Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena conferred the Union Territory State Award for the year 2025 on Dr Padma Gurmet, the Founding Director of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) in Leh, in recognition of his decades-long contributions to the preservation, promotion, and development of the Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine. The honour recognises a lifetime of work that transformed a fading Himalayan healing tradition into an institutionally recognised medical system under India’s AYUSH framework.
Who Is Dr Padma Gurmet?
Dr Padma Gurmet was born on 15 April 1971 in Ladakh into a family of traditional Amchi healers, practitioners of the Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine. His father was among the most respected Amchis in the region. In the high-altitude villages of Ladakh, where modern hospitals were scarce or non-existent for decades, Amchis were the only link between remote communities and any form of organised healthcare. Growing up, Gurmet watched his father respond to late-night calls from distant villages, treating patients with herbal formulations passed down through generations.
After learning the fundamentals of Sowa-Rigpa from his father, Gurmet pursued formal education in the system and joined the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) in 1997. Over the next three decades, he worked on research, documentation, and policy efforts aimed at securing formal recognition for Sowa-Rigpa within India’s medical framework. His work was not limited to Ladakh. He collaborated with national bodies including the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) to build scientific evidence for the system.
In 2026, the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour, in the Medicine category. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 June 2026. The Ladakh State Award now adds a second major recognition to his list of honours.
What Is Sowa-Rigpa?
Sowa-Rigpa, which means “the science of healing” in the Tibetan language, is one of the oldest known traditional medical systems in the world. It has a history of over 2,500 years and was formally documented in the classic medical text called the Gyud-Zhi (Four Tantras) in the 8th century by Yuthog Yonten Gonpo, widely regarded as the father of Tibetan medicine.
The system integrates knowledge from multiple ancient medical traditions, including Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Greco-Persian medicine, while retaining its own distinctly Tibetan character shaped by both Buddhist and pre-Buddhist thought. Sowa-Rigpa uses a complex approach to diagnosis that incorporates pulse analysis, urine analysis, and examination of diet and lifestyle. Treatment methods include herbal medicine, dietary modifications, lifestyle changes, and external therapies such as Ku Nye massage.
In India, Sowa-Rigpa is widely practised in the Himalayan belt, particularly in Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and West Bengal’s Darjeeling region. The practitioners are known as Amchis (meaning “physician” in Tibetan). Historically, Amchis belonged to families with multi-generational medical lineages, and being an Amchi was a position of great prestige in Ladakhi society. They traditionally never charged fees for their services, relying instead on voluntary gratitude from patients.
The Long Road to Formal Recognition
Despite centuries of continuous practice, Sowa-Rigpa faced an uncertain future after India’s independence. When Ladakh became part of Jammu and Kashmir in the Indian union, allopathic medicine was introduced as the only officially recognised healthcare system. For decades, the Amchi system operated outside the formal medical framework, with no institutional backing, no government funding, and no pathway for young people to receive formal training.
The younger generation began turning away from the tradition. Seats in Sowa-Rigpa courses went unfilled, and many Amchi families lost their medical lineage. Dr Gurmet observed this decline firsthand: “Earlier, the younger generation was not taking it up, and the system was slowly declining,” he said.
The turning point came in 2010, when an amendment to the Indian Medicine Central Council Act formally brought Sowa-Rigpa into India’s official medical fold. It became one of the recognised systems of medicine under what is now the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy). The change was more consequential than it might appear from the outside. It opened the door to government funding, formal academic programmes, research infrastructure, and integration into public health delivery.
In 2019, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) in Leh at an estimated cost of ₹47.25 crore. This was the first major decision by the Union Cabinet after Ladakh was reorganised as a Union Territory on 31 October 2019.
National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa: Building an Institution from the Ground Up
The National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 in the Union Territory of Ladakh on 13 April 2020. It started functioning in October 2020 by converting the existing National Research Institute for Sowa-Rigpa under the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences. Dr Padma Gurmet was appointed as its Founding Director, tasked with guiding the institution from planning to full operation.
As an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH, the NISR was mandated to undertake interdisciplinary education and research in Sowa-Rigpa. It collaborates with premier national and international institutes and works to integrate Sowa-Rigpa with other systems of medicine. The institute also develops synergy among existing Sowa-Rigpa institutions, including the Central University of Tibetan Studies in Varanasi and the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Leh.
From the academic year 2021-22, the NISR began offering the Bachelor of Sowa-Rigpa Medicine and Surgery (BSRMS) course, a five-year-and-six-month programme affiliated with the University of Ladakh. Students are selected through the NEET test conducted by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM). By 2025, the institute had enrolled its fifth batch of students, and faculty members noted that seats, which once went unfilled, were now attracting applicants.
Dr Gurmet also established the Trans-Himalayan Herbal Garden in Leh, dedicated to the conservation and documentation of high-altitude medicinal plants found in Ladakh’s cold desert. The garden serves as a living repository of the medicinal flora that forms the basis of Sowa-Rigpa treatments.
Dr Gurmet’s Key Contributions
Dr Padma Gurmet’s work spans research, policy, education, and healthcare delivery. His contributions can be grouped into several major areas.
Documentation of classical knowledge: Over three decades, Gurmet documented more than 1,000 classical Sowa-Rigpa formulations, transforming oral traditions into structured academic records. This documentation was essential for scientific validation and for building a formal curriculum.
Training the next generation: He trained over 200 Sowa-Rigpa practitioners, many of whom now serve across Ladakh and other Himalayan regions. His efforts helped revive interest in the tradition among young Ladakhis who had earlier been turning away from it.
Integration into public healthcare: Approximately 80 Sowa-Rigpa Amchis now serve at government primary health centres across Ladakh. This represents a structurally significant integration of traditional knowledge into the Union Territory’s health delivery architecture, ensuring that remote communities have access to both modern and traditional medicine.
UNESCO recognition efforts: Dr Gurmet prepared and submitted India’s dossier to UNESCO in response to a competing claim, asserting the country’s prior claim on historical and textual grounds. His work aimed to secure international recognition for Sowa-Rigpa as an intangible cultural heritage.
Research collaborations: He worked with CSIR, ICMR, and NIPER to build scientific evidence for Sowa-Rigpa’s efficacy. His research included studies on medicinal plants of the Trans-Himalayan region, including the conservation of critically endangered species like Ephedra gerardiana.
Significance of the Ladakh State Award
The Ladakh State Award (formally, the UT State Award) is conferred by the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Union Territory’s development, culture, and heritage. The awards for the year 2025 were presented on 12 August 2026 by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena at a ceremony in Leh, where 36 individuals were honoured across fields including environmentalism, sports, agriculture, literature, and cultural preservation.
Dr Gurmet’s recognition with this award carries significance beyond personal honour. It signals the Ladakh administration’s acknowledgment that Sowa-Rigpa is not merely a historical curiosity but a living, functional healthcare system that continues to serve the Union Territory’s most remote communities. It also reinforces the broader national policy direction of integrating traditional medicine systems into India’s public health infrastructure.
In a region where modern medical facilities remain limited in many areas, the Amchi system provides a crucial healthcare safety net. The award underscores the value of preserving indigenous knowledge while simultaneously building the scientific evidence base needed for its continued relevance in the 21st century.
Dr Gurmet’s response to the recognition was characteristically focused on the larger cause: “Sowa-Rigpa is not just a medical system, it is our cultural heritage,” he said after receiving the Padma Shri earlier in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Dr Padma Gurmet was conferred the Ladakh State Award 2025 by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of Sowa-Rigpa medicine.
- Dr Gurmet is the Founding Director of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) in Leh, an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH established in 2020 at a cost of ₹47.25 crore.
- Sowa-Rigpa, meaning “the science of healing,” is a 2,500-year-old traditional medical system formally recognised by India in 2010 through an amendment to the Indian Medicine Central Council Act.
- Dr Gurmet documented over 1,000 classical formulations, trained more than 200 practitioners, and helped place approximately 80 Amchis in government primary health centres across Ladakh.
- He also received the Padma Shri in 2026 in the Medicine category, presented by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 June 2026.
- The NISR offers a Bachelor of Sowa-Rigpa Medicine and Surgery (BSRMS) programme, a five-and-a-half-year course affiliated with the University of Ladakh, with admissions through NEET.
