unani
Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes U ...
medicine company which is based in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, Pakistan. It was established by
Hakim Said
Hakeem Muhammad Saeed ( ur, ; 9 January 1920 – 17 October 1998) was a Pakistani medical researcher, scholar and philanthropist. He served as governor of Sindh Province from 1993 until 1994. Saeed was one of Pakistan's most prominent medical ...
as Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) in 1948.
History
Hakim Abdul Majeed (1883 – 1922) founded an organization called Hamdard Dawakhana in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
in 1906. At that time, it was a small clinic and herbal medicine shop. Abdul Majeed had come from a family that included many herbal doctors, and he joined the herbal pharmacy of the renowned Unani physician
Hakim Ajmal Khan
Mohammad Ajmal Khan (11 February 1868 – 29 December 1927), better known as Hakim Ajmal Khan, was a physician in Delhi, India, and one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia University. He also founded another institution, Ayurved ...
. As he developed his knowledge of medicine, he became a Hakim and decided to establish his own pharmacy and clinic, which he called Hamdard Dawakhana. Rooh Afza syrup was officially launched in 1907.
In 1940, Abdul Majeed's youngest son Hakim Mohammed Saeed joined Hamdard Dawakhana. By 1947, Hamdard became a prominent manufacturer of herbal products and medicines in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
After the
independence of Pakistan
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...
in 1947, Saeed, at the age of 29, migrated to Pakistan on 9 January 1948. The following year, he established Hamdard Laboratories Pakistan in the old area of
Arambagh
Arambagh also known as Arambag is a town and a municipality in Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Arambagh subdivision.
Geography
Location
Arambagh is located at . It has an average elevation of ...
, Karachi on a modest scale. Saeed was able to make Hamdard profitable and the leading manufacturer of herbal medicines and products in Pakistan in six years – by 1953.
In 1953, when Hamdard had become a big pharmaceutical company, Saeed declared it a
Waqf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...
(a Muslim endowment entity).
Hakim Saeed's daughter,
Sadia Rashid
Sadia Rashid (born 1946) is a Pakistani educationist who is the current president of Hamdard Pakistan, chancellor of the Hamdard University and president of the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA).
Early life
She was born in 1946 in Sita ...
, chairperson of the company in 2016, reportedly said that her father had also opened up a branch of 'Hamdard Pakistan' in the former
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
. After the independence of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
in 1971, her father had given that
branch
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
to the people of Bangladesh.
Products
Hamdard Laboratories produces more than six hundred (600) Herbal Products.
Hamdard has a full range of medicines for digestive disorders of stomach and intestine, abdominal cramps, hyper-acidity etc.,
anemia
Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
, jaundice, purification of blood from impurities, liver ailments, female ailments like leucorrhoea, menstrual irregularities and for protection of pregnancy. Products are also available for naturally strengthening the nervous system and mental health, heart and other vital organs. Hormonal and sexual insufficiency in men, general debility, mental and physical exhaustion, rheumatism and joints diseases, skin diseases,
common cold
The common cold or the cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the respiratory mucosa of the nose, throat, sinuses, and larynx. Signs and symptoms may appear fewer than two days after exposu ...
, and a wide range of other physical problems are addressed with Hamdard products.
Khamira Abresham Hakim Arshad Wala is a unique herbal medicine from Hamdard Pakistan which is effective in strengthening vital organs like heart, brain, and liver. Its positive cardioprotective effect has been substantiated by various studies.
Most popular products
*
Rooh Afza
Rooh (English: Soul) is an Indian one hour horror supernatural thriller television series which was broadcast on Zee TV from 6 November 2004 to 6 August 2005. It used to air every Saturday at 8 P.M.
Each story has a different cast and crew. Shi ...
(Soul Refresher) - a thirst-quencher and refreshing cold drink (Hamdard's flagship brand is Rooh Afza). It is an all-seasons drink rather than a summer drink. Rooh Afza alone generates about 33 per cent of Hamdard's revenues in the Indian market. It is a choice for millions of Pakistanis at 'Iftar' time (breaking of the day-long fast during the month of Ramadan) and it is exported to 33 countries of the world.Rooh Afza reigns supreme in Pakistan during Ramzan Zee TV News website, Published 12 October 2007, Retrieved 23 July 2020
Abdul Majeed, CEO of 'Hamdard India' reportedly said about Rooh Afza, "When I started working and looked at Rooh Afza, I would come up with suggestions on what we could add to make it better. For six months, I went on harping about all these changes. My grandfather then called me and explained that a lot of time had been invested in the product and after many years, it had now stabilized. We now had a product that best suited peoples' needs...if it is working, why do you need to fix it?"
The following medicines are available through 30 Hamdard clinics across Pakistan:
* Safi
* Carmina
* Miswak Toothpaste
* Isapghol Khas
* Sualin
* Naunehal Herbal Grip Water
Research and development
Hamdard Laboratories central structure is based in Karachi, consisting of fully automated pharmaceutical manufacturing and research units, manufacturing a wide spectrum of herbal products. Recently, a new industrial complex has been set up about 40 km from Karachi.
Apart from Karachi, manufacturing units operate in other Pakistani cities. In Lahore a factory produces syrups and medicines.
A factory at Peshawar makes syrups, extractive distillates, semi-solid and solid preparations.