Monday, June 13, 2011

BABA RAMDEV: A TRUE NATION BUILDER.



(Analytical study)

By:
Dr. Vandana Tiwari
HOD
Department of Economics
Mata Gujri Mahila Mahavidyalaya

ABSTRACT:

Swami Ramdev Maharaj is a revered saint and a preacher from India. He has created a "Yog" revolution by teaching Pranayama, an ancient Indian art of breathing exercises. Swami Ji deeply studied and mastered the art of Yog (an art of mind and body control, which was discovered, researched and perfected by learned saints and seers of ancient India). Saint Patanjali, more than thousand years ago, compiled this knowledge and popularized it in his writings. Swami Ji, while studying these ancient scriptures, realized that Yog is a divine science which brings mankind on the path of positive thinking and a healthier body. In an era when medical treatment is too expensive, not an ordinary man can afford it. His methods of ailment give relief to people.
While yoga will take care of physical, mental and spiritual health, the downslide, in social, political and economic system of the country will be salvaged only through the patriotic zeal, fearlessness and strong character, of which he himself is a living example. He has given a clarion call to the people to come forward and save the country and the democracy. He wants to see an addiction-free, vegetarian, corruption-free India, proud of its swadeshi products. His mind may be soaring in the ethereal spheres of spiritualism, but his feet are firmly planted on earth where he is very much alive to the mundane concerns such as treatment/ enrichment of soil, cow breeding/cow protection, cleaning the Ganga etc.
I believe that Ramdev ji is actively working for social and economic development of the nation. By investing more than 500 crores and employing Lakhs of people through it, he has proved to be a good entrepreneur. It is often taught that India needs to generate employment, through identification and exploitation of natural resources, but he actually identified the need and is creating employment. Total investment of more then 4000 crores, and accepting it, itself makes him qualified to protest against Black money.
Not only is this but he is also standing without any personal motive and selflessly, with the public to speak against corruption which is wide spread in India.
I admire him personally as an ENTERPRENUER, SOCIAL WORKER AND A TRUE CITIZEN.

INTRODUCTION

Ramdev has clarified in so many yog shivir to the public that he had no political ambitions nor he is running away from the society to observe penance at the Himalayas. But he feels his obligatory duty to reform social and political ambiguities apart from popularising yoga and thus strengthening each individual and nation of India.[29] He also suggests that a political system already exist in India but it is the duty of every citizen not to create more political parties. In stead he must remain vigilant and confirm that the elected government is delivering its duty or not.
BABA RAMDEV AS AN ENTERPRENUER AND AN ECONOMIST:
Focusing on organic farming Baba Ramdev is now all set to show his entrepreneurship, by establishing country’s first mega food park .Swami Ramdev's flagship project, the Patanjali Yog Peeth (P.Y.P.) Trust, was inaugurated on August 6, 2006. Prime aim of this base institution is to build the world's largest centre for Ayurved and Yog that includes facilities for treatment, research and a teaching university. Patanjali Ayurved College, Patanjali Chikitsalaya, Yog Gram, Go-Shala, Patanjali Herbal Botanical Garden, Organic Agriculture Farm, Patanjali Food And Herbal Park Ltd are some of its known institutions which are successfully run under the guidance of Swami Ramdev and his right hand Acharya Bal Krishna. The project is 10 times bigger than Divya Pharmacy.
An investment of Rs 500 crore is expected in the food park, which is considered to be the biggest in India.
At least two-dozen factories related to organic, herbal and other agriculture products would be set up in the food park.
The food park has been built on 100 acres of land in Padartha area of Haridwar district. Nearly five companies had already invested Rs 200-300 crores. The capacity of the food park would be 1,000 million tones per day.
“Through this endeavour PYP is procuring agriculture produce directly from farmers giving them all their dues in Uttarakhand and other areas? Apart from this  food park has provided employment to nearly 50,000 families.
The centre has proposed to set up 10 mega food parks under the 11th 5-year Plan. Each food park is expected to have 20-30 units.
A couple of factories linked to food processing is started in about 95 acres of land around the village. It is a first step taken by the Patanjali Yog Peeth towards empowerment of agro economy of the state. Around 650 tone material per day is processed at the park-the first in the world.  
Through this endeavour, PYP will be procuring agricultural produce directly from farmers, giving them all their dues in Uttarakhand and other areas. ''The main reason for establishing this park is to benefit farmers and give them the most appropriate price of their produce. It will provide health to 40 crore urbans and a source of income to over 40 crore people living in villages.
''The move will lead to industrialisation of Agricultural produce and encourage them to use herbs as food supplement,'' he added. This project aims at having 32 processing units to obtain value added products of fruits and vegetables like juice, pulp, puree, candies, herbal products and pickles. Many entrepreneurs from all over the country will be associated in this mega project sharing common infrastructure and support services. In the first phase of its establishment, factories for processing juices of Lauki, Karela, Carrot, Amla, Aloe Vera, Pudina, Tulsi, Tomato, Cucumber and Wheat Grass are proposed to be established. Carrot and papaya candy making plant machinery will also be commissioned. It will be a boon for the growers of these fruits and vegetables since they can give their bulk produce to feed this mega utility Park. The growers will be trained how to grow Amla and Aloe Vera crops on barren lands by the training centers of the food park. Patanjali Yog Peeth will develop 100 such centers which will also provide good quality seed and manure to the farmers. It is proposed that a unit for powder and extract making of herbs will be established at a later stage. Bio diesel project to be procured from Jetropa and crude palm oil is another project in the pipeline. The whole food project has a socio economic impact on the local cultivators, farmers and processors reducing the role of middlemen and giving direct benefit to the growers. Already, several herbal products made at Patanjali Yogpeeth are popular in the market. In the proposed food park at Padartha, Baba Ramdev will also offer various juices from different vegetables and fruits like carrot and papaya. A factory for bio-diesel from jetropha has also been proposed in the food park.
Patanjali Yog Peeth has acquired a Scottish Island for about £2 million to set up a wellness retreat. The Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of Largs in Scotland, will also serve as the yoga’s base overseas, where the teachings of yoga as a means to cleanse the body and mind will be provided. The acquisition of the land itself was carried out by a Scottish couple of Indian origin, Sam and Sunita Poddar, to expand the base of Patanjali Yog Peeth — the institution founded by Ramdev for scientific research and treatment in yog, spiritualism and ayurveda abroad. The island premises was inaugurated by Swami Ramdev in September 2009 with a ‘Yagya' (a Vedic Ritual System in the presence of a purifying fire). These premises are administered by the Patanjali Yogpeeth (UK) Trust.
Some useful books are also published by its sister concern Divya Prakashan. Yog Sandesh is its authorised journal which is being published in 11 languages viz. Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Kannad and Telugu. Monthly readers of this multi lingual journal are more than one million.
Already, several herbal products made at Patanjali Yogpeeth are big hit in the market. In the proposed food park at Padartha, Baba Ramdev would also make various juices from different vegetables and fruits like carrot and papaya. One factory on bio-diesel from jetropha is also proposed in the food park. A sum of Rs 35,000 crores has been assured for the 10 mega food parks which are being built in different parts of the country.
Every story has something to tell and something we can learn from. The success story of Ramdev baba shows his economic skills too. Keeping this in mind, “Customer is cost-sensitive” is more like a stone carving than a euphoric realization. This is exactly what Baba Ramdev’s Divya Yoga Trust came up with for the devotees (and for the non-devotees) by launching daily consumer products ranging from toothpaste to hair oil to tea leaves to medicines. These products have taken over households by storm and especially the joint families where the older generation still has an influential say. This calculation of baba must have benefited his PYP and has proved to decrease outflow of Indian currency to multinational companies. He has stopped the flow of Indian currency through his following efforts also:
He also educates the public that commercially available aerated drinks are more harmful to the children as well as to the adults due to the presence of phosphoric acids, preservatives, unknown chemicals and emulsifiers. he has raises the issue of increased consumption of fast foods, packed foods and soft drinks by the common people. He usually calls in his public meetings to take pledge by every citizen of India to avoid consuming commercial aerated drinks to protect individual health as well as to avoid Indian currency reaching to multinational companies. In stead he advices the public to take hot water, milk or traditional Indian juices only so that our country may become prosperous.
He gives his suggestion as an thoughtful economist for   bringing back black money. Swami Ramdev proposes that the black money stashed in foreign banks by Indian individuals should be declared national property to retrieve our country from foreign exploitation. He also emphasizes that money kept in foreign banks actually belongs to India and it should be immediately brought to India. Not only proposes but he strongly demands also to the Indian government for immediate declaration of the black money kept by Indian politicians and businessmen in Swiss Banks as national property, so that the money could be used for the welfare of the common man when it is brought back to the country. And in the last he suggests that no pardon should be given to any body who handled black money or stashed black money in foreign banks whosoever he be. Notwithstanding, he or she should be given capital punishment or life long imprisonment. Many find his insistence in this regard to be in dissonance with the tradition of yoga he inherits and claims as Hinduism’s gift. However, given the violent nature of the Hindu revival in India [14], most such unease is easily brushed aside by both- those who identify with the Fundamentalist Right-wing in the country and those who do not. Swami Ramdev has publicly raised the issue of bringing back Indian money stashed away illegally in Swiss banks. He says that the government must take concrete action and bring back the money as it belongs to the people of India and has been taken out of the country illegally.[7] He proposed that the exchange rate of the Indian rupee to the US dollar will rise from 50:1 ratio to 1:50 ratio if the black money is retrieved.
BABA RAMDEV AS AN SOCIAL WORKER
The trust primarily offers free treatment to those who cannot afford to pay. For others, treatment is provided at a lower cost than the other hospitals. Second phase of PYP has also started its working.
Through his Yog shivir’s Baba Ramdev is truly doing stress management in present stressed nation.
Through PYP, Swami Ramdev continues to work with various institutions and medical organizations in an effort to study and improve the effectiveness of yog against diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.
Baba Ramdev has been organising yoga camps across India to create awareness amongst people for healthy living and create awareness regarding following practices in India:
1.      He also says that the use of fertilizers and pesticides has led to an undue load on the poverty of farmers and increased the profits of large business houses involved in this trade.
2.       This type of malpractice poses a big threat to farmers as well as to the health of the common man since the farm land is increasingly becoming barren and contaminated with harmful chemicals. The farming produces like grains, fruits and vegetables are contaminated with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides.
3.      Swami Ramdev blames the corrupt governance practices for the miserable conditions of the poor farmers and other backward class of the society. He says that agriculture is the biggest contributor to India's economy and yet the farmers are the most poverty stricken class of the country. So far as the illegal mining is concerned he puts the record before the people and says that there is the permission for only 200 mining leases but one lakh illegal mines are operational in the country. According to a rough estimate, 18% of the iron ore exported from Goa comes from illegal mines. The state has 100-odd legal mining leases. He also describes illegal mining in India as one of the major social issue that requires an immediate ban.
4.       Black money deposited in various Swiss Banks by Indians is alleged to amount more than Rs 7,280,000 Crores (USD $1.4 trillion), but the exact figure is not yet known to the public. This amount is 2 times larger than the nation's foreign debt. In January 2011 the Supreme Court of India asked why the names of those who have stashed money in the Liechtenstein Bank have not been disclosed.
5.       Not only he raises the issues but also suggests the solutions which seem to be revolutionary based on the economic science. First of all he gives a concrete suggestion by which the use of black money can be eradicated. The six point solution suggested by him are: 1. Withdrawal and demonetizing of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes - so as to avoid misuse of unaccounted money and quick arrest of the entire locally circulated black money, bribing, and fake note traffic. 2. Agree to and accept the U.N. Convention against Corruption – pending since 2006. 3. Death penalty provision for the corrupt persons in Indian Penal Code. 4. Access, monitor and disrupt payment gateway servers enabling corrupt people to manage money in tax heavens. 5. Scrutinizing accounts of people having credit/debit cards of foreign banks without any foreign work/relation. And 6. Disabling operations of any bank from a tax heaven country.
Vision of Ramdev Baba:
Ramdev Baba’s Vision describing him ENTERPRENUER and SOCIAL WORKER are as follows:
  • To make a disease free world through a scientific approach to Yoga and Ayurveda.
  •  To establish a new World Health Organisation, to fulfill the resolution of making a new world order free from disease and medicine, through research work on the knowledge-base of our great saints and sages viz. Maharishi Patanjali, Charak and Sushurut.
  •  Making the world a peaceful and tranquil place by using Yogic techniques to eradicate fatal effects of medicines and weapons.
  •  To study and research subjects associated with Yajna, Organic Agriculture, Cow-Urine, Nature and Environment in addition to the study and research in Yoga and Ayurveda at the research centre of Institution.
  •  Besides imparting Yoga and health education, to set up an equalitarian society based on values of spiritualism, nationalism and justice beyond the boundaries of cast, creed, class and religion for the country's development.
  •  To establish India as the strongest Economic and Cultural power in the world to provide an atmosphere for every citizen of the world to live with pride.
  •  For realisation of dream of healthy, strong, prosperous and advanced India, far from caste, creed, class, religion, region, corruption and violence through Yoga.
  •  To open and establish charitable hospitals for the treatment of the helpless poor out caste and also to distribute free medicines, cloths and food articles in the trible areas.
  •  To furnish and equip the charitable hospital with modern medical facilities.
  •  To run the free educational centers and to facilitate the worthy poor helpless orphans students by providing clothes, food, study materials and lodging.
  •  To help and co-operate the relief activities related to flood, earthquake, epidemic drought etc.
  •  To co-operate other such institutions and organizations which match or aims and objectives, and order to fulfill these aims and objectives to accept the donating of money, land etc.
  •  To grow different kinds of herbal medicines through preservation of different categories of species. Conservation, preservation, and different kind of medicinal gardens for it. Construction of green house etc. For the promotion and conservation of herbal medicine a cooperative institution will be formed for the farmers to sow herbal medicines. To generate employment and to increase the purchasing power of farmers and to sale purchase medicines for manufacturing pure medicines.
  •  Publication of different monthly, fortnightly and yearly magazines and writing and publication of research books on nationalism, spiritualism, Yog, Ayurved and arrangement of publication, reprinting, original writing, compilation and to spread these Vedic ancient treatise among the general public. To establish a printing press.
  •  To open the free of cost educational institute in rural and backward areas for the females and children below 12 years of age. To open medical and engineering institutes in the area of below 5 lakh population. To open training and vocational institutes in such areas. To establish employment oriented training institutes for. Development and establishment of Yog and Ayurved based medicinal studies particularly for eligible, educated unemployed and helpless people so that they can realize the dreams of medicine free society by spreading Yog and Ayurved, herbal medicine in every nook and corner of the world.
  •  To establish a new World Health Organisation, to fulfill the resolution of making a new world order free from disease and medicine, through research work on the knowledge-base of our great saints and sages viz. Maharishi Patanjali, Charak and Sushurut.
  •  Making the world a peaceful and tranquil place by using Yogic techniques to eradicate fatal effects of medicines and weapons.
  •  To study and research subjects associated with Yajna, Organic Agriculture, Cow-Urine, Nature and Environment in addition to the study and research in Yoga and Ayurveda at the research centre of Institution.
  •  Besides imparting Yoga and health education, to set up an equalitarian society based on values of spiritualism, nationalism and justice beyond the boundaries of cast, creed, class and religion for the country's development.
  •  To establish India as the strongest Economic and Cultural power in the world to provide an atmosphere for every citizen of the world to live with pride.
  •  For realisation of dream of healthy, strong, prosperous and advanced India, far from caste, creed, class, religion, region, corruption and violence through Yoga.
  •  To open and establish charitable hospitals for the treatment of the helpless poor out caste and also to distribute free medicines, cloths and food articles in the trible areas.
  •  To furnish and equip the charitable hospital with modern medical facilities.
  •  To run the free educational centers and to facilitate the worthy poor helpless orphans students by providing clothes, food, study materials and lodging.
  •  To help and co-operate the relief activities related to flood, earthquake, epidemic drought etc.
  •  To co-operate other such institutions and organizations which match or aims and objectives, and order to fulfill these aims and objectives to accept the donating of money, land etc.
  •  To grow different kinds of herbal medicines through preservation of different categories of species. Conservation, preservation, and different kind of medicinal gardens for it. Construction of green house etc. For the promotion and conservation of herbal medicine a cooperative institution will be formed for the farmers to sow herbal medicines. To generate employment and to increase the purchasing power of farmers and to sale purchase medicines for manufacturing pure medicines.
  •  Publication of different monthly, fortnightly and yearly magazines and writing and publication of research books on nationalism, spiritualism, Yog, Ayurved and arrangement of publication, reprinting, original writing, compilation and to spread these Vedic ancient treatise among the general public. To establish a printing press.
  •  To open the free of cost educational institute in rural and backward areas for the females and children below 12 years of age. To open medical and engineering institutes in the area of below 5 lakh population. To open training and vocational institutes in such areas. To establish employment oriented training institutes for. Development and establishment of Yog and Ayurved based medicinal studies particularly for eligible, educated unemployed and helpless people so that they can realize the dreams of medicine free society by spreading Yog and Ayurved, herbal medicine in every nook and corner of the world.
  •  To do research and spread the uses of non conventional energies like biogas solar energy, gobar gas particularly in rural areas.
CONCLUSION:
Baba Ramdev has been probably most successful of God men of recent times. He claims to have a following of over a billion people. There are an infinite number of people claiming that his yoga therapy and medicines work wonders for their health. Baba in a short span of time has built a multi million empire; his Trust is owning series of Ashrams, ayurvedic drug factories, yoga training centers and many such things, in India and abroad. Overall the medicines prescribed-marketed by him are selling like hot cakes. He himself adorns the divine status and his followers also regard him so, a saint, above the worldly matters. His saffron robes are a symbol of renunciation as such. All this is remarkable, good of both the Worlds, as he is not only wearing divine halo but is also presiding over the empire running into hundreds of crores of rupees built in last decade or so and now entering politics too.
I believe that Ramdev ji is actively working for social and economic development of the nation. By investing more than 500 crores and employing Lakhs of people through it, he has proved to be a good entrepreneur. It is often taught that India needs to generate employment, through identification and exploitation of natural resources, but he actually identified the need and is creating employment.
Not only is this but he is also standing without any personal motive and selflessly, with the public to speak against corruption which is wide spread in India.
I admire him personally as an ENTERPRENUER, SOCIAL WORKER AND A TRUE CITIZEN.
REFRENCES:
The HINDU: April 14 2011, Ramdev to launch people to root out Corruption.
Times of India 22 April 201: Baba Ramdev Slams Congress.