The ‘cure’, at times, can be as dangerous as the disease. Is that the reason why a first information report has been filed against Baba Ramdev and four others for making misleading claims that two herbal medicines of Patanjali Ayurved can, apparently, defeat Covid-19? The FIR seems to be consistent with other institutional interventions against this specious, sensational claim. The ministry of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy had taken umbrage with the perpetrator, and directed it not to advertise these dubious products as a remedy for a contagion that continues to elude the reach of modern medicine. There is evidence to suggest that Patanjali’s medical unit has been evasive of due process. For instance, the Uttarakhand government has asserted that the Haridwar-based firm had not been given the licence to manufacture the said products to tackle the coronavirus. The quality of clinical trials remains unconvincing; worse, it has been reported that when patients with mild symptoms developed fever during these ‘clinical’ trials — Patanjali had said that 69 per cent of the Covid-19 patients tested negative after three days of ‘treatment’ — they had to be given allopathic medicine.

Ethics, evidently, is not a consideration for some pharmaceutical firms, including those that are patronized by the seemingly pious. This brings to light a serious problem. It seems that the pandemic is being exploited by some constituencies for profit. Public anxiety, along with low awareness about questionable medical products and practices, has enabled such enterprises to thrive. There is also the question of regulatory oversight. It has been alleged that alternative medicines are not subjected to the rigorous trials that are reserved for allopathy drugs. Strikingly, the draft amendment of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, the ancient legislation that scrutinizes the advertising of ayurveda products, has reportedly got lost amidst the din of the pandemic. There is an immediate need for the ministry concerned to ensure that the law — it had been framed in the 1950s — is armed to check all kinds of mischief. The other need of the hour is the revival of the scientific temper in India. An obscurantist regime has done a great deal to weaken the culture of reason and objectivity. The consequences — the chicanery of Patanjali in this instance is an example — could be disastrous for public health.