Rooh Afza came into the limelight after its parent company Hamdard Laboratories India filed a lawsuit against sweet beverage concentrate Sharbat Dil Afza over alleged trademark infringement
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the Delhi High Court order that restrained the manufacture and sale of Sharbat Dil Afza in Delhi. While Sharbat Dil Afza is not popular, Rooh Afza’s roots go down to the pre-independence era
Rooh Afza was formulated in 1907 by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed. As per reports, Majeed who was already creating multiple home-made remedies wanted to develop a herbal mix that would keep people cool during the summers of Delhi
Majeed selected some herbs and mixed them with a combination of syrups created using traditional Unani medicine. His aim was to help people deal with heat waves and prevent dehydration. Thus, he named it Rooh Afza, which means soul refresher
In 1910, an artist named Mirza Noor Ahmad reportedly designed the labels of Roof Afza in multiple colours. Meanwhile, Majeed kept experimenting with the flavours and concoction of Rooh Afza until he arrived at the final product which was the red-coloured, semi-liquid sweet syrup
Years after Majeed's death, his wife Rabea Begum established a charitable trust. Following the India-Pakistan partition, her elder son Hakim Abdul Hameed stayed back in India while her younger son Hakim Mohammad Said migrated to Pakistan and started a separate Hamdard Company from two rooms in Karachi. He also opened a branch in East Pakistan, the region which later formed into the separate country of Bangladesh
Rooh Afza is currently manufactured in three nations - Hamdard Laboratories India, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan and Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh. Sadia Rashid is the chairperson of Hamdard Pakistan. As per reports, she was born in Sitaram Bazar, Old Delhi, India
Hakeem Abdul Hameed and his friends founded the Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi. In 2019, it was awarded Institute of Eminence status by the Union government. It is known for its medical school Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (HIMSR), which is one the top-ranking medical colleges in the country
Rooh Afza remains one of the most popular drinks in the country, especially during summer and the holy month of Ramadan. In 2019, Rooh Afza, whose sales peak during the summer season, reportedly faced an internal conflict in the group due to which its supply was briefly disrupted. Though, it was soon back on the shelves