: In medical advancement, documentation of medical history and heritage plays a very important role. Unknown to many, Hyderabad houses a national institute that documents the history of Indian medical systems. Hidden away in the lanes of Gaddiannaram, Dilsukhnagar, the National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), is a rich resource for historians and researchers studying traditional Indian medical systems like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and several components of modern medicine.
The institute was formerly known as the National Centre of Indian Medical Heritage. The institute came into existence as the upgraded Department of History of Medicine in 1956 under the government of Andhra Pradesh and was handed over to the government of India in 1969. It was earlier housed on the third floor of Osmania Medical College and shifted to its present premises in 2009.
Currently functioning under the administrative control of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), ministry of AYUSH, the government of India, it houses a medical history library with over 10,000 books, including rare publications dating back to the 15th century. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated NIIMH as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Fundamental and Literary Research in Traditional Medicine. Shedding light on the rich medical history of Telangana, director of the institute G.
P. Prasad said, "One of the earliest inscriptions, dating back to 400 AD, was found in Phanigiri.
