‘The entire Ayurveda industry and practitioner community may have to face the fallout of SC’s criticism of Patanjali ads.’
The recent Supreme Court reprimand for the misleading way in which Patanjali Ayurved, co-owned by yoga guru Ramdev, was advertising its products has found some resonance with ayurveda practitioners and industry players who say the wrong “fashion of promotion” of products by the company has done disservice to the entire Ayurveda sector.
A retired Ayurveda consultant of a Delhi government hospital said the Supreme Court’s criticism for Patanjali’s advertisements may impact negatively the minds of patients who were hitherto believers in this traditional system of medicine.
“I believe the top court has not said anything negative about Ayurveda, but the way in which Patanjali has been publicising its products. However, the entire episode may have a negative impact on the minds of patients and prevent them from relying on it. The entire Ayurveda industry and practitioner community may have to face the fallout,” he said.
Earlier, referring to Patanjali’s “misleading” ads, the Supreme Court had asked, “How can Patanjali claim to completely cure blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, asthma and obesity?”
Doctor Parmeshwar Arora, MD, Ayurveda, said, “No one is above law. Baba Ramdev’s company should have fallen in line and not gone ahead with ads after court’s warning. He cannot invite contempt of court.”
At the same time, Dr Arora said there are some diseases that the Western science and allopathy considers as incurable but as per great Ayurveda expert Charak these diseases are curable under the Indian traditional medicine. “Rather than continuing with ads objected to by the court, Ramdev should have argued in favour of suggesting measures for validation of Ayurveda’s positive powers,” he said.
Another Ayurveda expert, who heads the Ayurveda section in a private hospital in New Delhi, said it is the highly commercialised “fashion of promotion” of products adopted by Patanjali that has brought the entire community under a cloud. “I personally feel in the advertisements which the top court has found ‘misleading’, there was no need to disparage modern medicine and medical practitioners,” he said.
Baba Ramdev’s company should show some self-restraint and not pit allopathic doctors against Ayurvedic practitioners, he said, adding that the yoga guru should also avoid run-ins with practitioners of allopathy or IMA.
An Ayurveda practitioner suggested that a section related to Ayush may also be introduced in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954, as a measure to check misleading or magic results from use of Ayurveda medicine.
At present, only allopathy is covered under the Act to control the advertisement of drugs in certain cases, to prohibit the advertisement for certain purposes of remedies alleged to possess magic qualities and to provide for matters connected therewith.
“Just as a separate section in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 has been included to deal with Ayush systems of medicines, a similar section can be added to the DMR Act so that the way of publicity of Ayurveda medicine does not slip into the wrong lane,” he said, adding that there are ailments in which Ayurveda has beneficial impact (which is not a claim of magic) even though allopathy calls them incurable.
Worried about the impact of Supreme Court’s negative observations on Patanjali Ayurved, the retired Ayurvedraj said the government may also consider a system for modern validation of Ayurveda ingredients and formulations as it may go a long way in harmonizing benefits from them with that of other modern medicine therapies.
Patanjali Ayurved was restrained by the top court from advertising or branding the products (specified as a disease under the Act and Rule) manufactured and marketed by it.
A few weeks before the court hearing on a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association against misleading advertisements, Ramdev had defended his company’s stand while addressing reporters.
“In the last few days, there is propaganda going on to target Swami Ramdev and Patanjali.
It is just to defame the practices of centuries-old yoga claiming that there is nothing in Ayurveda and your organs will be damaged such as kidney and liver. This is clear propaganda. We have research evidence, pre and post-clinical evidence. There is propaganda going on to defame Patanjali,” he said.
Claiming that a few doctors have formed a group to continuously do propaganda against yoga and Ayurveda, Ramdev said, “If we are liars, then fine us Rs 1,000 crore, and we are also ready for the death penalty. But if we are not liars, then punish the ones who are really spreading the false propaganda.”