Homoeopathy, As We Know It

When NASA searches for life beyond Earth, it speaks of searching for “life, as we know it.” Those five words capture one of the most important principles of science. If life exists elsewhere in the universe, it may not resemble the life we know on Earth. Scientists therefore do not search for the unknown using yesterday’s assumptions. They search with better instruments, better questions, and an open mind. The same principle has guided every major scientific breakthrough. Every generation...

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When NASA searches for life beyond Earth, it speaks of searching for “life, as we know it.” Those five words capture one of the most important principles of science. If life exists elsewhere in the universe, it may not resemble the life we know on Earth. Scientists therefore do not search for the unknown using yesterday’s assumptions. They search with better instruments, better questions, and an open mind. The same principle has guided every major scientific breakthrough. Every generation mistakes the limits of its instruments for the limits of nature. Microorganisms influenced human life long before the microscope revealed them. Most stomach ulcers were blamed on stress until the discovery of Helicobacter pylori changed medicine forever. Casting Aspersions The same lesson applies to homoeopathy. For more than two centuries, homoeopathy has occupied a unique place in medicine. It has been practised across the world, integrated into healthcare systems in many countries and trusted by millions of patients. At the same time, it has remained one of the most debated systems of medicine. Critics have questioned not merely whether it works, but whether it could work at all. Most medical debates begin after a treatment has shown some benefit. Homoeopathy has often been judged before the scientific discussion could move beyond its proposed mechanism. Homoeopathic medicines are diluted to such an extent that little or none of the original substance is expected to remain. If almost nothing remains, how can anything produce a biological effect? Judged by the chemistry and analytical methods available during the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century, that conclusion appeared entirely reasonable. Science, however, does not stand still. Its greatest strength is not certainty but self-correction. New instruments often compel scientists to revisit old conclusions. Advances in nanoscience, materials science and analytical chemistry now allow researchers to examine highly diluted preparations in ways that earlier generations simply could not. Research from India and other countries has reported observations, including measurable physicochemical features in some highly diluted preparations, that have reopened scientific discussion. Not every finding has been independently reproduced, and many questions remain unanswered. Yet one conclusion is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss. The scientific basis for rejecting homoeopathy without further investigation is no longer as strong as it once appeared. Changing Perceptions Yesterday’s science asked whether homoeopathy was possible. Today’s science is increasingly asking how highly diluted preparations should be investigated using the best tools available. The placebo argument deserves similar attention. Critics frequently argue that any benefit observed with homoeopathy is simply the placebo effect. There is no doubt that placebo is real. Confidence in a physician, expectation of recovery, and the body’s own healing mechanisms influence outcomes in every branch of medicine. More than two centuries ago, physicians recognized that nature itself plays a powerful role in healing. That observation applies not only to homoeopathy but to every therapeutic system, including modern medicine. Homoeopathy has been reported to produce responses not only in adults but also in infants, animals and even plants, where expectation and belief cannot readily account for the observations. These reports do not, by themselves, prove the effectiveness of homoeopathy. Scientific conclusions require rigorous, reproducible and independently verified evidence. They do, however, raise a legitimate scientific question. If placebo cannot adequately explain every reported observation, what does? The answer cannot come from opinion. It can come only from careful scientific investigation. This is precisely how science has always progressed. It does not reject difficult questions because they challenge accepted thinking. Nor does it accept extraordinary claims without evidence. It designs better experiments. India is uniquely positioned to lead this next phase of inquiry. It possesses one of the world’s largest networks of qualified homoeopathic physicians, teaching institutions, hospitals and patients. Equally important, it has created a dedicated research ecosystem through the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), the apex research organisation under the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. Its mandate is neither to defend tradition nor to promote belief. Its responsibility is to generate credible evidence through laboratory research, well-designed clinical studies, public health investigations and collaborations with leading scientific institutions. The history of science repeatedly reminds us that ideas are not accepted because they are popular, nor rejected because they are unconventional. They are judged by evidence. Homoeopathy should be no exception. It should neither receive special privilege nor face special prejudice. It should be subjected to exactly the same standards expected of every other branch of medicine. That is the spirit in which this article has been written. One of us comes from a lifetime devoted to homoeopathic research, education and patient care. The other has spent decades in mainstream scientific research, institution building and promoting scientific temper. We share neither blind faith nor blind scepticism but a commitment to the scientific method. The larger lesson extends far beyond homoeopathy. Scientific progress depends on a willingness to revisit yesterday’s conclusions when today’s evidence demands it. Every generation mistakes the limits of its instruments for the limits of nature. The history of discovery is, in many ways, the history of overcoming those limits. Homoeopathy may ultimately confirm some long-held beliefs. It may equally challenge others. Science must remain prepared for either possibility. What it cannot afford is to stop asking questions simply because the answers appear inconvenient. Research does not exist to protect ideas. It exists to test them. Homoeopathy has earned that test. It deserves to be judged by the best evidence that twenty-first century science can generate, not by the limitations of nineteenth-century knowledge. (Dr. Kaushik is the Director General, Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Ministry of Ayush, New Delhi; Dr. Paknikar is the Member, Scientific Advisory Board, CCRH, N. Delhi and ANRF Prime Minister Professor, COEP Technological University, Pune. Views personal.)

India working on logistics of Tahawwur Rana's extradition

PTI
Feb 14, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Washington: India is working on the logistics of Tahawwur Rana's surrender and extradition from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said, as President Donald Trump announced that his administration has given the go-ahead to extradite the 26/11 terror attack accused “to face justice".

“This is an issue on which the US authorities have taken very clear decisions. I think you've seen the President announce it himself from the White House podium" the decision of the US to extradite Rana, Misri said at a press conference here on Thursday.

During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of "very evil" Tahawwur Rana, wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, "to face justice in India”.

In response to a question by PTI on the timeframe by when Rana will be extradited to India, Misri said: "We are working on the logistics of his surrender and extradition to India. There are a few final steps to be completed. The two sides are in touch on this particular issue.”

The India-US joint statement issued during the Prime Minister's visit to the US notes that Modi and Trump reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.

“They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021," the joint statement said.

“Recognising a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved," it said.

The leaders further called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.

"The leaders also pledged to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors,” the joint statement added.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.

Speaking at the joint press meet, Trump said "Today I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and very evil people of the world, and having to do with the horrific Mumbai terrorist attack, to face justice in India. So, he is going back to India to face justice."

The extradition of Rana was cleared by the US Supreme Court in January as it rejected his review petition in the case.

India last month said it was working with American authorities for the early extradition of Rana.

"The US Supreme Court on January 21 declined to hear a petition from the accused. We are now working with the US side on procedural issues for early extradition to India of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.

In November 2012, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the Pakistani group, was hanged to death in Yerawada Jail in Pune.

-PTI

Homoeopathy, As We Know It

India working on logistics of Tahawwur Rana's extradition

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