The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is a

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

for

Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

s. The association is based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and was founded in 1982. As of 2019, it claims a membership of 80,000 physicians.

History

Founding

From the 1960s to the 1970s, the United States saw a large influx of medical students and physicians from India who were looking to continue their studies, intern or practice. However, while trying to apply for residencies, promotions, medical licenses, etc., many experienced discrimination and difficulties despite being qualified for these positions. This led to the formation of regional Indian-origin physician organizations such as the Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (MAPI), which was established in 1976 to support Indian medical graduates in the area. Leaders in organizations across U.S., such as Dr. Navin Shah from Washington D.C., reached out to other organizations proposing that they all come under one national organization, and in 1982, the first national meeting was hosted by MAPI in Dearborn, Michigan. The new organization started out small, with there only being five organizations at the meeting. During the meeting, they elected people for various leadership positions and drafted a Constitution and Bylaws. AAPI's initial goals thus became to lobby Congress and confront the American Medical Association in order to receive fair treatment.

Doctors of Indian origin

As of 2019, there were about 938,980 active physicians in the US; Indian-origin physicians account for at least 8.5% of the total physician population. It is noteworthy that India provides the largest number of International Medical Graduates to the US in absolute numbers. More generally, India has been an important source of medical doctors for foreign countries since the 1960s. Dr. Anjana Samadder, Gastroenterologist from Ohio is the organization's president.

Jagdish Tytler controversy

In June 2004, AAPI became involved in a controversy for its invitation to Indian Minister for NRI Affairs

Jagdish Tytler Jagdish Tytler (born Jagdish Singh Kapoor; 17 August 1944) is an Indian politician and former Member of Parliament. He has held several government positions, the last being as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Overseas Indian Affairs, ...

to be honored at a dinner gala. Various human rights and

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

groups threatened to hold demonstrations at the venue and the invitation to Jagdish Tytler was withdrawn. Tytler resigned from the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

after being indicted by the official Nanavati Commission of inciting mobs for violence.

Events

American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin organised 15th Annual Global Health Summit as part of 5th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative at Avasa Hotel,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India, during January 2022. Shri

Venkaiah Naidu Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He has also served as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, minister of Housing and Urban Pover ...

, Hon'ble

Vice President of India The vice president of India (ISO: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in t ...

, was the Chief Guest. At the summit the theme on the benefits of

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and

Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

on mental and emotional health was stressed.

References

External links

American Association of Physicians of Indian OriginAAPIO website
Medical associations based in the United States South Asian American organizations Medical and health professional associations in Chicago Organizations established in 1984 Overseas Indian organisations {{US-health-org-stub