Ayurved Vishva Parishad has honoured Mr. R. S. Guleria, President, Aromatic Plant Growers Association of India, for his vital contribution to the revival of Ayurveda. Aromatic Plant Growers Association of India is a society under the banner of Agriculture Ministry, Government of India while Ayurved Vishva Parishad was established by Independent India's first President of India, late Dr. Rajendra Prasad in 1957. Mr. Guleria is also the Founder President of Himachal Pradesh based HARB Society, an organization dedicated to promoting Ayurved, the welfare of farmers and Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Guleria's home state.
Mr. Guleria is an Electrical Engineer, who earlier invented the Shock-Proof Mat at the age of 30, which prevents the electrocution of humans as well as animals at places of electrical installations. His invention has been recognized by the British Safety Council, the National Safety Council and the Bureau of Indian Standards and led to the adoption of a new technology & revision of old standards.
Mr. Guleria, then, turned his attention to his home state, Himachal Pradesh. He was saddened by the plight of Himachal youth who were forced to lose contact with their roots and their family and seek employment outside Himachal Pradesh due to the lack of job opportunities in their home state. He also witnessed cruel destruction of Himachal Pradesh's vast natural plant & land resources and its conversion to barren-land. Himachal Pradesh has the richest treasury of herbs and medicinal plants in the world and yet this treasure instead of heaping benefits to the state, nation and society, was surely & silently being destroyed. Mr. Guleria saw a single solution to all these problems and committed himself to the cause.
Mr. Guleria then laid the foundation of 'Herbs Antique Research Botanical Society', better known as HARB Society, an NGO based in Himachal Pradesh. The astounding achievements of HARB Society are largely due to his untiring efforts for three years.
Only 10.5% of Himachal Pradesh land is under cultivation. The rest is either barren or forest-land. Most farmers dependent upon traditional agriculture find it hard to make ends meet while others are close to starvation. Farmer Suicides are all too frequent.
After careful analysis of the situation Mr. Guleria deduced that the utilization of barren-land and forest-land of Himachal Pradesh for Organic Farming of Herbs & Medicinal Plants will lead to the solution of multiple problems.
. This will lead to a true Revival of Ayurveda as many companies today are selling useless products labeled as Ayurvedic, thus discrediting the field. . Availability of cheap, highly effective and side-effect free Ayurvedic Medicines to common man . This will increase land under cultivation, stop barrenisation of Himachal Pradesh land, increase our green belts nationally and internationally and help us fight global warming. . Youths of Himachal Pradesh, both highly educated and lower strata, will find new suitable job opportunities in their home state. . Utilisation and development of local infrastructure . Trend towards Organic Farming and reduction in the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides. . Foreign Currency due to Export . Protection of Environment . Lead to Commercial Development of Himachal Pradesh
But this is all easier said than done. Resource crunched locals, who had lost the knowledge of medicinal value of Herbs & Ayurvedic Plants, used them as fodder for animals and fuel. Few others, who had retained the knowledge, would cut and sell the Herbs before ripening due to greed and the poor man's need of instant money. This virtually nullified the medical value of Herbs & Ayurvedic Plants which are best utilized after ripening. Also because of lack of proper identification of some Herbs & Medicinal Plants and confusion between local names and scientific names of many Herbs & Medicinal Plants as described in the Ayurveda led to some companies selling useless products in the name of some herb. Thus the challenge for Mr. Guleria, who was aware of the prevailing situation, was to bring together to a single platform, the locals who had traditional knowledge of Herbs & Medicinal Plants, experts & scientists who are working on Ayurvedic Solutions, turn Organic Farming to a revolution, bring and attach local farmers to the revolution, ensuring that the Herbs & Ayurvedic Plants are fully ripened before harvesting, organizing crop cycles for short and long duration herbs and ensuring that the farmers reap benefits even early in the project.
Mr. Guleria also started the long and tough campaign of bringing awareness of the project to environmentalists, Ayurveda experts & scientists, farmers, Himachal youth, State Panchayats, State Governement, Government of India, various government and non-government organizations. Thanks to his efforts today there are over 1500 farmers & cultivators are now part of the Herb Society, Ayurveda experts & scientists from varied fields are associated with the project along with many government and non-government organizations. It is a testimony to his leadership skills that such a vast number of people, organizations and resources have come under the project and this has triggered a new era of research and development for the field of Ayurved.
It is in recognition of all his achievements and contributions to Ayurved that the Ayurved Vishva Parishad has bestowed on him the 'Pride of Ayurved' award yesterday, on December 13, 2006 at Hindu Mahasabha Bhawan, New Delhi. Ten other Ayurveda experts & Scientists associated with Ayurveda were also honoured on this occasion.
For further information, please contact :: Mr. R. S. Guleria President HARB Society 'Apna Ghar' Village Metti, P.O. Gharoh (Kangra) - 176 215 Ph : +91-1892-277788, 241151 Mobile : +91-98115-51133
2022
