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Chapter 1
Introduction
All known cultures of the past - Egyptian, Babylonian, Jewish, Greek,
Indus-valley etc. have their own equally glorious and useful systems of health
care. In India. the development and growth of such a body of knowledge
known as Ayurveda. meaning science of life. was coeval with the growth and
evoiution of indian civilization and culture. The Vedas, which are considered
to be the repositories of recorded indian cuiture, have made mention of this
knowledge both in the theoretical and practical form. There is discussion of
theories about the composition of iiving and non-living matter, the physical,
biochemicai, bioiogicai, .psychoiogicai and spirituai components of man and
the vitai motive forces working both inside and outside the body. in other
ancient work:s :such a:s Cliaraka Samliiia, Susfiruia Samliiia etc. there are
rneniion of :such cuffeni medical :subject:s like anatomy, phy:siology, aetiology,
pathology, treatrnent and environmental factors. This medical knowledge has
been the work of ages. It is the outcome of the great power of observation,
generalization and analysis combined with the patient labour of hundreds of
investigators spread over thousands of years. This knowledge has played so
important a in tha development of Indian culture that it has bean
documented in an integrated form in the Vedas v.hich are considered to have
been originated from Gods 1. The ancient Ayurveda was closely related to
astrology. Judy Pugh of the university of British Columbia detects three
separate arts in Indian astrology: the art of dialogue. the art of prediction and
the art of remedy.2 The basis of the ancient Ayurveda can be found in some of
the astrological texts like Maharishi Parasara's Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra. 3
Most of this mythological and medico-religious genesis of Ayurveda is even
.today shrouded in the mist of antiquity.
Around 1500 B.C. Ayurveda's fundamentals and applied principles got
organised and enunciated. Atharvaveda, one of the four most ancient books of
Indian knowledge. wisdom and culture. contains 114hymns or formulations for
the treatment of diseases. In this sense Ayurveda is considered to have divine
origin representing one of the oidest organized system of medicine for positive
heaith and cure of human sickness. Making use of systematic careful
observation and documenting detailed experiences over the past several
thousands of years, it has grown into a very comprehensive health care
system with two major school and eight specializations, it has a Schooi of
Physicians and a Schoo; of Surgeons referred in iiterature as 'Atreya
Sampradaya' and'Dharivaritfiar; Sampradaya' fespectively. <4
The most important and massive ancient compilation of the Schools of
medicine is known as Charaka Samhita. It contains several chapters dealing at
length with therapeutic or internal medicine. About 600 drugs of plant. animal
and mineral origin are described in it. Besides. this compendium also deals
with other branches of Ayurveda like anatomy, physiology, aetiology,
prognosis, pathology, treatment and medicine etc. 6
An equally exhaustive ancient compilation, Sushruta Samhita exists
relating to the school of surgery. It deals primarily with various fundamental
principles and theory of surgery. more than 100 kinds of surgical instruments
including scalpels. scissors. forceps, specula etc. are described along with
their use in this vaiuabie document. Descriptions of how to go about doing
incIsion, excision, extraction, and bandaging etc. are detailed in this
'compendium. in addition, this document aiso mentions such other topics as
anatomy, embryoiogy, toxicoiogy and therapeutics. it has made a mention of
about 650 drugs. 6
In course of time Ayurveda, which started as a magico-religious practice,
matured into a fully developed medical science with eight branches which
have parallels in the modern western system of medicine. The growth of these
eight specialities gave Ayurveda another name: Astanga Ayurveda. Medical
knowiedge was divided into the following eight branches:
1. Kayachikitsa - Internal medicine
2. Kaumarabhritya - Paediatrics
3. Grahachikitsa - Psychiatry
4. Sa/akyatantra - Opthalmology
5. Saiyatantra - Surgery
6. Visatantra - Toxicology
7. Rasayanatantra - Geriatrics
8. Vajikaranatantra - Knowiedge of Viriifics7
3
Ayurveda deals elaborately with measures for a healthy living during the
entire span of life and its various phases. Besides dealing with principles for
the maintenance of health. it has also developed a wide range of therapeutic,
measu res to combat illness. These principles of positive health and
therapeutic measures are reiated to the physicai, mentai, sociai, and spirituai
weifare of human beings. Thus Ayurveda becomes one of the oidest systems
of medicine deaiing with both the preventive and curative aspects of life in a
most comprehensive way.
'1.1 Re!evance of the study
The development of a National Information system is essential for the
further development of Ayurveda in India. When compared to other major
systems of medicine like Allopathy, Homeopathy etc .. at present Ayurveda is
not getting due recognition as a system of medicine. Acupuncture. a part of
Chinese indigenous medicine, couid acquire woridwide recognition. But stili
Ayu rveda, one of the major medicai systems with thousands of years of history
and the one which has proved as a harmiess and effective medicai system has
not yet got woridwide recognition and it is stiii practiced oniy in india and
some other Asian countries. Even in india Ayurveda is losing its prominence.
Among the various factors for this situation, a major reason is the lack of
sufficient J'eseaJ'ch and pJ'opeJ' cornmunication arnong the expeits in this field.
Even the study and research activities taking piace in ti-,e various parts of the
country are not properly coordinated. They are carried out in isolation. There
is no effective scientific communication in this field. Not much bibliographic
6) 32654
activities are carried out in this field. The development of a National
Information System has a major role in solving these problerms. In Ayurveda
many valuable documents are kept as closed documents by a number of.
persons, families and organisations. Many of the ancient documents are kept
unused in the various manuscript iibraries and in personai and famiiy
coiiections, especiaiiy in the traditional "Vaidya families~ of Kemia and other
'parts of. india. For the overaii deveiopment of Ayurveda these ancient
compiiations shouid be identified, properly documented and made avaiiabie to
aii the practitioners and researchers in this fieid. A Nationai information
Agency with sufficient government back.ing can unearth many of these
v<:iiu<:ibie lie<:iSuies.
Nowadays western countries are showing interest in herbal and indigenous
medicine. The multinational companies are involved in patenting these
information collected from third world countries. From India a lot of information
is flowing out in this way. An effective National Information system can play
an important roie to check this loss.
There are many claims for the Ayurvedic remedies for the dreaded
diseases like AIDS. cancer etc. But most of these claims are ignored or not
properly attended in our country. A National Information System can help to
put forward such claims effectively and to communicate the study results
properiy. Thus in many ways a National Information System can -piay a key
roie in the deveiopment of Ayurveda. So any effort to design and
a system is most reievant now.
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1.2 Tit!e of the study
The title of the study is "Design and development of Indian National
Information System for Ayurveda".
1.3 Definition of the key terms
Most of the terms in the title are self-explanatory. The terms which are not
self-explanatory and those whose usage in particular contexts are to be
specified are defined below.
National Information System: An information system is defined as 'an
organised procedure for collecting, processing, storing, and retrieving
information to satisfy a variety of needs'. 9 When the activities of an
information system is restricted to the jurisdiction of a nation it becomes a
national information system. Here in this study ali the above-said activities of
the information system are designed in the context of the nation India.
Ayurveda: The word 'Ayurveda' is composed of two Sanskrit terms viz. 'ayus'
meaning 'life' and 'Veda' meaning 'knowledge', and take~ together it means
the 'science of life'. It deals with the method of ke'eping the human body and
mind in a state of perfect health. Charaka has defined Ayurveda as the
'science through the help of which one can obtain knowledge about the useful
and harmful types of life, happy and miserable types of life, things which are
useful or harmfui for such types of life as well as the very nature of Iife,9. Thus
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more than a medical system Ayurveda is considered as a 'way of life'. But
here in this study the term Ayurveda refers to the ancient system of medicine
which is still practised in India.
1.4
The objectives of the study are:
i. To study the infrastructure available in libraries and information
centres attached to the various Ayurveda institutions in India.
ii. To study the information needs of the various categories of users in
Ayurveda such as qualified and conventional practitioners.
scientists. teachers and students;
iii. To assess whether the present information infrastructure available
in Ayurveda is adequate to satisfy the needs of the users or not:
and
iv. Based on the assessment made on the above objectives designing
a National Information System for Ayurveda. which will satisfy the
needs of the information users in Ayurveda.
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1.5 Methodology
The following methodologies were used in the study for data collection.
1. Literature survey
The history and basic principles of Ayurveda and other Indian systems of
medicine were studied mainly through literature survey.
The present status of Ayurveda and other Indian systems of medicine in
India. data relating to the number of medical personnel. research centres.
hospitals. educational institutions etc. were studied mainly using secondary
data collected from the publications of the planning and evaluation cell under
the ministry of heaith and family weifare, Government of india. The
background studies regarding the various information systems and iibrary and
information networks were aiso made through iiterature survey.
2. Questionnaire method
The library and other information infrastructure available in various
Ayurveda institutions were studied mainly through the questionnaire method.
Data collected from CCRAS and its various subsidiary research institutions
including 2 Indian Institutes of Ayurveda, 3 Central Research Institutes.5
Regionai Research institutes, 5 Regional Research Centres and 12 Research
Units. Data from ; 0 representative sampies of other state levei and private
research centres were also collected. Apart from these, data were collected
from National Institute of Ayurveda. Pharmacopoeia laboratory. Gujarat
Ayurveda University. Department of Medical Sciences of Banarus Hindu
University and 72 Ayurveda colleges.
The information needs of the various categories of the Ayurveda users
from different regions of the country were selected and questionnaires---- ---distributed to 83 scientists, 97 teachers, 91 doctors, 96 conventional
practitioners and 89 students. Sixty seven (80.72%) scientists, 74 (76.28"/0)
teachers, 71 (78.82%) doctors, 61 (63.54%) conventional practitioners and 76
(85.39%) students returned the fiiied up questionnaires.
3. Interview method
The data collected though questionnaires were corroborated by the
information collected through the interview method. 145 persons who
responded through questionnaire were also interviewed to get more
information as well as clarifications. These constitute 20 librarians, 23
doctors, 28 conventionai practitioners, 27 scientists, 30 teachers and 17
students. Interviews were unstructured in nature. in interviews with the
iibrarians the problems faced by them in information coliection, storage and
dissemination in iibraries were discussed. in interviews with the users the
probiems faceid by them in getting information at the right time, their opinion
about the services provided by Ayurveda libraries and the new services
expected f!or"ri iible:trie:s e:tr"ld ifIe probler"f):S fe:tced by ihe Ayulvede:t r"nedice:ti
Q
system in general were discussed. The opinions of the librarians and users
regarding the structure and functions of the National Information System in
Ayurveda were also discussed in detail. Since the dissemination of information
in Ayurveda through publications are lesser in number and scattered in various
languages, the information coiiected through this method was very usefuL
The data collected though various methods were analysed to study the
strong and weaker points of the present set-up. The information needs of the
various categories of users were studied. Based on these inferences a new
National Information System for Ayurveda, which satisfies the needs of the
various categories of Ayurveda users and one which heips the all-round
deveiopment of the Ayurvedic medicai system, is designed.
1_6 Hypotheses
The hypotheses leading to the present study are:
1. The present information infrastructure available in Ayurveda in India is
not satisfactory and is inadequate to meet the information needs of
the users.
2. The present institutional and information infrastructure are not
coordinated and organized which call for the design of a national
information system for an effective and efficient information service in
Ayurveda in India.
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1.7 Scope of the study
The study involves the designing of the National information system for
Ayurveda. The various levels of organisations of the system. its infrastructure.
manpower and the functions to be carried out are to be defined. For this the
existing infrastructure avaiiabie in India, the information needs of the various
'Ayurvedic personnel including scientists, teachers, students and practitioners,
the present mode of communication and transfer of information among
themseives etc. are to be studied. A iot oj injormation reiating to Ayurveda
stiii remains unpublished and undocumented, a major share being in the form
of manuscripts. So ail these aspects are to be considered while designing a
National information System for Ayurveda. As the study 15 on an ali-india
basis it involves extensive sUiveys to study the existing infrasifuctuJ'e
available in the country, information needs of the personnel involved in this
field, various sources in which Ayurveda literature is scattered etc. Based on
these sUivey iesults the lnfoimation System is to be designed.
1.8 Limitations of the study
Even if the study focuses all of India; it is not desirable to cover all the
institutions and all information users in Ayurveda. So representative samples
were taken and studied. In case of research centres all the major research
centres in India are covered, but in case of Ayurveda colleges only about 50%
of the institutions were covered. In the case of information users in Ayurveda
aiso, data were coilected from representative samples.
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The publications in Ayurveda are comparatively lesser, multilingual and
scattered. So in many cases interviews with the experts were also undertaken
to reach a conclusion.
The study proposes only the design of an Indian National Information
System for Ayurveda. The various levels of organization in the system and the
,functions of each of these sUbsystems are defined but the financial
implications in the development of each sUbsystem are not worked out.
1.9 Organization of the thesis
The thesis is organized under 9 chapters. They are:
Chapter 1: Introduction
The title, objective, scope, relevance, methodology, limitations etc of the
stUdy are discussed mainly in this chapter.
Chapter 2: Review of related literature
Similar studies already conducted in the related fields are reviewed here.
Chapter 3: Ayurveda and other Indian systems of medicine: Genesis and
development
1?
The genesis, development and the basic principles of Ayurveda are
discussed in detail in this chapter. The history and basic principles of other
Indian systems of medicine are also explained briefly in this chapter.
Chanter 4: Institutional infrastructure of Avurveda and other Indian. .systems of medicine
This chapter gives a statistical account of various Ayurvedic institutions
engaged in research. education. treatment etc. A detailed description of the
nature of Ayurveda research is also given. A brief statistical data relating to
other Indian systems of medicine is also provided in this chapter.
Chapter 5: Related National and International Information systems and
Library networks
In this chapter various library and information systems and networks
related to Ayurveda such as medical and biological subjects at the national
and international level are discussed. Various information systems. library
networks and other communication infrastructure available in India are
expiained in detaii.
Chapter 6: Present information infrastructure available for Ayurveda in
India
The data collected through questionnaires and interviews about the
present library and other information system infrastructure available in our
country are analysed and interpreted here. An evaluation of the present
information infrastructure is made and the drawbacks of the present system
are iisted .
.Chapter 7: Information needs and information seeking behaviour of
Ayurvedic information users
The data collected on the information needs and information use pattern of
the various categories of information users such as researchers. teachers.
students and practitioners in the field of Ayurveda are analysed and
interpreted here. A comparative study of the information needs and
information seeking behaviour of different types of users is aiso made in this
chapter.
Chanter 8: Indian National Information Svstem for Avurveda (INISA):. .,., \ ,
Design, Structure and Functions.
Here the information collected, analysed and interpreted in the previous
chapters are used for the design and development of an Indian National
Information System for Ayurveda (INISA) which would satisfy the Information
needs of the information users in the field of Ayurveda. The various levels of
organisation of the proposed information system, structure and functions of
each of these ieveis or subsystems etc. are provided here.
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Chaoter 9: Findinas and conclusion. ~
In this chapter the findings of the entire study are summed up and
conclusions are drawn.
Appendix I
Questionnaire used for the collection of data from libraries attached
to various types of Ayurveda institutions.
Appendix \I
Questionnaire used for the collection of data from
1. researchers and teachers
2. qualified practitioners
3. conventional practitioners
4. students.
Bibliography
Provides a list of related articles and books in Library and Information
Science as well as Ayurveda.
1,
References
1. India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of ISM and,
Homeopathy. Indian Systems of Medicine Clnd Homeopathy in India 1992.
Delhi: Controller of publications. 1996. p. 1.
'2. Svoboda, Robert E. Ayurveda: Life, health and longevity. New Delhi:
Penguin books. 1993. p. 175.
3. Tarabilda, Edward F. Ayurveda Revolutionized. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
publishers. 1998. p. 60.
4. India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of ISM and
Homeopathy. Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy in India. op.cit ..
pp.1-2.
5. Ibid, p. 2,.
6. Ibid, p. 2.
7. Ibid, pp. 2-3.
8. Harrod, L. M. Harrod's librarians glossary: 9000 terms used in
information management. library science. publishing. the book trades and
archive management. 8th ed. compo By Ray Prytherch. Hants: Gower, 1995.
I';
9. Bhagwan Dash. Fundamentals of Ayurvedic medicine. Delhi: Bansal & Co.
1980. p2.
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