Biju Dharmapalan, Kapil K Tripathi
As citizens of a great nation, we should feel proud that ours is the only country in the world where scientific temper is inscribed in the constitution. Even after 75 glorious years of Independence, have we achieved what is written in our constitution.? Even today, science remains elusive to many members of our society. Science and scientists are seen as someone sitting in a silver tower. The scientific community sits aloof from society. Developing scientific literacy is essential to achieve scientific temper in our society. Everyone should think and act scientifically. Even in today’s digital world, our community is instilled with superstitions. Many people believe crossing cats, particularly black cats, is inauspicious; similarly, howling by dogs will bring a bad omen. If someone sees a pair of mynah birds together on their way to anyplace, then it’s said to bring good luck.There are reports of human sacrifices by the near ones in the name of superstitions. Many people believe that if one receives blood from a different community, it will spoil their blood. A few years ago, school children objected to taking food cooked by a widow. Very recently,black magic was performed by a few miscreants in a Government school, and students objected to attending classes fearing backlashes. India being a country of diverse culture, every region has developed their superstitions.
During covid-19 pandemic lockdown, misinformation and superstitions were propagated through social media.This has badly affected our efforts to eradicate the deadly virus. In the era where our scientific community is trying to establish space colonies soon, such a superstitious mindset will affect the country’s development.
Very few can understand the concept that humans are one among thousands of other species harbouring this biosphere in our society. We can easily find this true if we visit the Jarawa tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, meant to conserve one tribe of Homo sapiens. The lifestyle and mannerisms of a Jarawa tribe will remind us that we share many similarities with other members of the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, we lost many such unique qualities due to our so-called civilized lifestyle.
Even though we are among varied species on this planet, we often feel superior to other animals. But in reality, we seem to be inferior in intelligence and can be easily be cheated. What else can be deduced from the fact when we kill our siblings listening to others in the name of superstition or get cheated by mongers who sell products that claim to bring prosperity. We seem to lose rational thinking, which can be developed only if we have a solid scientific bend of mind.
Despite the prevalence of non-scientific superstitions in our society, Indian society traditionally had a strong bend of mind to scientific facts from ancient times onwards. Our classical ayurvedic texts provide more information than western or modern science could deliver. It explains how people can avoid a diseased state through a healthy lifestyle. Our architectural skills and astronomical strengths are also evident in our ancient texts and monuments.
There is a clear demarcation between people having scientific literacy and people who don’t have it in our society. If the country has to become a developed nation, we need to bridge this gap. The root cause of all societal evils is the lack of people who can think scientifically. Only when our scientific community takes the initiative and interacts with the community can something be done to overcome this.
Sensing the importance of developing scientific bend of mind in its citizens, the Government of India, is organising a week-long programme “Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate” means science & technology is revered all over,from 22-28th February. The programme’s highlight is the amalgamation of 18 ministries of the government of India in organising a single event with a single objective. To build a strong India, every government department should act in unison; an integrated approach in S&T is needed for building a sustainable future.In addition to displaying India’s scientific heritage and technological prowess,Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate is also an effort towards finding innovative solutions in fields like defence, space, health, agriculture, astronomy and many others.This is part of government of India’s year-long programme Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav to pay homage and showcase India’s achievements in 75 years of Independence. Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate will be celebrated at seventy-five different locations in India, contributing impetus in communicating science in regional languages. Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate will display our scientific legacy and technology prowess that have helped find solutions to problems in defence, space, health, agriculture, astronomy, and others. This event is jointly organised by various ministries of government like Ministries of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ayush, Health & Family Welfare , Communi-cations, Electronics & Information Technology, Defence & Space, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Jal Shakti, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Science & Technology under the leadership of the office of the Principal Scientific Officer to the Government of India and the Ministry of Culture. Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India, coordinates this mega science event. The celebrations are based on thematic areas like the Annals of History of Science, Milestones in Indian Modern S&T, Science, Technology and Innovation for Self Reliance/Atmanirbar Bharat, Science literature festival, Looking Ahead-S&T Roadmap for Next 25 Years . The programme’s themes are selected in such a manner that the youth and public understand the scientific strength of our country.
Many times we often forget the history of scientific discoveries. Great scientific discoveries made by our scientists are made in fewer infrastructure facilities, usually from scratch. Whether it’s the discovery made by Sir C V Raman or success in our space research, every successful event in our history speaks of the pain these people had undertaken and the success of teamwork and collaboration. Understanding the travails undertaken by our great scientists will surely inspire our present generation to take on challenging tasks in research.
As part of this science week, a mega expo and book fair is proposed to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,New Delhi.Under Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate , national competitions are to be organised in association with My Gov for essay writing, slogan writing, poetry writing, poster and short-film in addition to an online science and technology quiz.
Participation of the public in these events will bring them closer to science. When covid-19 devasted humanity, everyone looked at science with prayerful hands for solutions. Everyday, science received a prominent space on the front page of newspapers. Science became a hot topic for channel discussions. The positive side of covid-19 pandemic was the public acceptance of science. We need to build such a positive approach to all problems that surround our surroundings. In health care, food and agriculture, weather forecasting, abetting pollution, infrastructure building, communication systems, providing potable water or any other issues that affect our society, we need to develop a culture that looks at the scientific community for solutions. Society should respect and revere science and the scientific community, and this would be possible only through constant interactions between the scientific community with the public. If this happens, it will indeed create a new stronger India that can address the challenges humanity may encounter in the near future , especially in sharing the resources essential for maintaining healthy life on this planet.
(The authors are a science writer and columnist and working as Scientist F at Vigyan Prasar, Govt.of India, New Delhi.)
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