“Left liberals are throwing away tradition…”: Sridhar Vembu responds to Gummutra’s row after “new generation” ridicule

Sridhar Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, has reignited the debate over traditional knowledge systems in India, asserting that dismissing them outright reflects arrogance, not scientific rigor.

In a social media post, Vembu said: “The left-liberal crowd in our country loves to do away with traditional knowledge systems in Bharat, with slogans like ‘Trust Science’ replacing critical thought.”

He called for humility within the scientific community and urged a reconsideration of traditional practices through a modern lens.

The statements came after Vembu defended IIT Madras director Professor V Kamakoti, who claimed that cow urine (gomutra) has medicinal benefits, including antibacterial and digestive properties.

Kamakoti’s comments, made during the January 15 event, drew sharp criticism, with many dismissing them as pseudoscience.

One of the harshest criticisms came from liver specialist and physician-scientist Dr. Cyriac Abe Phillips, known as “The Liver Doctor.” “Hello science illiterate baby boomer uncle, the so called traditional Indian medicine, Siddha, also encourages fecal transplantation. How long will you continue to put your foot in your mouth, mislead your followers, and make a fool of yourself?” Phillips wrote on social media.

Phillips went further, urging Fembo to focus on disseminating reliable scientific information rather than promoting what he called “old nonsense.” He noted that his own work pioneering fecal transplants to treat acute alcohol-related hepatitis demonstrates how traditional practices can be validated by modern research, and contrast this with the promotion of unverified claims.

Vembu defended Kamakoti’s statements by highlighting global interest in practices such as faecal transplantation, derived from traditional knowledge.

He said that rejecting ideas such as the medicinal value of cow urine without investigation goes against the true spirit of science. “Science does not mix well with arrogance. What we need is humility in the scientific establishment,” Vembo said.