Indigenous Knowledge Erosion
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE EROSION
Jyoti Kumari
Jyoti Kumari is a freelance researcher and doctoral candidate researching ‘Environmental History of Colonial Punjab’ at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in New Delhi. The author can be contacted at jyotikm202@rediffmail.com
he indigenous communities in India are the original inhabitants of the natural region and they have been maintaining a historical continuity with pre-industrial societies by following traditional patterns of life. Scattered all over the country, they constitute around 8.8 per cent of the total population and with a few exceptions, the majority of them are forest dwellers. Their sociocultural identity has remained unaffected by forces of colonisation, modernisation, and globalisation. They have preserved their culture through their indigenous knowledge systems, which authenticate the presence of their rich socio-cultural and medical heritage. The sacred rituals and healing practices are very much visible in their culture. Erosion of indigenous knowledge has been taking place in India for the past two hundred years and there is no effort by the government to promote and protect these anonymous but unique knowledge holders of the society. The contribution of indigenous knowledge in the modern systems of medicine has been underestimated and it is ironical that the scientific community has treated the ‘foundation of scientific medicine’ as ‘unscientific’. This article emphasises on the revival of folk medicine tradition that is happening with the help of pharmaceutical companies, voluntary organisations. Folk knowledge about pharmaceutical diversity is as old as civilisation itself. The first historical evidence of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants has been found in Rg Veda. In fact, the Atharva Veda, a treatise on folk medicine traditions, explains various herbal formulations that are still in use. Even in the medieval period there was an exchange of traditional medical wisdom between Arabs,
Jyoti Kumari
Jyoti Kumari is a freelance researcher and doctoral candidate researching ‘Environmental History of Colonial Punjab’ at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in New Delhi. The author can be contacted at jyotikm202@rediffmail.com
he indigenous communities in India are the original inhabitants of the natural region and they have been maintaining a historical continuity with pre-industrial societies by following traditional patterns of life. Scattered all over the country, they constitute around 8.8 per cent of the total population and with a few exceptions, the majority of them are forest dwellers. Their sociocultural identity has remained unaffected by forces of colonisation, modernisation, and globalisation. They have preserved their culture through their indigenous knowledge systems, which authenticate the presence of their rich socio-cultural and medical heritage. The sacred rituals and healing practices are very much visible in their culture. Erosion of indigenous knowledge has been taking place in India for the past two hundred years and there is no effort by the government to promote and protect these anonymous but unique knowledge holders of the society. The contribution of indigenous knowledge in the modern systems of medicine has been underestimated and it is ironical that the scientific community has treated the ‘foundation of scientific medicine’ as ‘unscientific’. This article emphasises on the revival of folk medicine tradition that is happening with the help of pharmaceutical companies, voluntary organisations. Folk knowledge about pharmaceutical diversity is as old as civilisation itself. The first historical evidence of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants has been found in Rg Veda. In fact, the Atharva Veda, a treatise on folk medicine traditions, explains various herbal formulations that are still in use. Even in the medieval period there was an exchange of traditional medical wisdom between Arabs,
References: Gosling, David L., 2001. Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia. Routledge, London. UNDP, 2001. Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development. Oxford University Press, New York. Sharma, Devinder, 2002. “Digital Library on Indian Medicine Systems: Another Tool for Biopiracy”. Economic and Political Weekly, June 22. Shukla, R. S., 2000. Forestry for Tribal Development. New Delhi: Wheeler Publications. Courtesy: http://avpayurveda.com INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE EROSION 11