Neem Patent war and Hindu calendar

[Guest guest]

Patent war and Hindu calendar:

>From Arabinda Ghose on e-mail

The article "Neem tree and the patent war" by Shri Prem Vaidya

(Organiser, 12-6-2005) was interesting. The neem tree was known till

about 1980 by its botanical name Melia indica. The name was changed

to Azadirachta indica around that time. When the English first came

to India, they were amazed at the medicinal properties of the leaves,

the stems and even the fruits and the seeds of neem trees. They

therefore called the tree "the village doctor". This definition is

very appropriate to the tree even today, never mind the advent of

anti-biotic medicines. My objective in writing this communication is

not to throw more light on neem and the patent war India had fought

in the USA and other countries against appropriation of India's rich

bio and cultural diversities on the strength of money power. I have

serious objection to the matter contained in the second and third

paragraphs of the article. There is a great deal of confusion about

the precise definition of the Hindu calendar. The first question one

would ask is: "What do you mean by a Hindu calendar? Secondly, is

there only one Hindu calendar or more? On which occasion does the New

Year's Days of a Hindu calendar is celebrated? And what is Shalivahan

Shaka? Gudi Padwas is the day (or rather the tithi) known as the

Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. This is the first day of this Hindu

calendar, which actually should be called the Hindu religious

calendar. All the Hindu festivals, except the Sankranti, are lunar

phenomena and therefore in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (Yugadi),

in Karnataka (Udadi) and in the Hindi-speaking states, this tithi is

known as the Varsha Pratipada. Gudi Padwas is the typical

Maharashtrian way of celebrating Varsha Pratipada. It is also the

birthday of Param Pujaneeya Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. One might

add that Varsha Pratipada is not very important for a large number of

Hindus in several states as also in the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal. These

states and Nepal follow the solar calendar and for them, the first

day of Baishakh (solar) is the New Year's Day. But, Varsha Pratipada

(Chaitra Shukla Pratipada) should be treated as the New Year's Day

for Hindu religious functions.

 

—Arabinda Ghose on e-mail