Dr John Martin HONIGBURGER the first homeopath in India(1795-1869)  

Dr. John Martin Honigburger, the pioneer of Homeopathy in India was a Romanian by birth. He was born at Krostadt, a town in Transylvania in Rumania around 1795. About his nationality he writes in his book, Thirty five years spent in Asia "travelling from my native country (Transylvania) by way of Levant, Egypt, Arabia and Persia, to India, residing in several years in the Punjab and returning by Afghanistan......"

After passing his M.D. with distinction, he became a successful practitioner. He left his native town in 1815 for Constantinople. Later in 1817 he visited Jerusalem and as a physician to the Governor of Toccata he travelled with him to Asia Minor. Dr. Honigburger arrived at Lahore in 1829-30 and his first patient at Lahore was the adopted son of General Allard. His fame spread only when he treated and cured some soldiers who had been bitten by a mad jackal. Some of them had died of the disease while some were already showing symptoms of the disease. By this cure, he came to be known as a great physician and was later invited to treat the favourite horse of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, who had bad ulcers in his leg. The Maharaja had come to have great confidence in him and made him accept the management of a gunpowder manufactory and also a gun stock establishment.

Being homesick, Honigburger went back in 1834. It is known that he was very close to the French Officers and like them took interest in history and archaeology. While on his way back to Europe in 1833, he made extensive excavations at Hadda (near Jalalabad) and Kabul bringing an impressive collection of coins and artefacts back to Vienna, Paris and London.

Next year he went to Paris and met Dr. Hahnemann and his wife. Later on the advice of Dr. Hahnemann, he bought a large quantity of homoeopathic medicine from Hahnemann's Pharmacist, Lehmann of Kothen. This meeting with Hahnemann grew in Honigburger the first sparks of curiosity about Homeopathy.

         In the year 1836, he happened to go to Vienna and caught an infection of cholera, which was raging there. He saved himself by taking Ipecac every half an hour. He was impressed greatly by the results of homoeopathic medicine both in himself and others.

         He decided to start his practice at Constantinople. He treated cases of Plague with Ignatia. He was led to use it because he saw Armenians there wearing a string tied to a bean of Ignatia and it seemed to give them protection where so many people were dying every day.

         He also treated a case of haemorrhage with Aranea diadema, which brought him both name and fame. He had a very lucrative practice.

        In his book he mentions that, "From time to time I had occasion to relate many of the cures affected by the new method of Homeopathy by aid of which I had cured myself in Vienna of the cholera, and lately in Hindustan of the Plague."

On learning that Maharaja Ranjit Singh wanted him back, he reached Lahore in 1839 in the company of General Venture after an adventurous journey.

         The first experiment of an Indian with Homeopathy was when Dr. Honigburger treated Maharaja Ranjit Singh of his vocal cord paralysis. He wrote a book about his experiences, titled, Thirty-five Years in the East first published in 1852 from London. In this book he mentions about his historical cure, "Arriving at Lahore I found my former patron, the Maharaja Ranjit Singh, seated on a chair with swollen feet, and making himself understood by gestures and sing with his hands, his organ of speech being paralysed to such a degree that he was not able to utter a single articulate sound...". Dr. Honigburger gave him some doses of Dulcamara, prepared by him before the court which cured the Maharaja. He describes in detail about the preparation of Dulcamara potencies from the Mother Tincture in front of the Court Physicians in subsequent paras in his book.

"During the preparation of the medicine, some persons who were standing by could not forbear smiling, and the Faquir himself was of the opinion that such a minute dose could not be hurtful, should it even be supposed to be poison. But what was the result? On the first day, there was no visible alteration in the health of the Maharaja, on the second day he felt somewhat better, and on the third day, he was in such a merry humour that at five 'o'clock in the afternoon, he ordered the minister Dhyan Singh, to put a pair of gold bracelets on my arms, valued at five hundred rupees, in his own presence and in that of the durbar."

         After the death of the Maharaja his position and influence waned till Sardar Jawahar Singh came to power, and restored him to his former position as Court Physician and Director of the gunpowder mill. In his book, he says of being present when the Maharaja gave up his temporal life. In 1849, the Punjab was annexed by Sir Henry Lawrence. With the abolition of the Sikh Darbar he had to relinquish his post. He was granted a pension.

As a tribute to his services to the Maharaja a sketch of Dr. Martin Honigburger is exhibited at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum at Amritsar, Punjab. The following note is written under such an exhibit.

Honigburger was born at Kronstadt(Transylvania), Hungary around the year 1795. He travelled widely before coming to Punjab in 1829. Introduced to Maharaja Ranjit Singh by General Allard. He was appointed as Physician at his court and given the charge of gun powder and ammunition factory besides providing the Maharaja with one of the strongest potions ever made in the world.

Honigburger was very close to the French Officers and like them took interest in history and archaeology. While on his way backnto Europe in 1833, he made extensive excavations at Hadda (near Jalalabad) and Kabul bringing an impressive collection of coins and artefacts back to Vienna, Paris and London. He returned to Lahore in 1838 and attended to Prince Nau singh after his fatal accident on 5^th March 1840. he was an eyewitness to the murder of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1843. According to Grey, he returned to Hungary with his daughters he had from his Kashmiri wife. He died there in 1865. 

But it is disappointing that nowhere is the name of Homeopathy or his miraculous cure by Dulcamara is mentioned. Later he returned to his country where he died in 1865.

 He was the first man to introduce the name of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann and his healing art to India.