NEW DELHI: A nationwide outrage over a Visva-Bharati warden asking a class 5 student to drink her urine for bed-wetting notwithstanding, social activist Swami Agnivesh claimed Tuesday this was a “traditional cure” for such a condition.
Agnivesh is an Indian social worker, self-proclaimed Arya Samaj scholar, and a Hindu social activist. He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981.
“Why is there so much fuss made about the suggestion given to Visva-Bharati’ Patha Bhavan school girl who was suggested to consume her own urine by her hostel warden, Uma Poddar, as cure for bed wetting. It is a simple piece of advice by the hostel warden, which has created so much ruckus by the girl’s parents and then by the media,” Agnivesh said in a statement.
The incident happened Saturday when Poddar, the warden of Karabi hostel of university’s school Patha Bhavan, made Punita drink her own urine after finding she had wetted her bed.
Agnivesh said that he himself had bed wetting problem till adulthood and had used the traditional cure called “Shivambu” or ” Swamootra Chikitsa” while being imprisoned at the Ambala Jail during the Emergency days.
“For many, the traditional cure may sound abhorrent and and feudal. I practised it myself for months. I read books on nature cure and found this method described. I had this problem of bed wetting till quite an advanced age. Shivambu Cure helped reduce it,” he said in a statement.
The activist also cited examples of former prime minister Morarji Desai, former defence minister George Fernandes, former Haryana chief minister Devi Lal as having practiced the method and benefiting from it. Uma Poddar was arrested Monday following a complaint by the girl’s parents but later granted bail.
The Prime Minister’s Office had sought a report on the incident and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights sent a notice to the West Bengal government asking it to investigate the matter and report within 10 days.
Agnivesh also founded and became president of the World Council of Arya Samaj and served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery from 2001 to 2004.
Visva-Bharati is an institution founded by India’s first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. (IANS)