Dr. P. Ram Manohar, Research Director, Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ACARA), was honoured with the Dr. C. Dwarakanath Memorial Award for contributions to contemporary interpretations of the principles of Ayurveda. The Award was given away during the IASTAM Orations and Awards Ceremony organised by Faculty of Ayurveda, Benares Hindu University and Indian Association for Study of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM) at Dr. K.N. Udupa Auditorium, Benares Hindu University. on 18th February, 2017.
The function was graced by the presence of eminent dignitaries such as: Sri. Shekhar Dutt, Former Governor of Chattisgarh and Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Prof. V.K. Shukla, Director, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU; Dr. A.K. Tripathi, Director, CIMAP, Lucknow; Dr. Manoranjan Sahu, Dean, Faculty of Ayurveda, BHU; Dr. Narendra Bhatt, President IASTAM; Dr. Qazi, Jamia Hamdard University and many others. Dr. Ram Manohar also participated as an expert panelist during the “Conclave on Translational Research Opportunities in Ayurveda” held in connection with the Award Function.
This award has been instituted in the memory of the great Ayurvedic research scholar, Dr. C. Dwarankanath, respected both by the Ayurvedic and modern medical fraternity. It is an award for excellence in newer interpretations or contributions based on fundamental principles of Ayurveda, leading to its novel application. Dr. C. Dwarakanath, a well known Ayurvedic scholar and researcher, graduated (in Ayurveda) from the Govt. School of Indian Medicine, Madras, in 1928 and later worked on the effect of Swarna Bhasma (gold therapy) on tuberculosis at the Faculty of Medicine, Hamburg University, Germany. In a distinguished career, Dr. Dwarakanath held some very important positions like Research Officer (Govt. of Mysore) at the Sr. Jayachamarajendra Institute of Indian Medicine, Bangalore, and Secretary of the Chopra Committee and as Principal for the Government College of Indian Medicine, Mysore.
Dr. Dwarankanath was a model teacher and a pioneer in bringing a modern scientific approach to Ayurvedic concepts. In 1956, he moved to Jamnagar as a Professor of Kayachikitsa at the IPGTRA, Jamnagar. In 1959, he took over as the advisor (Indigenous System of Medicine) for the Government of India, Ministry of Health. In this capacity, he ushered in a new era of teaching and research in Ayurveda. During his tenure as adviser, many innovative steps were taken to improve the status of education and research in the field of Ayurveda. Significant among these were the establishment of a Post Graduate Institute of Indian Medicine at Banaras Hindu University and the launch of the unique Composite Drug Research Scheme (CDRS) which brought scientists of different systems of medicine such as Ayurveda and Allopathy together on the same platform. In his capacity as an officer on Special Duty (OSD) at ICMR, he supervised about 50 research projects/units located in different parts of India. Dr. C. Dwarakanath published several monographs and books on Ayurveda which reveal his special insights and research abilities. Some of the books he authored were later prescribed as textbooks/reference material. He passed away in September 1978, at New Delhi.
