Book Review by Prof. Dr. Maryam Riaz Tarar
(Professor of Pathology,
Shalamar Hospital, Lahore)

With a confession, I start to write a book review – I know I should not be writing one for a book authored by someone I love, hate or know well1 as I have known the author of this book for more than a decade and that certainly falls in the category of knowing someone well. However, I hope my opinion would not be biased and hopefully would be of some help to the would-be readers.

“Quantum Mechanics of Homeopathy – Homeopathic Medicine, a depiction of Quantum Pharmacology” is a long and difficult title to grasp. It may turn off a mind not too keen to explore what’s inside the book. If it was lying on a shelf in a bookstore, it could be ignored because of this fact alone. But, there are three reasons why I would be encouraged to hold it in my hand and go through it. Firstly, the title page is in my favorite color combination of red, grey, black and white and secondly it has illustrations on the cover page that I am familiar with, having had training in the field of Microbiology, Virology and Molecular Biology. The third reason is that for many years I have had an affinity for the field of Homeopathy as an alternative medicine for myself as a patient, who had medical issues for which the allopathic formulations didn’t help.  And while the book was sitting on my office table, two of my colleagues, who are both allopathic doctors with research backgrounds like myself, asked me the same question with slightly different wording “What does the title mean?” So, I turned to look at the back of the book for some answers before I start reading it with serious intention of learning something fresh about a specialty which has endured unfair share of criticism and even mockery from my own breed of allopaths.

From the description provided by the author, it seems that the motive is to provide scientific explanations for the objections raised by scientists and allopaths on one hand and introduce a new concept of homeopathic diagnosis and prescription writing, which the author refers to as science-based homeopathy, keeping in view the modern discoveries in the fields of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The opening sentence will certainly bring a smile on one’s face. It is rather unusual to start a book with a sentence that refers to “Quackery” – but I must admit I like the start. The author explains well what “Quantum” means for the reader and hence also addresses the question posed by my colleagues, as mentioned above.

So, before I take a deeper look at the book, I want to say that it is an immense pleasure for me to hold this book in my hand considering I have seen Dr. Bashir Malik for more than 3 years in the same posture in his clinic office with his laptop surrounded by large pile of papers, books and an assistant who was always typing on the computer.  It must have been a Herculean task!

Homeopathy is not a forgotten science, it seems, considering there is always something going on in this domain. As I prepare to write my thoughts, I tumble across a news item that a movie called “Just One Drop” will be screened in England on 7-10 April 2017 and in India on 9th April 2017. People wish to know about this more and so do I.

Dr. Malik starts with the same concept that has bothered the minds of physicians and scientists alike – how the increasing dilution of a remedy or medicine will have an effect at a dilution of say 1030 or 1060 and thus brings into play the famous “Avogadro’s hypothesis” 2. He begins on a journey of exploration and explanation and introduces the reader to the world of Homeopathy by providing some answers to repetitively asked questions and objections. He has carefully selected patient histories for high lighting certain features of the cases, giving details of tests carried out, followed by discussion and shedding light on mechanism of action of his selection of homeopathic formulations.  He has combined current scientific information and understanding and applied to his cured cases to make certain points. The cases become more real when personal feelings of patients or their caretakers are shared with the reader with due empathy and respect. The book will certainly be an enjoyable read for a mind tuned to understand the homeopathic mechanism at work in-vivo, in a real patient.

Homeopathy is practiced in 40 countries of Europe3, in India there are more than 200,000 homeopathic practitioners and in Pakistan alone, there are more than 165 colleges of Homeopathy all over the country4. Considering the extent to which the homeopathic formulations are being used globally (10% of people in UK5 and six million in USA6) the author has taken the opportunity to contribute further to this growing field, in a befitting manner.  The book will be a joy to read for all those interested to learn more.

  1. writing-world.com/freelance/asenjo.html
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro{Avogadro’s law states that, “equal volumes of all gases, at the same temperature and pressure, have the same number of molecules”. For a given mass of an ideal gas, the volume and amount (moles) of the gas are directly proportional if the temperature and pressure are constant}
  3. Legal status of traditional medicine and complementary / alternative medicine: A worldwide review WHO, 2001.
  4. hri-research.org Homeopathy use around the world (accessed in April 2017)
  5. House of Commons Science & Technology Committee hearing of evidence in preparation of Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy Report; London The Stationary Office Limited 2010.
  6. Black L I. Use of complementary health approaches among children aged 4-17 in USA: National health interview survey 2007-20012. National Health Statistics Report 78; Feb 10, 2015.

Dr. Maryam Riaz Tarar
Pathologist | Ph.D. (London), FRC (Path) Virology Associate Professor of Pathology
Lahore, Pakistan