty Association of AIIMS has written to the Union Health Minister regarding the proposal of renaming all the 23 AIIMS in India, based on heroes, freedom fighters, historical events, and monuments

Photo: Social Media
Photo: Social Media
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NH Web Desk

The Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS) has written to the union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya expressing concern over the proposal of assigning new names to all the 23 All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in India, based on regional heroes, freedom fighters, historical events, and distinct monuments.

While the Central Health Ministry has not given any official confirmation on the move, discontent has already started growing among the faculty at this premier institute of India. In a letter written to the health minister, FAIMS contended that the decision would lead to a loss of the Institute’s identity, mentioning that the Institute was created in 1956 with the purpose of medical education, research, and patient care, reported NDTV.

“Identity is linked with the name and if name changes the identity of these institutes will be lost,” the faculty said in the letter.

Under the government’s proposal, all AIIMS institutes — fully functional, partially operational or under construction — are to be renamed. The FAIMS, however, said if the proposal is accepted, the reputed medical institute will face a huge loss of identity and demoralisation. 

While requesting the health minister to not consider any changes in the names of AIIMS Delhi, FAIMS wrote, “This will help to maintain the premier and mentor institute status of AIIMS Delhi with respect to others in the country.” Moreover, the FAIMS sought an appointment to discuss long-pending issues related to autonomy, in-campus accommodation, and administration reform at AIIMS, Delhi.


President, FAIMS, Achal Kumar Srivastava noted in the letter that since identity is linked with the name that is why famous and established institutes have the same names for centuries mentioning that Institutes such as Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard universities have retained their name for many years now.

“In India, IITs have a name recognition which gives them an institution’s identity, and there is no proposal to change it. The same is true for IIMs. Indian Institute of Science which celebrated its 100 years of productive life also has not changed its name," he said, adding that the sense of identity is so strong, that Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras Universities continue with the same name even though the cities they are located in have changed names to Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

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