Coronil criticism is more politics, less about clinical trials
Let’s get this straight. There is no cure, no vaccine, nothing on the horizon yet for Covid-19, the Chinese gift that keeps giving nightmares to the world that has literally stopped in its tracks. The novel coronavirus is on a killing spree. Pharma companies, scientists, virology experts are working overtime because the first to market will also make a killing as half the world will take the medicine and everyone will want the vaccine. It was amid this clamour that Baba Ramdev threw his saffron gauntlet into the ring. The hullabaloo that ensued was natural, as the herbal concoction by Ramdev’s Patanjali. He became the first to claim an effective medicine to blunt the coronavirus. The claim was called spurious and declared dangerous. Because people had doubts.
Everyone has doubts, about the efficacy, the trials, the ingredients, and above all the baba behind it all. Doubt is a good thing. Doubt often leads to the truth, as opposed to blind faith. Faith is a good thing too even if it leads to darkness. If you have faith, you manage to beat the pervading hopelessness and, even experts agree here, some illnesses because faith apparently is bliss for your immunity like ignorance is for sanity.
When there is no medicine for a disease, everything is medicine. From hydroxychloroquine to Remdesivir to Faviprivir. None of these are medicines for the novel coronavirus. Yet, doctors across the world are giving it to coronavirus patients, even those with severe complications. A drowning man will clutch at a straw and men on ventilators are in the clutches of big pharma. They can manipulate trials, be published in Lancet and get approved by WHO the whatever, only to be disgraced later.
So why Remdesivir and not Ramdevsivir? Just because Baba Ramdev’s political leanings are half-naked and full saffron, we tend to dismiss the traditional Indic medicine system, Ayurveda, while giving a long rope to homeopathy, the quackery dreamt up by Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann in 18th Century Germany. By the way, Nazis conducted homeopathic trials and obtained ‘wholly and disastrously negative’ results, but that fact doesn’t cast any shadow on homeopathy. Even Nazis, who swore to make everything German great, couldn’t salvage Hahnemann’s dream but faith is stronger than Nazis. Jab miyan biwi raazi, to kya karega Nazi. Millions of people swear by the harmless sugar pills. Our constitution guarantees the right to belief and no scientific research can take that right away from Indians who are the world's leading homeopathy consumers.
It is however beyond belief that India is among the few countries that have gone beyond belief and officially promoted homeopathy. Our Ayush Ministry was established to promote the traditional medicine systems but it took homeopathy in its wings. So much so that many Indians believe homeo is home-grown. Our shining public and private hospitals have homeopathy departments in the name of holistic health.
When the coronavirus landed in India, our Ayush ministry publicised a homeopathic medicine for prevention. Arsenicum Album 30. Later, one Camphora 1M became the buzzword because it 'boosted' your immunity. The medicine works if you have faith. And we are a fatalist nation full of faith, the ideal ground for homeopathy. In fact when homeopathy is banned or restricted all over the world, India will have a thriving homeopathy culture because Vishwas par duniya chalti hai. Just the Aam Aadmi party has an issue.
So what happens when Baba Ramdev, the yoga master, and his chaddi buddy, Balkrishna, the Ayurveda master, want to boost your immunity? Why this sudden resistance? Because they are from Haridwar, Uttarakhand not Meissen, Germany?
Siliguri Police officially asked its personnel to snort mustard oil to prevent coronavirus infection. The coronavirus goes into the nostrils and dies of jhaans of sarson tel before it can reach the lungs! Various people are drinking kadhaa of industrial strength and killing coronavirus. Get myriad herbs, boil them down to death and you have a life-saving drug!
Why is this nation that is cured by Shani Maharaj’s oil suddenly talking about clinical trials and medical journals? People praying to their pir baba are probing about peer review. Nobody asked for any evidence for Camphora or Arsenicum Album. Big Pharma’s medicines with -vir suffix got immediate affirmation as if the Ebola virus was the same as the novel coronavirus.
Coronil has ashwagandha, a wonder root. Most experts, including western medicine doctors, agree that ashwagandha is great for your immune and nervous system. Tulsi is a wonder herb and has for centuries protected us from cold and cough. Giloy has got traction really late but has proved to be very effective in managing metabolism and treating some difficult ailments. All three are great supplements to have. By the way, some very popular medicines that have English-sounding names are proprietary Ayurvedic medicines and recommended by doctors all over the world. Not naming them because why give them free publicity!
What does Camphora 1M have? Well, nobody knows. We can safely say it has alcohol. The rest is mystery. I put up a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh if anybody can prove there is Camphora in Camphora 1M, no one came to collect.
Coronil has something. Three proven herbs. Can they cure Corona? Well, unlikely. Can it boost immunity? Yes. But if you start taking them now, they won’t do that overnight. Immunity is a long-term process.
In the short-term, it all boils down to faith. So, if you have faith, go ahead and have it. If you can have homeopathy, you can have Coronil too. You will at least be taking something for your own good. If you are serious about a suspected illness, or the illness is serious, go see a doctor. Outside doctors, only thing that helps in coronavirus is washing your hands regularly and wearing a mask all the time you are out of home.
This is where I believe the kitchkitch around Baba Ramdev’s corona kit is more political than based on facts. Baba Ramdev’s politics doesn’t discredit Yoga because he is not Yoga. The same is true for Ayurveda. Find your own supplier if you need to, but dismissing Ayurveda because Narendra Modi is in power is stupid. You take homeopathic medicines because you believe in homeopathy, not because Angela Merkel is such a good leader, ok? By the way, ok is German too. Danke!
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