Abdul Hamid Mir
Born on 7th of November 1888 in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the icon of Science in India, Prof. Chandrashekhar Venkatta Raman was a genius who proved his point by making undivided India to shine in the pre-independence era. This was an era when the local talent remained recessive and eclipsed under the shadows of British Imperialism. On February 28, 1928 he discovered Raman Effect – a scattering phenomenon by doing experiments on scattering of light (which provided further proof of quantum nature of light). National Science Day is being observed throughout India on 28th February every year to commemorate this great achievement. Prof. C.V. Raman was awarded 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of Raman effect.
Raman effect has much applicability in Molecular structural determination in Chemistry and materials analysis. Raman Spectroscopy has emerged as one of the tools in the hands of the present day chemists in order to study the behaviour of molecules/compounds. Dr Raman also served as Director, Indian Institute Science Bangalore from 1934 to 1948. He died at the age of 82 on November 21, 1970 leaving behind a good deal of work done in the field of Science and Technology. We are observing 88th anniversary of the discovery of Raman Effect on 28th Feb. 2015. CV Raman was first Indian and first Asian and first non-white to get a Nobel Prize in any field of Science.
The veteran scientist was conferred 1954 Bharat Ratna by the Govt. of India. Besides he was conferred many honorary doctorates and medals by various universities of the world. Recently a University was established in 2006 in his honour: Dr CV Raman University Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. Dr Raman, by his dedication and hardwork, has made significant contribution to the development of Science in India . In order to commemorate the birth centenary of Raman, Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) in 1989 instituted C.V. Raman Birth Centenary Award ; that is being awarded to eminent scientists of the country during inaugural function of Indian Science Congress every year.
Statistics shows that the number of students opting for Science as a career subject is decreasing at an alarming rate. The scenario our state, especially valley, where to the students & parents, Science means studying Medicine (MBBS) after plus two! Unfortunately, students after passing 12th in science stream spoil on average, irrespective of their real aim, 2 to 3 years in preparing for CET and finally the leftover CET dropouts often in bulk, either change their subjects to an easy to-do-course or else unwillingly continue with science at college level sans enthusiasm. Teachers should emphasize on the inculcation of scientific attitude among students at an early age. They should not consider their profession merely a burden / duty to fulfill. Rather they should develop enthusiasm among blooming buds to pursue science and apply it in their day to day life. The best possible way to pay a tribute to the great Scientist and to celebrate National Science Day would be to take some initiatives at grassroots level in order to motivate the learners towards the field of Science and Technology (S&T).
Traditional pedagogy, which is usually being employed to teach Science at school level, must be replaced by new and innovative techniques/methods like Demonstration Method, Discussion Method, and Projects etc. The curricula should be revised and made more child centric in order to cultivate a scientific temperament among students. Govt. of India has already declared the current decade (2010-2020) as the ‘decade of innovations’ thus we should try to realise it practically also. A conducive atmosphere should be created in the educational institutions for development of an inquisitive mindset among budding learners. Project work should be included in the academics for building a healthy atmosphere in the educational institutions. Practical work should be maximized by reducing theoretical work.
We should have a sound educational scenario at the grassroots level for imparting quality education. Although there is no dearth of manpower but what we lack is the non-availability of innovative teachers at primary and secondary level. Incase roots are embedded deep; it will have a positive impact on fruits. Similarly we should address the loopholes in higher education too. Textbooks serve only as a guide for pursuing science and it is not necessary to reverberate the same phrases in the classrooms rather discussions should be encouraged so that we can enjoy the fruits of science and technology in near future.. We should realize the fact that we are next to none and that we too can produce more and more Nobel Laureates.
We possess good quality human resource but the need of the hour is to set it in the right direction and exploit it for the productive/positive Social Output .The wisdom of best minds can be pooled to get best out of S&T. We must find means by which we can achieve accelarated economic development by a sustained/balanced use of available human and material resources in which the role of technology is indispensable.
The domain of Science & Technology should be extended and named as Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), because innovation is inseparable from S&T. Because we have a number of challenges to take care of ; Global Warming ,Vanishing of Non-Renewable Energy Resources, Diminishing of water resources and Food Security being at the top. In the current scenario the hot areas of research include Nanotechnology, Space technology, Stem cell research, Nuclear energy, Superconductivity, Green Chemistry, Gene therapy and Information Technology. We must explore the ways to exploit these areas and drive our best out of it. Once we are able to nurture a good talent and produce quality human resource, the physical amenities like roads, bridges and luxurious things will automatically emerge. Let us pledge to popularize Science Education right from the elementary level and try to inspire the youth at large with the innovations of great scientists like Sir C.V. Raman as he is a great source of inspiration for us. It was an outcome of this inspiration that another sibling from his dynasty S. Chandrashakher (who is the nephew of C.V. Raman) also had the privilege to share Nobel Prize in Physics for the year 1983.
(The author is Lecturer Chemistry, Govt. HSS Kunzer. Tangmarg-Kashmir.)
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