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Indian doctor uses social activism to follow through on his beliefs
Rabindranath Tagore wrote in his classic poetry book Gitanjali of his realization that the day will come when his life will take its leave in silence. But, the poet added, the universe will continue its cycle with or without him: “Stars will watch at night, and morning rise as before..” A similar thought once pained Dr. Jacob Vadakkanchery deeply when he was a gangly, ordinary boy of 11. “ The day after I die, people will enjoy a celebration in the church, as if nothing has happened. I reached this awareness when I was in the Sixth Standard (Indian level of schooling), and I cried all the way to school that day. What was the meaning of life then, I asked myself” But Dr. Jacob, who was since become one of the most respected social activists in the state of Kerala, India, seems to have found the clue to address this riddle at last. The first recipient of the Spirit of Assistant National Award from the Franciscan Order India has lived a life devotation to other fellow beings – including millions of micro –organisms. As an Ayurvedic doctor in the so-called Nature Cure school of medicine, Dr. Jacob advocates the idea of peaceful coexistence with everything, including bacteria or what are deemed life-threatening diseases. Thus he crusades against at all use of modern drugs that aim to purge those tiny microbes. In his early forties. Dr. Jacob is busy running three Nature Cure hospitals in his hometown in Kerala, two health food restaurants publishing a nature cure magazine and serving as principal to the Satyagraha Samskruthi Nature Cure College. But to many acquaintances, his patients included, Dr Jacob seems to be more of a professional protester – by means of fating – than a healer. His relentless campaigns against liquor have seen him mobilizing his former patients and supporters to from picket lines, and he himself has staged a hunger striker, Gandhian style, in front of various shops in Kerala. “I have been put in jail twice (for his role in public protests). So far I have been attacked eight times- twice by the police, the other times by hooligans, “Dr. Jacob said, smiling. “The first assault by the police – a policeman jumped right on my back- left a boot print for a week. I fasted as a way to cure myself. Incidentally, as soon as the news was reported, the authorities decided to close that (liquor) shop. The second time, I managed to get 10 shops closed at one.” But his fight against liquor-which the Indian doctor said is an immoral exploitation of the health and wallets of the poor – is not his only passion. The director of the Navajeevan group of hospitals has also been campaigning against dams, corruption and what he describes as the state’s collusion with multinational interests to sell more drugs under the guise of curing epidemics. He cited as an example the spread of the so – called “rat’s fever” in his hometown year after year. Thirty million rupees were reportedly allocated form the state’s coffers to buy medicine to distribute to villagers, and 40 million more for rat poison. But Dr. Jacob and his Nature Cure patients challenged the authorities’ notion that there was an epidemic and exposed themselves to the suspect germs and emerged unscathed. “There was a report that six people died because of contaminated canal, but when we investigated, we found only one fatality and we reckoned the man had died because of his heavy drinking habit and having taken a lot of painkillers. “We had eight volunteers who cut themselves and walked into the canal and stayed there for half an hour. Three days later, the Ministry of Public Health issued a statement that the canal was not the cause of the rat’s fever plague. And there was no more report of the disease last year.” Having treated patients in Kerala for the last two decades, Dr. Jacob says the real health care work lies more in treating society than individual patients. “Usually we think that we are only responsible for our own health and leave the environment, politics and the plight of the poor to other people. But this world view is totally wrong. Your health is interrelated with the health of politics, environment, education, of other fellow beings.” He often uses himself as an example, saying that although he is in excellent heath now, he could one day be run down by a drunk driver. How can we sleep soundly if our neighbors are engaging in illegal acts, not knowing when our turn will come one day? Asked how could he muster so much and so constant a flow of energy, and whether it had anything to do with the Nature Cure practice, he replied that it was the result not only of daily physical exercise, but also the total, integrated polishing of the mind. But his greatest source of his inspiration, to this day, is the life and works of Mahathma Gandhi. The poet Tagore ‘s song for the Father of Modern India is prophetic – in one of his darkest hours, Gandhi might have had to “walk alone”, but he has since gained the company of several like – minded people like Dr. Jacob. The life of a healer – cum – activist does not have to be a barren existence deprived of joy, though. Dr. Jacob’s lectures, although usually touching on heavy subjects ranging from American imperialism to state corruption, are peppered with plenty of wry humour. In his simple Khadi gown (the hand –woven fabric promoted by Gandhi), Dr. Jacob is often spotted humming tunes in his native languages, Malayalam. Many of the songs are his own compositions, and they tend to talk about ideal society, the rustic life of the poor, and naturally, some funny, memorable feats of his own patients. “The truth we say today may not be accepted, They may laugh at us, they may say we’re mad. But the song we sing today-shall we be able to sing it tomorrow? Like a tree that blossoms hundred of flowers; Human lives are exactly like that Will everyone give such sweet fragrance to the world? When tomorrow comes The mind that makes the bombs, Will that mind change to making rice?