Patanjali's Corona Kit - It is all about accepting super tall claims?

What is it about Ramdev and Patanjali that makes the Narendra Modi government and the middle-class Indians accept their tall claims and somewhat questionable medical practices? Amid the spread of the deadly virus, Patanjali claims to have found a cure (not just a preventive) over Covid-19, which is not a mild irritant that the effects of quackery can be ignored.

 

Having tested the new Ayurvedic medicine 'Coronil' on a mere research sample size of 100-120 fit, young Indians, Baba Ramdev, the Yog Guru this week assured that the medicine developed using ingredients like Giloi, Ashwagandha, Tulsi is the best cure to improve the body's internal immunity and fight other coronavirus symptoms like fever, cough, cold.

 
 

  

Here is the list of questions we need to ask in this case. Is 'Coronil' really a 100% cure on the COVID-19? Did Baba test it on the highly infected patients? And last but surely not the least.. Does Baba know anything about Ayurveda? The very basic principle of Ayurveda medicinal practice says that whatever be the disease, Ayurveda doctors can only prescibe the cure based on individual body type. No medicine in Ayurveda can be recommended universally for any disease like that in Allopathy. Then how did Ayurveda's first ever try against COVID-19 got approval as a universal 'cure'?

 

 

Many Allopathy and Homeopathy preventive medicines in past 4 months have got Ministerial approval as a 'preventive' against COVID-19. Is this the reason why Baba Ramdev made haste to pull Ayurveda as well in the researchers team? Within hours of the product launch, the AYUSH Ministry asked Patanjali to stop advertising the drug, but Baba was steadfast in his defence that he had all the approvals. Later, the licence officer in the Uttarakhand Ayurveda Department revealed that Patanjali’s 'application didn’t mention coronavirus'.

"As per Patanjali's application, we issued them license. They didn't mention coronavirus, we only approved license for immunity booster, cough and fever. We'll issue them a notice asking how they got permission to make the kit (for COVID19)", the Licence Officer at Uttarakhand Ayurved Dept noted in an exclusive interview to the news agency ANI. Further during a news debate on Coronil’s launch, AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik kept repeating the same thing about ‘waiting’ for Patanjali’s documents before commenting on whether Ramdev’s company had violated protocols for clinical trials, which were conducted 'only on young and healthy patients and not on high-risk ones such as the elderly or those with co-morbidities'.

 

Meanwhile, the nation at large keeps on asking- Why is Lala Ramdev not arrested yet and why isn't Patanjali's license not suspended pending inquiry since the Uttarakhand Ayurveda Dept has exposed the company's fraud? Famous for popularising yoga, Ramdev’s reach among the middle-class households is further strengthened with Patanjali’s Ayurvedic products, which makes his dubious claims about ‘Coronil’ more dangerous.

 

Patanjali serves and fulfils the Hindu Right wish of mainstreaming Ayurveda, an alternate system of medicine. Dhanvantari, an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu, is associated with Ayurveda. Patanjali’s positioning accords it an instant pass on contentious claims. Not only that, it probably lends Ramdev a proximity to the government. Which is why presenting ‘Coronil’ as a cure for coronavirus could have disastrous effects on many- people who will choose it over going to the doctor or alerting others, people who will believe it is best for them without researching the product, and people who will fall for its misleading advertising!