The founder of the Ayurvedic brand Patanjali, Baba Ramdev, made controversial comments regarding COVID vaccines. A video surfaced on the internet on May 24 where Ramdev was seen commenting in one of his Yoga sessions that many people have died from COVID-19 after taking both doses of the vaccine, including 10 thousand medical practitioners. He also made negative remarks on Western medicine as he was heard fcalling it a "stupid science".
As part of the conspiracy to convert the entire country into #Christianity, #Yoga and #Ayurveda are being maligned by targeting @yogrishiramdev jee. Countrymen, wake up now from the deep slumber otherwise the generations to come will not forgive you. pic.twitter.com/L9ONOJgy9v
— Acharya Balkrishna (@Ach_Balkrishna) May 24, 2021
After the video surfaced, the internet was divided into two reactions. Some supporting his statements, and others condemning his irresponsible remarks in the middle of a pandemic. Multiple medical associations from across India also strongly condemned his behaviour, including those in the Doctor's Protest that took place in front of AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. The General Secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr. Jayesh Lele, directly criticized Ramdev in an interview mentioning that he is being laughed at globally.
Soon after this ordeal, Ramdev's aide Acharya Balkrishna took to Twitter to share a conspiracy theory accusing the IMA president, Dr. Johnrose Jayalal, of maligning Ayurveda in an attempt to convert the entire country into Christianity. Meanwhile, IMA has filed a police complaint against Ramdev and sent him a defamation notice which says if he does not circulate a video contradicting his previous statements on Western medicine, he will be charged a 1,000 crore INR fine.
IMA President Dr. J A Jayalal said on Friday that IMA would consider withdrawing the police complaint if Ramdev takes back his remarks. "We have nothing against yoga guru Baba Ramdev. His statements are against vaccination for COVID-19. We think his statements could confuse people, may divert them. This is our big concern as he has many followers".
Even though Ramdev had to delete the video clip where he questioned the COVID vaccine due to pressure from Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, he has not backed down on his claim against Western medicine. He sent IMA an open letter with 25 questions, including if the cure for diseases like Type-1 and 2 diabetes, Migraine, etc., has been discovered yet.
Ramdev also has a history of making negative remarks about modern science and Western medicine. He has previously been condemned for promoting Patanjali's "anti-COVID" medicine Coronil in the pandemic. The Haryana state government's announcement to distribute Coronil among COVID-19 patients on Monday is also speculated to be the effect of Ramdev's irresponsible speech, and the people have strongly condemned it.
Ramdev has previously also claimed that he can "cure" homosexuality through yoga. His organization, Patanjali, has been known to prescribe medications as a cure to homosexuality.
