India is a land of tradition and culture that dates back to over 5000 years before the aspect of civilization actually began in the Western world. A culture so entwined in its dwellers, it is seen as a lifestyle among many across the world. Picking out the facts that matter, we have every reason to be proud to belong to the ancestry of legends who invented the numerical system, yoga, surgery, the Vedas, to name a few.
The Puranas, or the ancient religious texts, give us a wider picture of our ritualistic customs even before our history text books were written. A notable episode among those is the ocean churning incident, in which the Devas (Gods) and the Asuras (Demons) embark on a mission to extract Amrita, a drink believed to bestow immortality on its drinkers, using the aid of Kalinga the serpent. During the process, Halahala (poison) is extracted and Lord Shiva takes it upon himself to store it inside his throat, as a result of which he is also known by the name Vishakantha, meaning 'He who holds poison within His throat'. Then was the turn of Amrita to come out of the ocean.
Chris Bennett, the author of Cannabis and the Soma Solution, reinstates this in his book. He says that the Gods who were wary of the strength of the Demons, hatched a plan to safely hide Amrita and assigned this responsibility to Garuda, who flew with the pot. On the way, a few drops were supposed to spill out in certain locations on the Earth, and thus was born the divine plant of Vijaya, as it is called in Sanskrit. Today, it is referred by various names, some derogatory, such as Cannabis, Marijuana, Mary Jane, Ganja, Bhang, and more. You can find Chris's excerpt here.
The two most common varieties of the Cannabis plant include Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. What used to be a commonly used substance in religious sacraments and pleasurable sessions throughout history suddenly had changed its identity to a taboo filled criminal under the label of a narcotic drug, after the 1985 National Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act was formulated. People were no longer allowed the recreational, sacramental, or medicinal use of Ganja in whatever form according to the law. The violators were booked and prosecuted. With the marginalization of Ganja, its cousin, another variety of Cannabis sativa, called the Indian Hemp, was too slammed shut tagging it as a dangerous drug.
After this landmark legislation, India took on the path of modernization and economic globalization under the mentorship of then Finance Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh, and in a span of a few years, the heritage related to cannabis usage in India was almost hidden away or lost from the new generation. Alcohol and tobacco industries boomed with their new found opportunities and a wretched consumer base willing to pay up anything to drink to their escapades. The situation is no different today, or probably even worse, with shocking stories of deaths and destroyed lives and families, a result of the Devil's Nectar that is freely available in wine stores and legitimately taxed for the benefit of one and all!
I shall tackle the narcotic aspect of this plant in a later blog, but for now, it is important for us to know and understand that there is something called Industrial Hemp that silently waits to be uncovered. I personally came across this wonder plant an year ago and was too fascinated to learn about it. Industrial hemp, or Indian hemp, as it is called, is the non-narcotic variety of cannabis, which DOES NOT give you a "high" when consumed. Yet, it bears the brunt of the law and is quarantined from the existing agricultural practices.
Industrial hemp was cultivated in India until the 1950s-60s on an industrial scale to supplement the nation's fibre needs, along with the seeds for oil extraction. Today, the hemp crop is believed to support over 25,000 known uses. This is an incredible figure compared to any product that exists on the planet, natural or man made. India was once the largest exporter of hemp until the curtains shut down our progress, which slipped into the hands of China making full use of it.
The uses of hemp range from the classical fibre making to various advanced products such as biofuel, paper, vegetable oil, dietary supplementation, bioplastics, Hempcrete, to even automobiles. The first car by Ford was made of hemp and ran on hemp oil. Here is a video of this car and its durability. The various uses of this wonder crop are also broadly classified in this image for further reference.
Thus, it falls upon us to know its wonderful benefits for an Indian scenario, while the world is already updating itself in the search of more sustainable, viable and eco friendly options for their industries.
An agricultural country by nature, it is disheartening to see the decline of agricultural production by 13.7% in India. More and more people are migrating to the urban sectors in search of better opportunities and living conditions. Farmer suicides have become a common phenomena in our country. Unemployment is on the rise and the population has not stopped its Big Bang mode of expansion. To address such needs for a wide host of environmental and geographical conditions under common policies is inefficient, as we have been seeing. To quote an example, an acre of hemp can give us paper worth four acres of trees in a span of only 3-4 months, while it requires over 20 years to grow trees. I shall leave you to do the math by giving this a closer thought.
Recently, I happened to attend the International Agricultural Fair (Krishi Mela) organized in the Gandhi Krishi Vignan Kendra of Bangalore. We were surprised to know that a majority of qualified staff were mostly unaware of hemp and its benefits except that it was a fibre based crop. After thorough discussions, we happened to show them various fliers and presentations, which really made them reconsider the research on hemp on a positive note. The reason behind this is that we do not learn about such 'revolutionary' stuff in our daily newspapers or TV channels or school books or even casual discussions. I remember studying about cannabis in my highschool as a 'dangerous, addictive' narcotic. As if tobacco and alcohol are doing a great job by filling people with enlightened consciousness! That apart, thanks to the information insemination and the internet revolution that boomed with access to any part of the globe for essential data about anything that exists. I shall include a few reference links for your further interest below.
Speaking about hemp is not fulfilled in one blog post like this, but requires combined efforts of aware individuals and farmers. It is the right of mankind to have access to a crop whose sole purpose is to the betterment of a nation and humanity. Closing it as classified information, denying proper citations of its ill effects (which officially do not exist after extensive worldwide researches), is, in fact, illegal. Farmers in India need to be educated about this wonder crop and they must demand for a proper justification as to why it cannot be granted a permission for cultivation. Clubbing it with marijuana is a futile excuse, as botanists have certified that marijuana cannot be grown alongside hemp, owing to its high cross pollinating nature due to which it will soon be converted into hemp.
Hemp seeds are rich sources of essential proteins and fatty acids that we seldom consume in our daily diet. This is the answer to the problems boggling modern India - be it unemployment, farmer suicides, wasteland management, water inadequacy, weeding issues, malnutrition, fuel efficiency, and many many more.
Hemp oil is essentially used to extract biofuel. At the Fair, Dr Balakrishna Gowda, a professor at GKVK and Project Co-ordinator at the Biofuel Park in Hassan, Karnataka, beautifully quoted saying, "If we add even 1% of biofuel to our existing petroleum products, it could save up to Rs 5000 crores a year of the total import costs." How cool is that!
Notable in India in recent times are the commendable efforts of a group of young entrepreneurs from Mumbai who have taken up the cause for a noble reason, under the name Bombay Hemp Company. They have been focused on their research and efforts in this regard and working continuously towards its realization for the past one-and-a-half years. You can also follow them on facebook and learn more. Also mentionable are Hemp India on the same path. Our country needs more such participation on corporate levels for a well informed society.
I know it is rather a long post about a simple crop, but mind you, the situation we are facing today is much more complex. It is not easy for a layman to freely grow hemp without undergoing painstaking tussles with obtaining the licenses and permissions that lies in vested hands of the Govt. The Government must step up its initiative to research about this by taking the example of various developed nations who are already headed towards a prosperous future like Canada, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and China. India is no less in terms of agriculture to these countries, save our limiting agricultural policies.
To conclude, here is a small documentary produced by the United States Government during the World War II period that encouraged farmers to take up the growing of hemp for commercial purposes. Do watch!
The Puranas, or the ancient religious texts, give us a wider picture of our ritualistic customs even before our history text books were written. A notable episode among those is the ocean churning incident, in which the Devas (Gods) and the Asuras (Demons) embark on a mission to extract Amrita, a drink believed to bestow immortality on its drinkers, using the aid of Kalinga the serpent. During the process, Halahala (poison) is extracted and Lord Shiva takes it upon himself to store it inside his throat, as a result of which he is also known by the name Vishakantha, meaning 'He who holds poison within His throat'. Then was the turn of Amrita to come out of the ocean.
 |
| The ocean milk churning inscription. Image courtesy: Wikipedia |
Chris Bennett, the author of Cannabis and the Soma Solution, reinstates this in his book. He says that the Gods who were wary of the strength of the Demons, hatched a plan to safely hide Amrita and assigned this responsibility to Garuda, who flew with the pot. On the way, a few drops were supposed to spill out in certain locations on the Earth, and thus was born the divine plant of Vijaya, as it is called in Sanskrit. Today, it is referred by various names, some derogatory, such as Cannabis, Marijuana, Mary Jane, Ganja, Bhang, and more. You can find Chris's excerpt here.
The two most common varieties of the Cannabis plant include Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. What used to be a commonly used substance in religious sacraments and pleasurable sessions throughout history suddenly had changed its identity to a taboo filled criminal under the label of a narcotic drug, after the 1985 National Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act was formulated. People were no longer allowed the recreational, sacramental, or medicinal use of Ganja in whatever form according to the law. The violators were booked and prosecuted. With the marginalization of Ganja, its cousin, another variety of Cannabis sativa, called the Indian Hemp, was too slammed shut tagging it as a dangerous drug.
After this landmark legislation, India took on the path of modernization and economic globalization under the mentorship of then Finance Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh, and in a span of a few years, the heritage related to cannabis usage in India was almost hidden away or lost from the new generation. Alcohol and tobacco industries boomed with their new found opportunities and a wretched consumer base willing to pay up anything to drink to their escapades. The situation is no different today, or probably even worse, with shocking stories of deaths and destroyed lives and families, a result of the Devil's Nectar that is freely available in wine stores and legitimately taxed for the benefit of one and all!
 |
| Image credits: The Independent, UK |
I shall tackle the narcotic aspect of this plant in a later blog, but for now, it is important for us to know and understand that there is something called Industrial Hemp that silently waits to be uncovered. I personally came across this wonder plant an year ago and was too fascinated to learn about it. Industrial hemp, or Indian hemp, as it is called, is the non-narcotic variety of cannabis, which DOES NOT give you a "high" when consumed. Yet, it bears the brunt of the law and is quarantined from the existing agricultural practices.
Industrial hemp was cultivated in India until the 1950s-60s on an industrial scale to supplement the nation's fibre needs, along with the seeds for oil extraction. Today, the hemp crop is believed to support over 25,000 known uses. This is an incredible figure compared to any product that exists on the planet, natural or man made. India was once the largest exporter of hemp until the curtains shut down our progress, which slipped into the hands of China making full use of it.
 |
| Image credits: Huffington Post |
Thus, it falls upon us to know its wonderful benefits for an Indian scenario, while the world is already updating itself in the search of more sustainable, viable and eco friendly options for their industries.
An agricultural country by nature, it is disheartening to see the decline of agricultural production by 13.7% in India. More and more people are migrating to the urban sectors in search of better opportunities and living conditions. Farmer suicides have become a common phenomena in our country. Unemployment is on the rise and the population has not stopped its Big Bang mode of expansion. To address such needs for a wide host of environmental and geographical conditions under common policies is inefficient, as we have been seeing. To quote an example, an acre of hemp can give us paper worth four acres of trees in a span of only 3-4 months, while it requires over 20 years to grow trees. I shall leave you to do the math by giving this a closer thought.
Recently, I happened to attend the International Agricultural Fair (Krishi Mela) organized in the Gandhi Krishi Vignan Kendra of Bangalore. We were surprised to know that a majority of qualified staff were mostly unaware of hemp and its benefits except that it was a fibre based crop. After thorough discussions, we happened to show them various fliers and presentations, which really made them reconsider the research on hemp on a positive note. The reason behind this is that we do not learn about such 'revolutionary' stuff in our daily newspapers or TV channels or school books or even casual discussions. I remember studying about cannabis in my highschool as a 'dangerous, addictive' narcotic. As if tobacco and alcohol are doing a great job by filling people with enlightened consciousness! That apart, thanks to the information insemination and the internet revolution that boomed with access to any part of the globe for essential data about anything that exists. I shall include a few reference links for your further interest below.
Speaking about hemp is not fulfilled in one blog post like this, but requires combined efforts of aware individuals and farmers. It is the right of mankind to have access to a crop whose sole purpose is to the betterment of a nation and humanity. Closing it as classified information, denying proper citations of its ill effects (which officially do not exist after extensive worldwide researches), is, in fact, illegal. Farmers in India need to be educated about this wonder crop and they must demand for a proper justification as to why it cannot be granted a permission for cultivation. Clubbing it with marijuana is a futile excuse, as botanists have certified that marijuana cannot be grown alongside hemp, owing to its high cross pollinating nature due to which it will soon be converted into hemp.
Hemp seeds are rich sources of essential proteins and fatty acids that we seldom consume in our daily diet. This is the answer to the problems boggling modern India - be it unemployment, farmer suicides, wasteland management, water inadequacy, weeding issues, malnutrition, fuel efficiency, and many many more.
Hemp oil is essentially used to extract biofuel. At the Fair, Dr Balakrishna Gowda, a professor at GKVK and Project Co-ordinator at the Biofuel Park in Hassan, Karnataka, beautifully quoted saying, "If we add even 1% of biofuel to our existing petroleum products, it could save up to Rs 5000 crores a year of the total import costs." How cool is that!
 |
| Image credits: True Democracy Party |
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| Route map for Cannabliss! |
I know it is rather a long post about a simple crop, but mind you, the situation we are facing today is much more complex. It is not easy for a layman to freely grow hemp without undergoing painstaking tussles with obtaining the licenses and permissions that lies in vested hands of the Govt. The Government must step up its initiative to research about this by taking the example of various developed nations who are already headed towards a prosperous future like Canada, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and China. India is no less in terms of agriculture to these countries, save our limiting agricultural policies.
To conclude, here is a small documentary produced by the United States Government during the World War II period that encouraged farmers to take up the growing of hemp for commercial purposes. Do watch!
