Haldi – A Victim of Bio-Piracy

The rich Traditional medical knowledge of the Indian sub-continent, has always been subjected to victimization and exploitation. Time and again many patents are registered abroad by firms and researchers alike, claiming to have ‘invented’ something which has been around for ages.

The most well-known controversy is the patent obtained for the ‘wound healing’ properties of our very own haldi [turmeric], by researchers associated with University of Missisippi Medical Center. They fraudulently obtained patents on turmeric, making use of the big loopholes of American patent laws.

Turmeric has been an indispensible part of Indian cuisine & also has religious significance. Bridal beautification ceremonies are never complete without turmeric. And our women use it as a natural epilator to get rid of the superfluous hair & stained themselves with it to keep tan at bay. This association with haldi, runs really deep. Thus, it was no wonder that these patents made our blood to boil.

The patents were finally declared null and void, on March 1995, but only after a lot of campaigning and intervention by [CSIR Council of Scientific & industrial research]. This issue became a matter of national pride and created quite a furore among the masses.

Adding insult to injury, Neem & basmati, our traditional treasures, were also shrouded by patent controversy soon thereafter.

Ricetec, Inc, a texas based firm, patented breeding crosses involving 22 farmer-bred basmati varieties from India & Pakistan. This aromatic rice with slender grains and a unique fragrance is known as the ‘crown jewel’ of South-Asian Rice. These patents, though technically applied only within the United States, threatened Indian basmati exports in the international market.

Another patent was granted for a neem-based pesticide, to W.R. Grace & Co. This Maryland based firm claimed to have developed a process, to isolate a stable form of Azadirachtin. The European patent office [EPO], finally ruled in India’s favour on March 2005, accepting the bare truth that the practice has been in use in India for more than 2000 years.

These incidents garnered sufficient global attraction. Opposition against this ‘Corporate colonialism’ gathered momentum as more than 200 organizations, from 35 nations, raised their voice in the global arena.

How can a product of natural origin, which has been in practice since time immemorial, be patented? Isn’t this immoral and un-ethical? Turning public-goods into a private commodity is crass-commercialization at its inhumane worst.

But these Bio-piracy incidents have exposed some chinks in our armour. In its appeal to EPO, W.R.Grace & Co, alleged that ‘Prior Art’ about the product was never published in any scientific journal.

To stem out such threats to our native treasures, it becomes highly essential to educate the farmer-fraternity about our knowledge resources and make them aware of the available folk-wisdom.

Patents for natural products should never be granted if they clashed with traditional knowledge systems. If not, the Multinational Companies, who have huge funds at their disposal, may procure basic raw materials like neem in large scale. Such a scenario, in due course of time, will escalate the prices of unprocessed raw materials, pushing them far beyond the reach of farmers.

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