Zoho founder defends IIT director after Congress's 'gomutra' dig
What's the story
Sridhar Vembu, the founder of technology company Zoho, has come out in defense of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Director V Kamakoti. The defense comes after the Congress party's Kerala unit mocked Kamakoti for his Padma Shri award and his remarks on cow urine research. "Professor Kamakoti works in deep tech: micro-processor design... He richly deserves the honor," Vembu said on social media platform X.
Sarcastic remarks
Congress party's sarcastic post on Kamakoti
The controversy started when the Congress Kerala unit congratulated Kamakoti on being selected for the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, but sarcastically referred to his research on cow urine. The post read, "Congratulations to V Kamakoti on receiving the honor. The nation recognizes your bleeding edge research on Cow Urine at IIT Madras, taking Gomutra to world stage."
Research controversy
Kamakoti's research on cow urine
The Congress's post alluded to Kamakoti's remarks from last year, where he claimed cow urine has "anti-bacterial" and "anti-fungal" properties. He had said it could cure several diseases, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Kamakoti later cited a study published in Nature magazine in June 2021 about peptide profiling in cow urine. "We provided evidence for...peptide-mediated antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, but more experiments are needed to validate other predicted bioactivities," the authors of the study said.
Defense stance
Vembu defends Kamakoti's research on cow urine
Vembu defended Kamakoti's research, stating that "cow dung and cow urine have excellent microbiome that could be valuable for humans." He slammed the colonial mindset against such scientific propositions, suggesting that if prestigious institutions like Harvard or MIT published studies on this, "these enslaved minds would worship that as the gospel truth."
Research challenge
Congress challenges Vembu to invest in cow urine research
The Congress party hit back at Vembu's defense, questioning the outcome of research on cow dung and urine. "Research is not about quoting random Western research papers out of context. What is the outcome of all this research on cow dung and urine? And why are we limited only to cow dung? What about the excreta of buffaloes, goats, or even humans?" it posted on X.
Congress
'Why doesn't your company invest in proper cow urine'
They also pointed out a scam involving Panchagavya research for cancer treatment in Madhya Pradesh. The party then dared Vembu to invest in proper cow urine and dung research through his company Zoho. "If cow urine can help in healing cancer...Why don't you take up this challenge and put the money where your mouth is?" they asked.