Congress mocks IIT director Kamakoti’s ‘gomutra’ research, Zoho’s Vembu defends him
Kerala unit of Congress challenges Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu to invest in cow urine research after he defends Kamakoti's selection for the Padma Shri
The Kerala state unit of the Congress on Monday (January 26) challenged Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu to invest in cow urine research after the latter defended IIT Madras director V Kamakoti on his Padma Shri selection.
Kamakoti received the Padma Shri award on January 26 for his contribution to education and research.
"The Padma Shri award means only one thing to me, that I will put the best efforts towards Viksit Bharat 2047. This award is not possible as an individual; it's a collective effort," he said in a video statement.
In response to his statement, Congress's Kerala unit posted on X, "Congratulations to V Kamakoti on receiving the honour. The nation recognises your bleeding edge research on Cow Urine at IIT Madras, taking Gomutra to world stage.”
The spat on X broke out after Sridhar Vembu backed the cow urine research and defended Kamakoti’s Padma Shri selection, drawing a response from the Congress.
Research on cow urine
In January 2025, IIT Madras had released a research paper citing that cow urine contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and can be used for a variety of illnesses.
Backing the research and Kamakoti's selection for the award, Vembu responded to Congress’s post saying, "Professor Kamakoti works in deep tech: micro-processor design. He is the Director of IIT-Madras, the best technological institution in India. He serves in the NSAB. He richly deserves the honour."
Also read: Why endorsement of gomutra as ’anti-bacterial, anti-fungal’ is dangerous
He further added, "I have defended him on scientific grounds and I will do so again: cow dung and cow urine have excellent microbiome that could be valuable for humans."
"It is the slavish colonial mindset that thinks these are not scientific propositions worthy of investigation. Some day, when Harvard or MIT publish a study on this, these enslaved minds would worship that as the gospel truth," Vembu added.
Following the release of the research paper, Kamakoti received criticism on the alleged lack of scientific backing for the statements. He clarified that there was scientific evidence to prove his claims.
Also read: ‘Science illiterate boomer uncle’: The Liver Doc slams Zoho CEO Vembu for cow urine claims
“The controversy is whether there is scientific backing to what I said. I have with me five research papers, including those published in top US journals, one published in Nature, and a patent (by CSIR) that goes to show that gomutra indeed has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. I will share them with you for reference,” he had said.
Outcome of research questioned
Taking a jibe at Vembu’s post, the Congress responded, "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?"
Also read: Rows erupt as 'Garbhavigyan', ‘gomutra’ mentions crop up at IITs
"Recently, the outcome of one such cow dung research project came out in public. The Madhya Pradesh government funded a research project using Panchagavya, a traditional mixture made from cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd, and ghee, for the treatment of cancer.
"An investigation by Additional Collector Raghuvar Maravi exposed that a whopping Rs 1.92 cr was spent on buying cow dung and urine for the research, whereas the actual cost is around Rs 15-20 lakhs. The total allocation for the project was Rs 3.5 cr, and the remaining money was spent on buying cars, filling petrol and diesel, and even Goa and Bangalore trips. What is the outcome of the research?"
The Congress also warned that further investigations would uncover more scandals.
"There is no doubt that we need cancer research. But why do you insist that it is only cow dung or cow urine that can cure cancer? We saw during COVID how fraudsters were trying to kill the virus using cow dung and gomutra. What was the outcome?" it said.