Skip to content

Rajesh Kochhar

Author of The Vedic People ( Orient BlackSwan), English Education in India, 1715-1835 (Routledge), and (jointly with Jayant Narlikar) of Astronomy in India (INSA)

Twisting tradition: The curious case of a seedy medicine

Rajesh Kochhar 09/05/2015 No Comments

Rajesh Kochhar and Ramesh Kapoor

 

 

Recently, Sh. K. C. Tyagi, a Rajya Sabha MP, speaking in the House, protested against an Ayurvedic medicine, Putrajeevak Beej, on the ground that it promoted gender discrimination. Responding to the charge, Swami Ramdev, who is associated with the Hardwar-based Divya Pharmacy that manufactures the medicine, stated that the medicine was named after ‘the scientific name of the herb Putranjiva roxburghii’.

The argument is fallacious. The species is a tree which was inducted into modern botany by a British naturalist, William Roxburgh, who has placed on record his reasons for the nomenclature. Roxburgh wrote in 1826 that in Madras, the parents bought the seeds of the so-named tree some cases, families have preserved some trady in the bazaar, strung them, and put them ‘round the necks of their children, to preserve them in health’. It is ironical that the mere latinization of a Sanskrit term denoting ornamental use of a tree is being invoked to claim scientific validation for  its supposed medicinal properties.

 

The term Putrajeevak Beej is misleading. The correct usage would have been Putrajeevi Vriksh ke Beej ( that is the seeds of a tree called the Putrajeevi). By using Putrajeevak as a qualifier for Beej, an impression is being created that the seeds have a son-related attribute. The impression is strengthened in the minds of people by the circumstance that planting the seed has the popular connotation of impregnating a woman.

 

Demands have been made that the name of the medicine be changed. The issues involved however are more fundamental than mere name-change. The label describes the drug as Ayurvedic Proprietary Medicine. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 (as amended from time to time) makes a clear distinction between the traditional and the proprietary in the context of Ayurveda.  A traditional medicine consists of standard ingredients, combined in strict accordance with the classical texts (example: Chyavanprash). Proprietary medicine also contains only standard ingredients, but now combined in a novel manner, based on personal experience and research (Example” Liv-52). It can be manufactured only after receiving a license. Putrajeevak Beej consists of a single naturally occurring ingredient. There is no question of any novelty here.

 

Categorization of an Ayurvedic medicine as proprietary implies controlled experiments and clinical trials. In such a case, the manufacturer  should  make a clear and unambiguous statement on the indications, benefits, side effects, etc. of the medicine. In the case at hand, however, the benefits claimed to be obtainable from the medicine vary from packet to packet, or from batch to batch, as if they were no more than marketing slogans.

 

The licensing authorities should explain how a simple natural produce which has not been processed even to the extent of being powdered has come to be classified as proprietary medicine implying scientific research and development.

 

(The first author has been professor of pharmaceutical heritage at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali, while the second author has published original research on Ayurvedic system of medicine.)

 

Blogs (Articles)
ayurveda | Divya Pharmacy | Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act | Proprietary medicine | Putranjiva roxburghii | Ramdev | traditional medicine

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recent Posts

  • Faqir Chand Kohli (1924-2020) 06/12/2020
  • Caste discrimination: India must disown parts of ancient texts that contradict the Constitution 27/10/2020
  • BANSI LAL(1927-2006): Haryana Chief Minister 26/08/2020
  • Panjab University Chandigarh 1947-2007 15/08/2020
  • A schizophrenic India cannot advance scientifically 08/08/2020
  • World of tech-savvy Ganesha (The Tribune (Life style) Chandigarh 6 Apr. 2007) 25/07/2020

  • BAKED NEWS
  • CV: Brief
  • CV: Detailed
  • INVENTIONS, etc
  • Jokes (updated 22-Mar-2017)
  • Lectures delivered in India and abroad since 2006
  • Photographs
  • Rajesh Kochhar: List of select publications, with hyperlinks

Archives

Downloads

  • 1. Papers/Book Chapters/Lecture Texts
  • Blogs (Articles)
  • Reflections and Insights

Tags

Ancient India Aryabhata astronomy Avesta chandrayaan China colonial history Colonial India colonialism colonial science CSIR dhokra East India Company eclipse education English education globalization Government College Lahore Hinduism India Indian science innovation internet IPR IT Ketu Kodaikanal Observatory Mahatma Gandhi Nobel prize outsourcing P.C. Ray Panjab University pesticides Punjab University Lahore Rahu Rigveda Ruchi Ram Sahni science science education science policy seductive orientalism sextant technology Thomas Godfrey traditional knowledge
January 2021
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Dec    

Recent Comments

  • Rajesh Kochhar on On the origin of the Punjabi Khatris
  • DESH PAL ALAGH on On the origin of the Punjabi Khatris
  • vinay vig on On the origin of the Punjabi Khatris
  • Rajesh Kochhar on On the origin of the Punjabi Khatris
  • Rajesh Kochhar on On the origin of the Punjabi Khatris
Copyright © 2021. Rajesh Kochhar
Powered By WordPress and Silver Quantum