Ramdev is primarily known for being a proponent of yoga and ayurveda in India.
48 Facts About Ramdev
2.
Ramdev has been organizing and conducting large yoga camps since 2002, broadcasting his yoga classes on various TV channels.
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Ramdev co-founded Patanjali Ayurved and Patanjali Yogpeeth with his colleague Balkrishna in 2006.
4.
Ramdev has received criticism over his comments related to modern medicine, yoga, and ayurveda.
5.
Ramdev is aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party on a number of issues.
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Ramdev has led protests against corruption in India and has advocated for the repatriation of black money held in foreign banks.
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Ramdev, originally named Ramkishan Yadav, was born between 1965 and 1975 in Alipur in Haryana.
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Ramdev was born to Ram Niwas and Gulabo Devi, who were poor illiterate farmers.
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Ramdev has an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister.
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Ramdev is one of the highest grossing FMCG's in India.
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Ramdev has advocated for Indian nationalism in the tradition of the swadeshi movement through the production and sale of Patanjali Ayurved products and he has encouraged Indian citizens to reject multinational brands.
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Ramdev has been accused of creating misleading advertisements about its products and conducting insufficient testing before launching products in the marketplace.
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In May 2018, Ramdev launched Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards in partnership with BSNL.
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In 2006, Ramdev established a registered charity in the UK known as the Patanjali Yog Peeth Trust, which had the stated objective of supporting Patanjali Yogpeeth through the promotion of Ayurveda and pranayama yoga in the UK.
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In 2012, Ramdev established the Divya Yog Pharmacy in Haridwar.
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In 2022, Ramdev announced that sanyasis will serve as trustees of the Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yoga Mandir.
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The sanyasis initiated by Ramdev studied Hindu scriptures for at least seven years at Patanjali Yogpeeth and a number of them have advanced degrees from universities.
18.
In 2006, Ramdev was invited by Kofi Annan to deliver a lecture on poverty alleviation at a United Nations conference.
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In 2010, Ramdev announced plans to form a political party.
20.
In 2014, Ramdev announced that Bharat Swabhiman would contest some constituencies in the general election of that year and form alliances with some other parties.
21.
Relatedly, Ramdev announced he would go on an anshan hunger strike at Ramlila Ground in Delhi, on 4 June 2011, to pressure the government to root out corruption and repatriate black money.
22.
However, in the evening, Ramdev announced that he would still carry on with his hunger strike.
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Ramdev took it as a betrayal by the government and hardened his position.
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Ramdev tried to escape capture by disguising himself in women's clothes but was eventually arrested and flown back to his ashram in Haridwar and banned from entering Delhi for 15 days.
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On reaching Haridwar, Ramdev told reporters that his fast was not over yet and he would continue with his satyagraha civil resistance.
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Ramdev accused the government of cheating him, and alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill him.
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Ramdev ended his fast on the ninth day, after being hospitalised two days earlier.
28.
Ramdev announced that his future strategy depended upon the government's response to his protest.
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Ramdev ended the fast at Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium on 14 August 2012, and announced he was returning to Haridwar.
30.
Ramdev began appearing on TV as a yoga guru in 2002, first with Sanskar TV.
31.
Ramdev proved to be telegenic and gained a large following.
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Ramdev taught students in foreign countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.
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Ramdev addressed Muslim clerics at their seminary in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh in 2009.
34.
Ramdev denied the results and further testing conflicted with the previous tests.
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Rajiv Dixit, Ramdev's advisor, died of a cardiac arrest on 30 November 2010 in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.
36.
Ramdev sparked several controversies related to diagnosing and curing COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.
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Ramdev claimed that holding one's breath could help one diagnose the virus, and further claimed that mustard oil could treat the virus, both of which lacked scientific basis.
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In late May 2021, Ramdev sparked a controversy when he claimed that modern medical science is a "stupid science" and that patients have died due to it.
39.
The IMA demanded the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan take action against Ramdev and prosecute him under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to save lives.
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Later, Patanjali's Balkrishna clarified that Ramdev has, "no ill-will against modern science and good practitioners of modern medicine".
41.
Ramdev courted sharp criticism from the medical community when he claimed that, "[d]octors should not fall ill at all if allopathy is all powerful and 'sarvagun sampanna' ".
42.
IMA's Uttarakhand division sent a defamation notice to Ramdev and expressed that they would demand 1,000 crore if he didn't issue an apology.
43.
Ramdev said his target would be to convert 1000 doctors to ayurveda within a year.
44.
On 3 June 2021, the Delhi High Court refused to issue an injunction against Ramdev, noting that his comments fall under the right to freedom of speech and expression.
45.
In March 2017, Ramdev said at an event in Rohtak that he would have beheaded people who refused to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai if there was no law, but backtracked his statement a month later.
46.
In February 2023, Ramdev said Muslims think offering prayers legitimize terrorism and abducting Hindu girls.
47.
Ramdev is being played by Kranti Prakash Jha in Swami Ramdev - Ek Sangharsh earlier aired on Discovery Jeet.
48.
Patanajali Ayurveda Limited remains one of the top ten advertisers in India, and Ramdev's face has become ubiquitous.