Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 17: Keeping the tradition alive, the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu celebrated the 143rd birth anniversary of Col Sir R N Chopra, the Founder Director of IIIM, here today.
The CSIR-IIIM fraternity came together to remember and honour the vision and dedication of this eminent son of the soil. Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM Jammu, along with scientists, technical & administrative staff, research scholars, and other employees paid homage to Col Sir R N Chopra by offering floral tribute to his statue.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Zabeer Ahmed recalled Colonel Chopra’s immense contributions to the growth of pharmacology and Indian systems of medicine. He emphasized how Col Sir R N Chopra, recognised as the Father of Indian Pharmacology, laid the foundation for the preparation of Ayurvedic and Unani pharmacopeias’, bringing traditional knowledge into the fold of scientific study and evolved a way forward for the global relevance of centuries old Indian traditional knowledge. He further mentioned that Col R N Chopra was first to introduce the commercial cultivation of the Mint in 1968, and thus from simply an importer of Mint, India is currently the world’s largest producer, exporter, and consumer of mint oil and related products, related share of worldwide output is currently between 80 and 85 percent.
Dr Ahmed said, “Col Chopra carried forward his work at a time when research facilities were very limited, yet he was able to make remarkable progress on cannabis and other medicinal plants. He further reminded the CSIR-IIIM community that the best tribute to Col Chopra would be to work with sincerity and dedication to fulfil his vision of taking India’s indigenous knowledge systems to the global stage.
Prominent among those present were heads of various research divisions and other senior faculty and staff, including Abdul Rahim, Dr Asha Chaubey, Dr Rajkishor Rai, Dr Suphla Gupta, Dr PP Singh, Dr Ajay Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Gupta and others.
