RSS wing hopes to expand abroad to teach Vedic science
Sources say Sangh leaders recommended the government set up a separate ministry on cow development and put in place an Indian Council of Veterinary Research (ICVR) on the lines of an agricultural research body that already exists.
Maharishi Bharadwaj’s Vaimanika Shastra prescribes a chemical formula that can make a flying plane invisible; the 100 Kaurava brothers were the first evidence of human cloning; cow urine can cure cancer.
These are not abstracts from a fantasy tale but claims of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders who want the government to promote research based on the Vedas and other ancient Indian literature “for the welfare of mankind”.
The churning has begun. Set up in 1991, Sangh-affiliated science organisation Vijnana Bharati says it plans to expand in the Muslim-dominated Gulf countries to acquaint children of Indian families there with the country’s rich scientific and cultural heritage.
“Children living abroad, particularly in Muslim countries, should be taught about science that exists in Vedas and other literature,” Dr Somdev Bhardwaj of Vijnana Bharati told HT.
With eminent scientists G Madhavan Nair and Anil Kakodkar as patrons, the organisation is headed by Vijay P Bhatkar who developed India’s first supercomputer.
Vijnana Bharati identifies promotion of “swadeshi science”, intertwining traditional and modern sciences as well as natural and spiritual sciences as its founding principle.
“What is available in the Vedas and Upanishads can give India a big leap. Government should promote research-based on them,” Bhardwaj said.
Indian scientist BG Matapurkar who was awarded a US patent on adult stem cells used for organ regeneration said he was inspired by the Mahabharata and the Kauravas were products of a technology that modern science has not even developed yet, Bhardwaj pointed out.
While Vijnana Bharati wants to expand to the Gulf, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is pushing the government for steps to protect and develop indigenous cows.
Sources say Sangh leaders recommended the government set up a separate ministry on cow development and put in place an Indian Council of Veterinary Research (ICVR) on the lines of an agricultural research body that already exists.
“Government has taken some good steps but it needs to do more. Medicinal research based on cow urine and cow dung should be promoted. Cow urine can cure cancer and other fatal diseases,” VHP leader Khemchand Sharma told HT.
Sharma heads the Gau Raksha Vibhag of the VHP. Several ayurvedic doctors of the Parishad’s Gau Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra at Deolapar near Nagpur recently met agriculture ministry officials and made suggestions about organic farming and protecting cows. It also sought a ban on cow slaughter.
The ministry is already in overdrive. It has allocated Rs 500 crore to protect and promote desi cows. Projects worth Rs 378 crore have been sanctioned and Rs 123 crore has been released in this financial year. Two cattle-breeding centres in Mathura and south India have also been proposed.