A missed history in Rishi Sunak's defeat

Rishi Sunak would have been the 6th Indian origin head of state. But it was not to be. Here’s how it happened in the UK:

• Controversial, bold and maverick Boris Johnson resigned as the Conservative Party leader and the UK prime minister when Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned 41 — July 7. It was not a call of conscience but a decision thrust upon him, practically. His cabinet had faced a string of resignations, beginning with Sunak.  Alleged scandals were making news waves — allegations of sexual misconduct against a lawmaker, and indictment for holding parties while the nation was in the Covid-19 lockdown. 

• A PM’s resignation in the UK does not necessarily mean a general election. There is another intense democratic process — of holding an election in the ruling party structure to decide who could lead the country. 

• The UK’s oldest political party, the Conservative Party, held that election in a true sense — unlike its Indian counterpart. In that election, Indian origin leader Sunak tasted defeat, with some experts saying that the non-Indian origin sub-continental members opposed him.

• Who was the PM all this while? Johnson. And, he did not try to do any ‘operation’ to stay in power after September 6, as had been scheduled unofficially.

• How did they do it? Their system requires a Conservative Party MP to be nominated by at least 20 fellow MPs to be eligible to run the race to the prime minister’s chair. 

• In the first stage, MPs vote in a series of secret ballots — to eliminate the candidate with the lowest votes. They repeat the process until they have only two PM contenders.

• In the first stage, eight challengers were chosen. You want names? It’s boring but here they are — former finance minister Rishi Sunak, foreign secretary Liz Truss, junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt, former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, attorney general Suella Braverman, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, foreign affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat, and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.

• And as you know, Truss and Sunak stayed the course when secret voting ended. At 42, Sunak was an Indian favourite not because he was an MP from Richmond, Yorkshire, from where Sachin Tendular played county cricket in a historical sporting turn but because of his Indian connection — and for being the son-in-law of India’s favourite IT hero Narayan Murthy. Had he defeated Truss, Sunak would have become the first person of colour — as they call it in the white race world — to become the UK prime minister.

• A little older than Sunak, 46-year-old Truss — born only a month after Indira Gandhi brought India under her National Emergency — was the foreign policy portfolio holder in Johnson’s cabinet. Despite being younger than Rahul Gandhi, the de facto leader of India’s GOP, she is a veteran in handling government roles, having worked under UK prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May before Johnson.

• In the final stage of election, all the card holders of the Conservative Party — also called Tories; I don’t know much about their origin or why they are called what they are called but I know that they were the supporters of British colonialism, with their origin lying in the British civil war when their guiding philosophy was “God, Queen, and Country” to keep the English traditional culture alive and dominating — vote to elect their leader. This is where Truss defeated Sunak by over 20,000 votes. 

• I was surprised by their numbers. Why? Because the UK has a population of less than 7 crore, and its GOP declares a victory margin that is two times more than the total number of voters in India’s GOP when they elect their president next month. And unlike the UK, Indian GOP voters have their tenures expired.

• When the ruling party voters have decided, the Crown, currently the Queen, completes the formality of accepting the resignation of the resigned and accepting the offer/granting permission to the next (Truss) to form the Queen’s next government. By the way, while we name an Indian government after the prime minister, technically the PM runs the President’s government. If you don’t believe me, tune in to the next joint session of Parliament when incumbent Draupadi Murmu addresses it. She will say, “Meri Sarkaar…”

Why 2 Noida towers were bombed down on Supreme Court orders

Could there have been any other end to Noida twin towers? An exemplary deterrent penalty on builders and speedier pace of justice to catch their government collaborators in committing illegality of this height? After all, why bring down two housing towers if there's no architectural flaws threatening human lives? Because its environmental impact may not be measured so easily. And, it was the violation of the green belt laws that led to rigging the two towers with 3,700 kg of explosives.

The project

It is in Noida Sector 93A's GH-04. Once a famed builder Supertech built a massive housing society, building two additional towers than it was legally permitted to build. These two towers — 16 and 17 — lie in the green belt. 

The storeys lived as a testimony to manipulation by money-merchants, corruption by unscrupulous officers, indifference of the supposed-to-be scrupulous and pedestrian treatment of the cattle class aam aadmi, who is by the way the biggest voter for any government or political party.

This story began in 2004. On November 23, 2004, Supertech was allotted 48,263 square metre land by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, known as Noida in abbreviated form, for building a residential complex, Emrald Court. 

As per the New Okhla Industrial Development Area Building Regulations and Directions 1986, the Authority approved the building plan for the construction of 14 storeys on June 20, 2005.

Supertech was originally given approval to build a total of 14 towers, each with ground+plus+nine (10) storeys at a capping height of 37 metres

A year later, on June 21, 2006, the Authority allotted 6,556.51 square metre land to Supertech under the same conditions. 

The project was revised three times — 2006, 2009 and 2012— increasing the number of floors and towers. By the time the third revison came for 8nclusion of the tallest towers, now bombed to the ground, the original plan had been modified to accommodate 15 towers of 14 storeys. The two new towers got approval for 40 towers each. Both these towers remained incomplete — one with 29 and the other with 32 storeys.

Too FAR in law

Every builder is given a Floor Area Ratio (FAR). During 2004-06, Supertech was given 1.5 FAR but as per rules, only a new allottee can be given 2 to 2.75 FAR.

The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) was purchased twice for a total of Rs 23 crore — Rs 15 crore and Rs 8 crore.

FAR is legally binding but practically what happens is once a builder pays the money, the government officials are not there to bother you. 

In Supertech's case, the FAR increased by 33% on second project revision in 2009 — from 1.5 to 1.995.

And on October 25, 2011, Supertech secured another expansion FAR for Rs 15 crore from 1.995 to 2.75. 

A charge was that Supertech got FAR increased by bribing the officials.

If you were a homebuyer 

Supertech presented a different Emerald Court plan to homebuyers in November 2009. It presented to them a plan housing complex plan that had 14 towers, each of 25 storeys (ground included) and a T 16 — a shopping complex (ground plus structure). The height was to reach up to 73 metres. A clear rejection of what had been legally approved.

Emerald Court dragged to court

After 2012-revison that included 40-floor towers — Apex and Ceyane, which, Supertech claimed, met the Noida construction requirements of 2010. The problem was that the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) was not convinced. It moved to the Allahabad High Court before the end of 2012. It petitioned the high court that Supertech violated  by the UP Apartment Owners Act, 2010 by constructing the Twin Towers.

The Twin Towers occupied an area designated for a garden in the original brochure given by Supertech. The petitioner told the court that the additional buildings, approval for which was allegedly taken through bribes, were separated by less than 16 metres, another violation of law.

After hearing argents from both sides, the Allahabad High Court ordered in 2014 the demolition of the Twin Towers. It also directed Supertech to return homebuyers their money with an interest of 14%. The high court ordered to seal the Twin Towers.

However, as it came out during the Supreme Court hearing, the construction continued despite the high court's seal order. 

In August 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the high court judgement. And instead of keeping the buildings sealed, it ordered them demolished.

In February this year, the Noida informed the Supreme Court that demolition process was underway and that it would be completed by August 22. Later, an extension of a week was given by the Supreme Court, with an additional buffer period of a week if the demolition process got disrupted by weather conditions.

Fixing responsibility

Following the Supreme Court order, the Yogi Adityanath government set up a special investigation team (SIT) in September 2021. The SIT submitted its report in October 2021, finding involvement of 26 officials. The government suspended three. 

Could it have been avoided?

Possibly, yes had Supertech adhered to the rules and stayed honest in its business. But this could be too much to ask. If a business were to be honest wouldn't the proprietors prefer to do a government or a private sector job! They come into business to make profit, big money. In this hot pursuit of money, the rule of law that is meant to protect the aam aadmi and aurat is twisted or blinded. 

Another way to avoid it was change of rules. Had the Noida wanted it could have changed the land use rules and allowed the construction legally. Environmental laws could have been meandered to legalise the illegality. 

But even this didn't happen. And Noida Twin Towers, taller than Delhi's Qutub Minar, met their premature demise.

In nutshell, Supertech violated the law, bribed officials, manipulated the buyers flouted environmental laws (remember environment assessment requirements of 2005-06?) and issued occupancy certificates without structural safety and environmental assessment studies. 

For those interested in politics, a coincidence: Supertech project got began in 2004 after the Congress-led UPA government came to power at the Centre and its fate sealed in 2014 after the Modi government came to power at the Centre. This is not to suggest that there's a connection between the two events.

I was tempted to compile the names of officials found to be involved in the Supertech illegality but curbed the urge. It's system that's is ailing not the individuals who keep the system in motion as its part.

Who are Santhals, the community Draupadi Murmu belongs to?

Draupadi Murmu/Twitter

Santhal, also spelt as Santal, literally means a calm, peaceful man. Santha means calm, and ala means man in the Santhali (also spelt as Santali) language. 

Santhals are the third largest scheduled tribe community in India after Gonds and Bhils. The Santhali population is mostly distributed in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

The BJP’s presidential election candidate Draupadi Murmu’s home district, Mayurbhanj, is one of the districts having dense concentration of the Santhali people. 

The Odisha government’s website for Bhubaneswar-based Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) has amazing details on the lives of the Santhali people, tracing their life from prehistoric times.

The Santhals were a nomadic stock before they chose to settle in the Chotanagpur plateau. By the end of the 18th century, they had concentrated in the Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand (earlier Bihar). From there, they migrated to Odisha and West Bengal. 

The tribal communities, outside the Northeast, generally have lower levels of literacy but the Santhals have higher – a result of a pro-school education awareness since at least the 1960s – literacy rate compared to other tribes in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Many of the community have entered the creamy layer of the Indian society. 

For example, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is a Santhal. The incumbent Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAGI) Girsh Chandra Murmu, who was the first Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, is also a Santhal. 

The current Union Jal Shakti Minister Biseswar Tudu – the Lok Sabha MP from Draupadi Murmu’s home district Mayurbhanj – is from the Santhal community. Some news reports quoted their community leaders terming the nomination of Draupadi Murmu as the ruling party’s presidential election candidate as “a golden era for Santhals” in the country.

Despite their social uplift, the Santhals are usually connected to their roots. They are nature worshippers and could be seen paying obeisance at Jaher (sacred groves) in their villages. 

Most Santhals are agriculturists, depending on their farmlands or forests. 

Their homes, called Olah, have a particular three-colour pattern on the outer walls. The bottom portion is painted with black soil, the middle with white and the upper with red. 

Their tribal language is called Santhali, which is written in a script called Ol chiki, developed by Santhal scholar Pandit Raghunath Murmu. Santhali written in OI-Chiki script is recognised as one of the scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

मज़ाक में बेबुनियाद सवाल

कोई मुझे बताएगा कि

जो लोग कही के नही रहते,

वो कहाँ रहते है?

xxxxxxxxxx

किसी को पता है कि

ये दिल पर रखने वाला पत्थर कहाँ मिलता है?

और, कितने किलो का लेना होता है?

xxxxxxxxx

एक बात बताओ जिनकी दाल नहीं गलती

वो क्या सब्ज़ी बना सकते हैं?

xxxxxxxx

किसी को पता है कि

पाप को घड़े में ही क्यूँ भरते हैं?

ठंडा रहता है क्या?

xxxxxxx

किसी के ज़ख़्म पर नमक छिड़कना है।

कौन-सा सही रहेगा?

टाटा या पतंजलि?

(पुराने लैपटॉप के नोट्स में मिला)

We suffer more in imagination than in reality: Seneca

The Death of Seneca, by Peter Paul Rubens, c.1614, Alte Pinakothek, Munich (Photo: Twitter)

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."

- Seneca

A tweet saying this got me into the world of Seneca, a man who was born before Jesus Christ and seemed a more towering figure than the Son of God during their times in Rome.

Another quote of his is often reproduced in cards travelling on social media. "We suffer more in imagination than in reality."

Seneca was a stoic, that is, he believed in stoicism. A stoic was the person who believed in providential origin of universe which remains in an order. The line of philosophy was founded some time around 300 BC -- about 20-25 years after the time of Alexander. Hard to fathom. But it was the time that was vibrant with the ideas of Socrates and Plato in Greece and Rome.

Seneca was super rich but preached simple, modest living. He enjoyed royal patronage. He was banished from the Roman empire for adultery with emperor Caligula's sister. In some texts, Seneca is said to have been exiled to Corsica, Greece after his run-in with the wife of Claudius, Caligula's successor at the Roman throne.

Seneca was however called back in 49 AD to tutor the prince who would be known to the world as Nero. Seneca is said to have unsuccessfully attempted retirement from politics over his frustration with Nero but he was never practically granted the permission.

Nero's was a horrible time, we have been told by historians. The end to both Nero and his teacher happened in the same manner. Seneca was accused of plotting to murder Nero and forced to die by suicide -- a manner of executing death sentence in ancient Greek and Rome, to which Socrates was subjected.

Nero, the adopted son of Claudius who had married his mother, had angered the upper class of the Roman society and politics by taking measures including behaviour and public appearances as a musician, actor, poet, charioteer, and building places of public entertainment such as amphitheatres and promoting athletics and other games that made him popular among the lower classes of the Roman empire.

In a way, Nero was defamed the elite political class of the Roman empire for catering to the Dalits of the times -- a subaltern polity. Else construction, trade activities and increased taxation of the rich were some of the steps that would have endeared Nero to modern-day critics of politics.

However, the Roman Senate, following a rebellion by influential senators of the time, sentenced him to death for damaging imperial dignity. Nero fled but took his life. 

Suicide ended the story of both Sena and Nero, only to be immortalised by subsequent generations albeit with the purpose of ridicule. While Nero is still mostly condemned, Seneca found some renaissance writers who put his philosophy, mostly compilation of Stoic thoughts, into perspective for the world to appreciate his thoughts some of which still resonate with the modern ways of life.

Some of his ideas:

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." (I found TV Series Mentalist's lead character Patrick Jane [played by Simon Baker] saying to Teresa Lisbon [Robin Tunney] while dismissing the idea of luck.)

"The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately."

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Invisible Empire: A short review of the book on the history of virus

 

I recently read this book by Pranay Lal, thanks to Kritika, my friend. She gifted me this book. Lal has given a fairly detailed account of the kingdom of virus. Reading this book, I remembered my conversations with another friend of mine, Mohak. Mohak and I discussed the life of a virus during the viral outbreaks, first of Nipah in Kerala, and then of Covid-19 in China.

I remember this conversation primarily because of the expression of disbelief that Mohak had on his face, when I told him that we fear viruses but they also sustain our life on the planet. It is our fallacy to assume that viruses are a lowly life form. They actually are supremely evolved to time their activities to their finding of a suitable host. For the rest of the time, they remain inactive making us believe that they are non-living entities. Also that the viruses follow the same basic principle of life -- survival, by mutation and reproduction. I hope Mohak remembers those conversations we had at India Today.

Reading Lal's Invisible Empire made me feel vindicated 😄. He seems to be a research-oriented writer, previously best known for his debut book, Indica, which gives a historical account of plants and forests on the Indian subcontinent. 

In terms of basic concepts, Lal did not surprise me while explaining the journey of the virus. But what he did was to cement my idea of a viral life with n-number of evidence. 

He cites scientific evidence to show that the humans would not have evolved the way they did had different viruses not infected them and become part of the human genome through millions of years of co-evolution.

Plant and animal kingdoms would not have been what they are but for these viruses. Oxygen-gulping organisms including the humans would not have been possible had there been no virus and bacterium. 

Lal gives a fascinating viral story of the bursting of the first economic bubble in Europe, and virus's Sanskrit connection and the Ganga's links to treatment of a range of bacterial diseases.

The book has been written in the background of Covid-19, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, but does not discuss the coronavirus or the pandemic much. This could be its shortcoming. It, however, breaks the myth of SARS-CoV-2 being a colourful virus. 

We all read in schools/colleges -- and for someone like me, also during the preparation for PMTs -- that we don't have the technology to know the colour of the virus because it is smaller than the wavelength of the sunrays. Still, a graphically designed photograph by American computer technicians made us believe that the crimson-specked ball was the true look of the SARS-CoV-2. Lal clears the air.

But, I think, the book is not error-free. I, for sure, can say that there is at least one critical mistake for a book telling a powerful scientific story of the virus. It says DNA bases are bound by phosphate bonds. It is the hydrogen bond that keeps them together. I think Lal either missed the point or got confused with what is called the phosphate backbone -- referring to the DNA strands of the ladder -- with the bonding between the bases.

Otherwise and overall, I will recommend this book strongly to anybody and everybody interested in virology or is open to understand the place of humans in the living world, and their association with the microbial world. For, without microbes, there would not be humans, and Charles Darwin would not be born.

सेहतमंद सलाह की समस्या

भरोसा बड़े कमाल की चीज़ है। इसी के भरोसे कुछ लोग मुझसे सेहत संबंधी सलाह लेते हैं जबकि उन्हें पता है कि मैं क्वालिफ़ाइड नहीं हूँ। इसी मामले में कुछ लोग मुझे पुरातनपंथी समझते हैं। वे कहते हैं कि मेरे उपाय गुज़रे ज़माने के-से लगते हैं। कुछ और लोग कनफ़्यूज़न की शिकायत करते हैं। ये कहते हैं कि मैं बात तो साइंस की करता हूँ लेकिन उपाय पुराने बताता हूँ। उनका कहना होता है कि साइंस की बात से तो लगता है कि मैं ऐलोपैथी से कोई उपाय बताऊँगा, लेकिन मैं आयुर्वेद-टाइप सलाह दे बैठता हूँ। लेकिन सच यह है कि मैं साइंस समझने की कोशिश करता हूँ। इसे रोज़मर्रा और शरीर से जोड़कर समझने की कोशिश करता हूँ। न तो मुझे ऐलोपैथी की समझ है और न ही आयुर्वेद की। तो, मैं सलाह दोनों में से किसी की भी नहीं देता, न ही दे सकता हूँ। फिर भी, मैं इस कनफ़्यूज़न को समझता हूँ। अब समझाने की कोशिश करता हूँ।

यहाँ तक थोड़ा पर्सनल था। कारण कि इसी वजह से मैंने लिखकर कहने की बात सोची।

आमतौर पर साइंस और ऐलोपैथी को सेहत की दुनिया में एक-दूसरे का पूरक समझा जाता है। ऐसा है नहीं। असल में ऐलोपैथी अपने मूल मतलब में तो वैकल्पिक रोग उपचार पद्धति का नाम है। ऐसा इसलिए कि जब यह विकसित हो रही थी तो पश्चिमी दुनिया में होमियोपैथी मुख्यधारा की रोग उपचार पद्धति थी। जर्मनी से निकलने वाली धारा मजबूत थी।

लेकिन, क़रीब 100-110 साल पहले अमेरिका में एक पैनल बना जिसने तय किया कि ऐलोपैथी ही मुख्य रोग उपचार पद्धति बनेगी। इसने यह भी तय किया कि वे मेडिकल स्कूल-कॉलेज़ जहाँ ऐलोपैथी की पढ़ाई नहीं होती है या ग़ैर-ऐलोपैथी पढ़ाई होती है, उन्हें बंद कर दिया जाए या उनकी फ़ंडिंग बाधित की जाए। यह उस पैनल की राय थी। उनका मानना था कि ऐलोपैथी ही उनके लिए और भविष्य के लिए भी उचित पद्धति है।

आमतौर पर जैसा भाषा और धर्म के साथ होता है वैसा ही कुछ यहाँ भी हुआ। भाषा के बारे में कहते हैं कि वह एक बोली है जिसे एक विजयी सेना मिल गई। धर्म के बारे में भी यही कहते हैं कि जब एक विचार और विचारक को मिशनरियों-लड़ाकों की फ़ौज मिल जाती है तो धर्म की स्थापना और उसका विस्तार होता है। ऐलोपैथी के साथ यही हुआ। उसे धन और धन-प्रायोजित साइंस का सहारा मिला।

साइंस का वास्तव में ऐलोपैथी से कोई कनेक्शन नहीं है। यह होमियोपैथी, यूनानी पद्धति और आयुर्वेद के लिए भी उतना ही सुलभ और अपना है। ऐलोपैथी ने, लेकिन, साइंस को उपनिवेश बना लिया। ऐलोपैथी को साइंस के विकास से जो फ़ायदा हुआ वही फ़ायदा होमियोपैथी या आयुर्वेद को भी हो सकता था। लेकिन कुछ-कुछ सिस्टम ने और कुछ इन्होंने ख़ुद ही साइंस को अपने से अलग कर लिया। जबकि, ये सभी, ख़ासतौर पर आयुर्वेद, ऐलोपैथी से काफ़ी बेहतर नींव पर थे।

मसलन, ऐलोपैथी का तंत्र रोग के उपचार में कृत्रिम केमिकल दवाई पर आधारित है। सर्जरी एक ज़बरदस्त बढ़त है। लेकिन इसमें फ़ूड का कोई ख़ास रोल नहीं है। मेरे ख़्याल से किसी भी मेडिकल कॉलेज़ में एमबीबीएस के स्टूडेंट्स को न्यूट्रीशन अलग से नहीं पढ़ाया जाता।

आयुर्वेद कॉलेज़ों में भोजन-पोषण पढ़ाया जाता है या नहीं, यह भी मुझे मालूम नहीं लेकिन आयुर्वेद में फ़ूड रोग-उपचार का अहम हिस्सा है। शायद होमियोपैथी में भी। और, अब दुनियाभर में ऐलोपैथी के रिसर्चर्स इलाज़ में फ़ूड को शामिल करने की सलाह देते हैं। यहाँ तक कि मोटापा घटाने की नई क़िताबों में भी रिसर्चर्स इस बात पर ज़ोर देते हैं कि आपको ख़ुद को भूखा नहीं रखना है। बस, जिन सेल्स में फ़ैट स्टोर होता है, उन्हें कैसे अनलॉक करना है, यह समझाते हैं। और, यह सब साइंस में हुए रिसर्च पर आधारित है।

अगर आयुर्वेद, होमियोपैथी या यूनानी पद्धतियों को साइंस का ऐक्सेस रहा होता तो ये पद्धतियाँ बराबर खड़ी होती। कुछेक बीमारियों को छोड़कर शायद बेहतर भी होती। आयुर्वेद तो ख़ासकर क्योंकि जिस प्लांट-बेस्ड लाइफ़स्टाइल का नया ज़माना आ रहा है, वह तो वास्तव में पुरातन ही है। लेकिन, हमारे ऊपर इतिहास का एक बोझ है जो हमें कई चीज़ों को साफ-सुथरे ढंग से देखने नहीं देता।

हालत तो यहाँ तक है कि आयुर्वेद और होमियोपैथी के डॉक्टर साइंस द्वारा विकसित डॉयग्नोस्टिक मेथड्स का इस्तेमाल भी बीमारियों की पड़ताल में करने से हिचकिचाते हैं। अब पैर टूट गया तो बिना एक्स-रे इलाज क्यों कराया जाए? छाती में इनफ़ेक्सन है तो एक्स-रे या स्कैन पर क्यों ऐलोपैथी का एकाधिकार समझा जाए? ख़ून की तमाम तरह की जाँच ऐलोपैथी के डॉक्टर ही आमतौर पर लिखते हैं।

यह कूपमंडूकता है कि लोग अमूमन यूनानी पद्धति को इस्लामी पद्धति समझते हैं। यूनानी मेडिकल कॉलेज़ों में इसीलिए मुसलमान छात्र अधिक हैं। उन्हें भी लगता है कि यूनानी उनका है, आयुर्वेद और होमियोपैथी हिंदुओं का है और ऐलोपैथी विधर्मी बना सकता है। गैर-मुसलमान भी सोचते हैं कि यूनानी मुग़लिया इलाज़ पद्धति है।

सच यह है कि यूनानी पद्धति इस्लामी दुनिया के लिए उतना ही फ़ॉरन है जितना हिंदुस्तानी जगत के लिए। इसकी बुनियाद ग्रीस में पड़ी। वहाँ से भारत आई। पश्चिम से, जिधर से दिल्ली के सुल्तान और मुग़ल आए। वे यूनानी से पहले से परिचित थे। आयुर्वेद उन्हें अनजाना, फॉरन लगा। यूनानी नाम भी भारतीय है।

अँग्रेज़ी हुक़ूमत तक राजा-रजवाड़ों की वजह से आयुर्वेद भारत में पिछड़ गया। वैसे ही जैसे ग्रीस में यूनानी। वहाँ ग्रीक लोगों का भरोसा यूनानी पद्धति पर कम होता गया। इसे फ़ंडिंग की समस्या हुए। इसकी वजह से साइंस से कनेक्शन टूटा। उसकी गति बाधित हुई। यही होमियोपैथी के साथ हुआ। मुश्किल से 100 साल पहले तक यह मुख्य उपचार पद्धति थी लेकिन अमेरिका-यूके में हुए फ़ैसले की वजह से ऐलोपैथी को सपोर्ट मिला। साइंस की उपलब्धियाँ इसके हिस्से आई।

होमियोपैथी को कई लोग दवाई तक मानने से इनकार करते हैं। कारण यह है कि दवाई की परिभाषा सिर्फ़ ऐलोपैथी तक सीमित हो गई। होमियोपैथी ने भी ख़ुद में सुधार नहीं किया। ऐलोपैथी साइंस के साथ-साथ बढ़ती गई। वह सिर्फ़ पेनिसीलीन पर निर्भर नहीं रही। होमियोपैथी आज तक सिर्फ़ उस जर्मन की क़िताब को ही पढ़ती रही।

भारत में आयुर्वेद का हाल यही रहा। साइंस-आधारित पद्धति ने साइंस की प्रगति से ख़ुद को अलग ही रखा। ऐलोपैथी लाने वाले अँग्रेज़ों ने इसमें बड़ी भूमिका निभाई। अँग्रेज़ 75 साल पहले चले गए। आयुर्वेद अभी तक ख़ुद को साइंस की ख़ूबियों को अपनाने से रोकता रहा है।

आयुर्वेद का फलक ऐलोपैथी से बड़ा है। इसमें फ़ूड, शारीरिक गतिविधियाँ, साइकोलॉजी, पर्यावरण आदि समेकित रूप में देखे जाते हैं। रोग उपचार के लिए यह एक पोटेंशियल टोटैलिटी देता है। यह सिर्फ़ उपचार नहीं रोग निवारण तक की पद्धति हो सकता है। आर्युवेद का साइंस से मिलन का समय आ रहा है। एक बार फिर।

मैं तो सिर्फ़ साइंस को फ़ूड से जोड़कर सेहत की सलाह देता हूँ। जीवन से सेहत को जोड़ने का काम आयुर्वेद है। इसे आर्युवेद में ट्रेंड डॉक्टर आगे बढ़ा सकते हैं।