Indian cultural exports – yoga, Ayurveda, turmeric, cotton – are global bestsellers. But profits, trademarks and brand recognition? These are largely in foreign hands. Financial analyst Hardik Oshoshi says it’s time to face an unpleasant truth: India has created heredity, but others have the business.
In the widely discussed LinkedIn post, Oshoshi pointed to the global repackaging of Indian traditions – Iga retires in Bali, turmeric latets in Los Angeles, Ayurvedic skin care from brands without Indian roots. Behind the trend lies a deeper question: India’s failure to protect, the brand and the profits of what it created.
“We didn’t borrow these from somewhere else,” he wrote. “They are born here, in our homes, our rituals, our country … but somewhere on the road, we forgot to protect them.”
Oshoshi attributes this gap to two factors: cultural unwillingness to commercialize tradition and systemic lag in building global intellectual property infrastructure. While India remained the founder, other countries stepped as operators – patent use of turmeric, trademark yoga franchise and branding of wellness on Indian knowledge.
The post highlights structural weaknesses. Indian Patent Law (Part 3P) excludes traditional knowledge of protection. Oral transmission and lack of documentation have made Indian systems easy for foreign patents – a problem seen in the infamous US patent for curative use of turmeric, later recalled after India provided evidence of prior use.
India has since built the traditional Digital Library (TKDL) and institutions such as the Ayush Ministry, but Oshoshi claims to remain deeper problems. “We are left behind the raw materials. They lead to global margins.”
It shapes it as more than economic loss: “It is an identity, value and respect.” His last question: “What is the next thing we will lose while the world is investing?”
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