Results and Discussion

Buddhism’s role in promotion of medical practice by the subaltern

South India came under Buddhist influence from the time of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) with the visit of Buddhist monks (arhats). Buddha Dharma was propagated through monasteries and learning centres and medical services were rendered from the monasteries by knowledgeable monks. Buddhism80 M. D. Subash Chandran found wide acceptability among the masses as it opposed the oppressive caste system of Hindus, as is evident from the Sangam Tamil works of early centuries CE. Its decline from 7th century started due to various reasons which weakened the Buddhist Sanghas; the major reason was the revival of Brahminism. However, despite its weakened state Buddhism lingered in the south until the 14th century (Murthy, 1987). As far as Kerala is concerned, Murthy subscribes to the view that several temples bearing the name Sattan-kavu and Aiyappan-kovil etc. which exist to this day, were former Buddhist shrines. Sattan (colloquial of Sastha?) was a name for Buddha and kavu refers to a garden or a monastery. Hence Sattankavu refers to a monastery of Buddha (-ibid-). It is well known today that the kavus of Kerala are worship places. Kavus are exclusively sacred groves, or sacred grove with small shrines or temples, or temples which have lost their groves, as many are today (Chandran et al., 1998).
Vaghbhta II, a Buddhist monk and one of the pillars of Ayurveda, is believed to have lived in Kerala for several years around 6-7th centuries CE (Sadasivan, 2000). Unique importance in Kerala, especially of Ashtangahridaya, speaks of the influence of monastic Buddhism in Kerala that time (Wolfgram, 2009). The flourish of Sanskrit in Kerala, beginning in 5-6 centuries C.E. (Variar, 1985) coupled with social emancipation credited to the spread of Buddhism, could have conferred much advantage to its population in learning Ayurvedic texts, where this classical medical system became a living tradition. Valiathan, himself an eminent physician and surgeon of the allopathic system, and author of several works on Ayurvedic history, endorses the view that Ayurveda in Kerala got tremendous enrichment through ‘Buddhist channels’ (http://textofvideo.nptel.iitm.ac.in) as given in excerpts below:

● Ayruveda is practiced all over India whereas the regional variation like Panchakarma is being practiced in Kerala and Rajasthan only.
● Everybody had access to Ayurvedic ideas; there are no restrictions; otherwise for initiation into Ayurveda Brahmins were preferred; Khsatriyas and Vaishyas were accepted; but Shudras were not accepted. If they were accepted, they were grudgingly accepted. For Buddhist there was no restriction whatsoever; everybody was accepted.
● Sanskrit was taught to learners of Ayurveda; there was no restriction in Sanskrit learning through Buddhist channels. Regional languages were also used.
● Pre-existing regional practices in healthcare, were adopted into medical practice. Typical local practices of Kerala adopted into Ayurveda include: Dhara: Use of warm medicated oil on body, Pizhichil: Using a cloth soaked in warm medicated oil for massage, etc.

Ezhavas’ links with Buddhism, Sanskrit and Ayurveda
Consistent with the teachings of Buddha the Buddhist monasteries of the south had often dispensaries for treating the sick. Kerala, nevertheless, is expected to have a much older medical tradition of its own, due to the richness of vegetation and the isolation of the region from the rest of the country due to the high rising Western Ghats to the east. The Ezhavas constituting currently the largest Hindu community of Kerala, are have their own medical tradition, although their main traditional occupations were agriculture, palm cultivation, toddy tapping etc. Introduction of the concepts of Ayurveda, attributed to Vaghbhata, would have immensely benefted the community, who would have blended their own medical system with that of Ayurveda. Buddhist Ayurveda itself had freely absorbed local medical traditions from various parts of the country. Sadasivan (2000) affrms that under the patronage of Vaghbhata, Ashtangasamgraha and Ashtangahridaya became the handbooks of Ezhava physicians.From the shadows of legitimacy problems and prospects of folk healing in India 81 The decline of Buddhism from the south by 8th century CE aggravated caste discrimination, a situation that prevailed in Kerala for about the next 1000 years. The inflexible laws governing social stratifcation in Kerala never found expressions better than that of Van Rheedeas recorded in the Preface to the Vol III of Hortus Malabaricus composed in 1677:
This law (referring to social divisions) “demands that everyone shall follow a special mode of living by virtue of his birth, is observed so rigorously, so strictly, and so scrupulously to the present day that no mortal man could fnally alter even a trifle of this law…. Thus farmers and fsherman, through the whole course of the years and the flight of time, will never beget any but farmers and fsherman.”
At the same time one would wonder, how despite such fatal laws governing caste system the Ezhavas continued their medical profession and excelled in it. Rheedes’ Preface has the answer:
Through this virtually fatal law, however, no professions or crafts ever get lost, and all peoples …. owing to the accident of their birth …. are only occupied with those things to which this fatal law through descent from their ancestors has condemned them. And hence, being rendered more and more capable through this continuous instruction of their elders and relations, they fnally acquire the striking and exquisite knowledge of their profession…”
Itti Achudan, the Ezhava vaidyan who had the crucial role in the composition of the botanical classic Hortus Malabaricus explicitly states in his certifcate of 20th April 1675 (printed in Hortus Vol I) that he was a hereditary Malayali physician (Sampradayamulla Malayalavaidyan) and the details of plants such as ‘names, medical virtues, and properties of the trees, plants, herbs, and convolvuluses’ narrated to Emmanuel Carneiro, the interpreter were from ‘our book’. Carneiro in turn termed the expression ‘our book’ as the ‘famed book of the Malayalee physician’ (Heniger, 1980).
Historians of Kerala found numerous cases of Ezhavas physicians of 18th and 19th to early 20th century, known for their scholarship in Ayurveda and Sanskrit. Despite the fatality of the caste system in a feudal age and probable prohibition on learning Sanskrit they made several contributions towards development of Ayurveda in Kerala. Kerala historian Gopalakrishnan (2000) states that the Namboodiris (Kerala Brahmin caste) learnt medicine from Buddhists. Expert Buddhists were converted as Namboodiris as well. Through centuries Kerala had numerous Ezhava families practicing medicine. Some of the distinguished vaidyas were: Uppotu Kannan (born 1825) is credited with the authorship of Yogamritam, a popular work in Kerala based on the same text in Sanskrit by Ashtavaidyans of Kerala. He wrote an excellent exegesis for Ashatangahridaya. His work Bhaskaram is a widely referred commentary (Variar, 1985). Oushada Nighantu by Tayyil Krishnan Vaidyan is another scholarly work. The 18th century had about 300 celebrated Ezhava Ayurvedic physicians; about 100 were court physicians during 18th and 19th centuries. Vaidyas from the Chavarkot family of Kollam, were the chief Ayurvedic physicians of the Travancore royal family during 18th and 19th century, of whom Marthandam Vaidyan was specially named. Cholayil Kunjmami Vaidyan was associated with the Cochin royal family (Sadasivan, 2000).
Gopalakrishnan (2000) highlighted the important role of Sanskritin mastering Ayurveda. It was widely believed that the lower castes could not have gained mastery in Ayurveda as they were not allowed to learn Sanskrit. Malayalam scholar N.V. Krishna Warrier (1989) tries to dispel this notion:

“it does not seem to be historically true to equate Sanskritisation of South India as Brahmanisation, as done by some. It was the Baudhas and Jainas, who stood outside the82 M. D. Subash Chandran purview of the varnasrama system that gave leadership to the propagation of Sanskrit in Ceylon and South India, and not Brahmins, and they were not averse to give Sanskrit education to non-Brahmins. Just as Sanskrit was indispensable for Brahmins for the study of Vedas and Vedantas, Sanskrit was required for non-Brahmins to study result-oriented Sastras like medicine, astrology and architecture. Van Rheede on the rich biodiversity and health care of the people of Malabar During his journeys through Malabar (Kerala) during the latter half of the 17th century Hendrik van Rheede, the Dutch military offcer who became the Governor of Cochin, could not help admiring biodiversity rich landscapes and the good health of the people: “On the way I observed large, lofty, and dense forests …. they were pleasing through the marvelous variety of the trees, which was so great that it would be diffcult to fnd two trees of the same kind in the same forest… I rather frequently saw … many ivies of various kinds clinging to one tree and moreover shooting up in the very branches of the trees, and also various plants against the bare trunk, so that it was often very pleasant to see on one tree displayed leaves, flowers and fruits of ten or twelve different kinds… not only the fertile soil extending in the plains was thus adorned, but that even the rough rocks and the steeps of the mountains were equally full of luxuriant forests ” (Rheede’s Preface to vol. III of Hortus).
On the good health of the people of Malabar, Rheede remarked:

“They usually live to a very great age and their health is cared for by native physicians, who do not fetch medicaments from other regions, or at all events as few as possible, since they are content with only those medicaments which their own region supplies bountifully, a custom which is imitated with success by the Europeans in those places.” Rheede was critical on the practice of getting medicines from Europe for the Dutch in Malabar: “The Dutch, however, who are staying there under the auspices of the East India Company, indifferently use medicaments, which after being fetched from those regions, are conveyed via Persia and Arabia to Europe and thence again by sea to India, in almost decayed and spoiled condition, not without a waste of large sums, which are spent without any advantage on this matter…. Moreover it would involve great proft for the Illustrious East India Company, which indeed would be able to save those expenses which it spends on transporting medicaments”.

Hortus Malabaricus: A unique tribute to Ezhava botany and medicine
Itti Achudan, an Ezhava physician of 17th century, had played the key role in furnishing most of the valuable data on 780 plant taxa (691 modern species) for the compilation of Hortus Malabaricus by Van Rheede. Three Konkani priest-physicians, Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka Pandit and Appu Bhat, also supplemented the information. A certifcate given by Achudan in his own hand writing, attached to the Vol-I of Hortus authenticated that the “disclosed the names, virtues and properties of trees, plants, herbs and lianas as they are written in our book and as I have observed through long experience and practice”. Through his contribution for this monumental work Achudan, not only unraveled to the world the botanical treasure of Malabar but also gave rare glimpses of the rich knowledge of the Ezhava medical men on plant diversity ranging from ferns to angiosperms, their medical properties and uses. But for Achudan’s participation the mission to compose Hortus, would have been almost futile despite the effortsFrom the shadows of legitimacy problems and prospects of folk healing in India 83 of the Konkini vaidyas who gave more of textual knowledge based on their Ayurvedic text MahaNighantu or Great Lexicon. The 12 volumes Hortus, in Latin, were published between 1679-1692. Hortus, became an important pre-Linnaean classical botanical composition in Latin. Its translation into English was published in 2003 by K.S. Manilal.
Hortus Malabaricus is considered as the earliest example of systematic scientifc documentation of folk medicinal practices of intangible heritage from anywhere in Asia. It is the oldest comprehensive printed book on the natural plant wealth of Asia, compiled and published in Latin by Van Rheede. This 12-volume treatise, contains illustrations of 742 plants from 691 modern species, together with their descriptions and medicinal and other uses. It is perhaps the only authentic evidence of the ancient ethno-medical knowledge of Kerala, and that too culled out from the hereditary palm-leaf manuscripts of Itty Achudan. Whereas the Konkini Brahmin collaborators depended on an Ayurvedic Nighantu for the plant names, Achudan “disclosed the names, virtues and properties of trees, plants, herbs and lianas as they are written in our book and as I have observed through long experience and practice” (quote from his certifcate in Vol. 1). Professor Manilal, from the University of Calicut, who has studied the various aspects of the original book for more than 40 years, wrote the English translation (in 2003) about 325 years after the publication of Vol. I in Latin in 1678. In the words of Mohan Ram (2005):

“The work describes plants with multiple uses as well as with medicinal properties. It includes modes of preparation and application, based on pre-Ayurvedic knowledge of the ancient, renowned, hereditary physicians of Malabar. The ethnomedical information presented in Hortus Malabaricus was culled from palm leaf manuscripts by Itty Achudan, a famous physician of Malabar at that time.”

Achudan Vaidya: underplay of a pre-Linnaean legend

For the frst time in Kerala’s history, Achudan’s certifcate in the extinct Kolezuthu script of Malayalam Hortus became the frst document to be printed in the world in that language, along with its rewriting in modern Aryaezuthu script. This certifcate, apparently, was included more for the purpose of silencing his critics, by van Rheede, more of a military person than a botanist or ethnobiologist, whose credential for authorship of the monumental Hortus was not convincing for contemporary scientists. He was, in the words of Fournier (1980), “no great botanist…. Not knowing the frst thing about systematic botany”, but was a ‘successful organiser, who was able to bring together the people who could realize his plans’. Nevertheless, Rheede set high standard for his work and achieved the same, making Hortus ‘the most important and reliable source on the flora of Malabar, indeed until the end of the eighteenth century, on the flora of the whole of India’.
Rheede would have instructed his collaborators, including the Konkini Brahmins, regarding the contents of certifcates to be given by them for Hortus, mainly to defne their specifc contributions for the project, as a formal authentication, probably needed for approval of his work by the biologists in Europe. Achudan’s document mentions his profession as vaidyan, his lineage, address and stated unambiguously the certifcate was given mainly to dispel the doubts of the people concerned, about his role in the book project. Having served such a purpose of authentication, except for the elaborate description of Malabar, its flora, society and about the methodology of work with the help of native physicians, in the Vol. III of Hortus, nowhere else occurs any acknowledgement towards the local physicians, including the attribution of species to their respective individual credits. Instead, volume after volume of Hortus contained prefaces and profuse84 M. D. Subash Chandran statements of dedication to honorable members of the Dutch aristocracy, dukes and barons, which is uncommon to scientifc writing. Rheede, though underplayed the specifc role of Achudan, in his Preface to Vol. III describes the excellence of botanical knowledge the low caste vaidyas had accumulated through “continuous instruction of their elders and relations” so that “they fnally acquire the striking and exquisite knowledge of their profession which they now display.” Perhaps through “accident of birth” these local men were to perform their duties “with a more than stoic inevitability”. Rheede seems to have taken for granted this fatalism associated with lower castes of Malabar, and with his passing remarks and affxation of the necessary certifcates of authentication, implying data has been obtained through ‘order’ (the term ‘order’ is explicit in Achudan’s certifcate). Beyond that the providers of data did not merit any further commendation from Rheede, a fact reflected in the commentary of Heniger (1980) “Although the twelve impressive folio volumes of the Hortus Malabaricus are due to the exertions of his scholarly and skillful collaborators, with the Preface Van Reede has earned for himself a place in the history of tropical botany.”
In the Preface to the third volume Rheede admits that the frst two volumes had met with a good deal of criticism, including what justifed him in having his own name printed, as the frst author, on the title page. Most impressive contribution towards popularizing the greatness of Malabar botany is through the English translations of Hortus with annotations and use of modern botanical nomenclature by K. S. Manilal, published by University of Kerala in 2003. Manilal (1980) had already shown greater sense of certainty as regards the role of Achudan “who provided most of the information regarding the medicinal power of the plants described in Hortus Malabaricus,” based on local medicine and Ayurvedic medical practice as contained in his family book. One could only wonder why a European like van Rheede had to take all such trouble regarding publicizing the works of indigenous botanists of the time when it was in his ambit of power to execute things by order alone. Indeed, the Rajas of Cochin had the onus of preserving the heritage of Itti Achudan or his like, including his precious family texts and the Great Lexicon (Maha-Nighantu) used by the Konkini Brahmins. Manilal’s search for these valuable indigenous medical texts for about 18 years, after the passage of over three centuries since Hortus publication, went futile, as nothing remained of them. Considering the indifference of the Cochin rulers towards these matters rich tributes need to be paid Van Rheede’s great efforts, immortalizing Achuden and other vaidyas of the time through the 12 volumes of Hortus. Notably, An Interpretation of Van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus published by Nicolson et al. (2008) in Regnum Vegetabile, Vol 119, was acclaimed as the only book by Indian authors published in this series till date and considered a classic, ‘essential for any study on the taxonomy of South Asian and South East Asian plants’.

The Malayalam binomial nomenclature

The robustness of classifcation of plants by Ezhava physicians, of the time is very well reflected in the nomenclature itself, which may be termed a pre-Linnaen binomial in the reverse order (species equivalent preceding genus equivalent). Environmental historian Richard Grove (1995) reflects on the matter (Grove also had personal discussions with this author on ‘Ezhava botany’ during his visit to Uttara Kannada, and on earlier occasions):

“Most important for the subsequent history of tropical botany, the insight of the Ezhavas into the affnities among a large number of plants in the Hortus malabaricus are revealed by the names they gave to those species which have the same stem and to which one or more prefxes are added: for example Onapu, Valli- onapu and Tsjeri-onapu. The names also give us a considerable amount of incidental sociological material. For Onapu, Onam is the harvest festival in which this particular flower would be used. The names thus preserve the true social affnities of the plant name instead of isolating them in a contextless arbitrary category, as well as probably allowing a truer affnity in terms of pharmacological properties.” The respect of the pre-Linnaean European systematic botanists, towards the Ezhava system of classifcation, has been highlighted by Grove (1995). Arnold Syen and Jan Commelin, while arranging the sequence of plants in Hortus Malabaricus, retained the order of sequence which the Ezhavas followed on the assumption of their relationships “even if the Europeans knew this to be contrary to their own classifcation system.” Linnaeus, in particular, in 1740, fully adopted the Ezhava classifcation and affnities in establishing 240 entirely new species as did Adanson, Jussieau, Dennstedt, Haskarl, Roxburgh, Buchanan and Hooker (-ibid-).
After closely examining the Malayalam nomenclature of plants in the Hortus, especially used by the Ezhavas (presumably from the family texts of Itti Achuthan), it is not unreasonable to postulate that Linnaeus, known as Father of Botany, who published his monumental work Species Plantarum, in 1753, 75 years after publication of the frst volume of Hortus Malabaricus was influenced by the Ezhava system of nomenclature of plants. The very look at Achudan’s system of naming of the closely related members of the ginger family Zingiberaceae (Table-1) is contemplative and reflective of the botany and relationships of the plants concerned. Usually a typical taxon of the related species is given a single name (the stem of the name); for instance eg. Alpam (Apama siliqosa Lam.; Champacam = Michelia champaca L., Manga = Mangifera indica L. etc.) In the case cited in detail as in Table-1, cardamom is called Elettari (as in Hortus) its normal Malayalam name, designated as Elettaria cardamomum by Linnaeus. All the other Zingibers have in the Hortus the stem of the name as ‘Kua’, which is equivalent of genus. The others of the ginger family are designated as Tsjana-Kua, MalanKua, Manja-Kua, Manjella-Kua, InschivelInschiKua, KatoreInschi-Kua etc. The last two names have attachments that sound like sub-species (Inschivel and Inschi). Obviously European biologists, of the colonial period, placed at the summits of wealth biological materials from all parts of the planet, and with their

linguistic superiority and managerial skills had greater advantage, in formulating the globally accepted binomial nomenclature, unlike the indigenous Ezhavas, socially oppressed and for centuries not allowed to use anything beyond the primitive Kolezethu Malayalam and ‘smuggled Sanskrit’ learnt through the informal kudi-pallikootams (home schools) run by Asans. The script and caste went together in Malayalam, Kolezethu for lower castes and Aryaezuthu (meaning ‘script of nobles’) for upper castes. From early 19th century Kolezethu fadedaway with the British universalizing education through the government schools, and also through the Basel Mission schools founded by German missionaries. It is likely that texts of Achudan, in palm leaf bundles, having perhaps no successors to follow him, would have turned redundant and undecipherable, leading to neglect and loss with the passage of time. Whereas Achudan’s saga was immortalized through Hortus by Van Rheede, rest of the subaltern knowledge on traditional medicine in Kerala would have faded away with time due to loss of manuscripts, lack of successors and the Indian Medical Acts of later times denying legitimacy for persons practicing without approved qualifcations and registration. Retrieval, scrutiny and legitimization of centuries old medical knowledge, still lying dormant in the attics of old houses in palm leaf manuscripts, or through family lineages in the cases of hereditary vaidyan, using clues through the Peoples Biodiversity Registers (Kerala is most successful in the country for PBRs completed, in almost every panchayat, under the guidance of one of the most active State Biodiversity Boards) might lead to new vistas of traditional medical knowledge.

The Uttara Kannada Study of Folk Healers
The kind of diseases and other health related contingencies treated by 46 healers were recorded and details of the medicines prepared kept in the safe custody of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board. All the persons, from diverse ethnic groups, who voluntarily attended the traditional knowledge documentation programme belonged to the Hindus. The details regarding the number of persons attended, ethnic group-wise and their traditional occupations are given in the Table-2. The type of health problems which the

healers claimed expertise in treating, using locally made herbal formulations are given in Table-3. Of the folk healers interviewed Havik Brahmins (28) outnumbered all the non-Brahmin ethnic groups (18). This has no correlation however with the district’s population structure. The Havik Brahmins constitute an illustrious group of the population in the district given to primarily pursuits like priesthood and horticulture. They are traditional experts in raising multi-storied gardens with arecanut, coconut, black pepper, betel vines, nutmeg, cardamom etc. in the valleys of Western Ghats. The farming section of Haviks, in general, combines hard physical work with several intellectual pursuits. Members of the

Table 3. Details of folk healers interviewed and kind of health problems attended to during a sample study in Uttara Kannada district

community have good levels of education and many, well versed in scriptures, offciate as priests for almost all Hindu castes, unlike most other Brahmins. Their rustic traditional homes, blending with the evergreen forests around, have such home gardens, which at the outset appear like domesticated wilderness, but are composed of ornamentals, vegetables, nutraceutical and medicinal plants as well as of semi-wild and wild fruit trees like pickle mango varieties, Garcinia, Artocarpus lakoocha (Vate-huli), jamuns, etc.
Many Havik Brahmins, render yeoman services to the community around through healing and health counseling. The vaidyas interviewed, though are not qualifed to practice legally, render almost free medical services using herbal medicines. They have sound knowledge of the nutraceutical importance of even weeds and wild plants, compared to most others interviewed. Some of the distinguished practitioners of herbal medicines have epistemological approach to herbal cure, probably based on generations of keen observations as well as under the influence of Ayurveda. Such approach have made them confdent in dealing with patients suffering from cancers, bile stones, burn scars etc. However, for conclusive proof on the effcacy of their treatments interviewing patients is essential.
Of the non-Brahmin healers were few persons from Halakki-vokkals, a community of small scale farmers growing rice and vegetables, the latter mainly for sale. They are well known as traditional healers and some of them like the Halakki-vokkal vaidyas of Belamber in Ankolataluk of the district earned good name for treating paralysis. Other community vaidyas who volunteered to attend the documentation programme were in small numbers and therefore all of them are grouped under non-Brahmin vaidyas. Table-3 provides comprehensive picture on the array of health problems which these traditional healers have been handling. In a district like Uttara Kannada, full of forests and rugged terrain, and the states’ inability to provide decent healthcare in the interior places the local healers had entrenched themselves as inevitable components of the society. As connectivity is on the increase, and with greater spread of education the sway of biomedicine and Ayurveda is on the rise. Most vaidyas are elderly people and their children tend to leave their homes after education, in search of better prospects of employment elsewhere. The vaidyas themselves are losing interest for fear of punitive action from authorities as they are still outside the realm of legitimacy.

Legitimacy of traditional medical knowledge and unlawful practitioners
With the establishment British East India Company itself, European medicine came to be looked upon as the dominant knowledge system. By mid-19th century the British offcial colonial policy marginalized indigenous medicine to secondary status. After the Indian Mutiny in 1857 the government was careful not to disturb the local sensitivity around the traditional treatments and restrained from the process of annihilation of vaidyas or hakims through registration of only modern medical practitioners. If the conditions were not hostile the British Government would have had its way, and indigenous systems like Ayurveda, Unani etc. “would have been buried in the nineteenth century itself” (Harrison, 1994). Later, as the Indian Medical Service started accepting Indian nationals, students from upper classes and minorities entered medical colleges and European medicine became the offcial health care system (https://www. ncbs.res.in/History Science Society/home). The Medical Council of India established in 1934 under the IMC Act, 1933 repealed and enacted again the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act in 1956. People qualifed from recognized medical institutions and colleges were only allowed to practice. The Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 has been the most detrimental to traditional physicians of codifed and non-codifed systems of Indian medicine, as the Act stipulated that a practitioner of Indian medicine who possesses a recognised medical qualifcation and is enrolled on a State Register or the Central Register of Indian Medicine, (Ashtang Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani Tibb) shall only practice. An estimated one and a half million providers of folk medicine, who do not have a certifed medical degree, but who provide health care to nine hundred million Indians living in rural areas (Hardiman and Mukharji, 2012) have been affected by such stringent legislation. Bode and Hariramamurthy (2014) estimate two million as the number of local herbal healers, whose healing services to the Indian society are affected, because of their ‘semi-legal status’ aggressive marketing of biomedical drugs, and biomedicine’s social prestige.
Case studies from various parts of India reveal that the non-codifed TK is not getting adequate protection from exploitation. For instance, about 200 medicinal plants from Chittoor and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh, being used by communities like Yanadis have been developed into modern medicines without any recognition or reward for any indigenous person (Vedavathi, 2013). The Yanadis feel that priority should be given to formal recognition of their TK and exclusive rights to use the bioresources needed for sustaining their knowledge/practices. Just as in Uttara Kannada the Yanadi youth are also not interested in TK, including traditional medicine.
The compulsion for acquiring a degree or diploma in the concerned discipline of Indian medicine sounded the death knell for both traditional, hereditary practitioners of codifed Indian medicine as well as of the more informal folk medicine, irrespective of the caste or community. The traditional forms of Ayurveda and its dwindling number of practitioners are fast disappearing giving way to graduates from modern Ayurvedic colleges, and their ways of preparing remedies have been overtaken by the large scale production units run by the thriving pharmaceutical industry (Warrier, 2016). Menon and Spudich’s (2010) insightful study reflects the predicament of senior Ashtavaidya physicians of Kerala, who were masters of healing practiced for more than 40 years. The desperation embodied in the feelings of Vaidyamadham Namboodiri that “We lived and breathed Ayurveda from birth” is because of the sense of futility despite long years of training, intense study and apprenticeship in the Gurukulam system under accomplished masters, covering subjects ranging from even grammar, poetry and drama in addition to mastering Sanskrit works on Tarka (the rules of reasoning and argument), and the traditional philosophies of Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Samkhya – all necessary to gain profoundness in the feld of Ayurveda. Another Ashtavaidyan also testifed: “Five years of textual study, fve years of learning about medicinal plants in the forest, and fve years of apprenticeship at home,” –including identifcation of medicinal plants and making of personalized medicinal preparations amounted to, in the eyes of the State, nothing short of quackery. The Ashtavaidyas felt the kind of training and studies that they underwent cannot be sustained in the contemporary environment of new trends in Ayurveda practice and teaching, involving many modifcations which undermine the very nature of Ayurveda (Menon and Spudich, 2010). However, in these interviews the Ashtavaidyas were well acquainted with the present-day Ayurveda educational system and their younger generation rose to the occasion to carry forth the legacy by getting trained in modern Ayurvedic colleges.