In the Name of Science!

Our apathy towards the science in our ancient scriptures has been rooted in the Macaulay’s education model which alienated us from our traditional knowledge system and still continues to be the foundation of our education post-independence. The legitimacy to the epoch of science in the Indian context has seen more resistance from within than from outside. It is important to research our scientific heritage and sensitize our future generations about the age of positive science in India, bringing forth their perspective of objectivity, experiments, observations and logical analysis.

Late President APJ Abdul Kalam said ‘Science is a beautiful gift to humanity’. Penning down curiosities substantiated with facts, figures and validations can sum up as an introduction to science. Celebrating the spirit of science recently, the 105th Indian Science Congress convention was held in Imphal, Manipur. The theme was centred around affordable sustainable innovation. This year, Science Congress focussed on bridging the gap through Innovations, Science and Technology fostering inclusive societal development. The present political leadership of the country has focussed on harnessing the fruits of research for the development of the country.

A few months ago, a 'March for Science’ protest was held in cities across India where a section of scientists and researchers demanded to allocate at least 3% of GDP to scientific and technological research. The protest in the name of Science -'March for Science- was held on 9 August 2017 to project that the present political dispensation is propagating unscientific, obscurantist ideas and religious intolerance. Many amongst us restrict our heritage to the conservative medieval practices.

There can be no doubt that research is largely conditional to financial grant, especially in the field of Science and Technology. The Central Plan Outlay of the Government by sectors shows that since 2014, the budget for Research and Development has been on an increase. Department of Science and Technology (DST) which is a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting science and technology activities in the country saw an increase of nearly 14 % in the last two years financial budget allocation. Since 2013-14, there has been an increase of 61% in the budget allocation for DST.

The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) is the government linkage for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the premier research organisation for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. DARE had a budget allocation of Rs5700 crores in the year 2013-2014 which has been increased to Rs7800 crores in this financial year whereas the budget of Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) under Ministry of Science and Technology increased from Rs3571 crore in 2013-2014 to Rs4795 crore in 2018-2019. Department of Biotechnology saw an increase of more than 60% in budget allocation since 2013-14. Start-ups and business incubation centres are a boost to the interface between industry and research. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) alone would support 3000 additional start-ups next year.

It is interesting to note that while the March for Science event across the globe was held on April 22, 2017, there was not a whimper about it on the Indian soil. The cause to hold the event internationally was a reaction to the views of US government’s stand on climate change and science. The marchers claimed that the movement was mainly to strengthen the role of science in policymaking, improve science outreach and communication, advance science education and scientific literacy and foster a diverse and inclusive diverse community. Their motto to champion science for the common good would have surely garnered support. However, the late response from the supporters of the cause in India (event held on 9 August 2017) casts aspersions on the march!

Though desired, never in the last seventy years of budgetary allocation, scientific research has been earmarked 3% of the GDP. India’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) has more than tripled between 2005 to 2015. However, the driving force of GERD has been mainly the government where the major share of nearly 45% is incurred by the central government, 8% by the states, nearly 4% by the educational institutes and 5.5% by the public sector. Private players, industrial collaborations and philanthropic initiatives investing and driving research can give thrust to more funds towards research.

While no one can undermine the significance of research in pure sciences and quest for new discoveries, in a developing nation like India, national priorities focus the funds on developing technology which can boost employment opportunities and minimise imports especially in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and manufacturing. UNESCO Science Report Towards 2030 published in 2015 says that the present government elected in 2014 has made a shift from an economic model based on service sector towards an economic model based on export-oriented manufacturing to foster job creation. It states that India is becoming a hub for frugal innovation (the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production), to manufacture affordable products to cater the domestic market such as in low-cost medical devices. At times, public policies towards scientific research are drafted keeping economy, employability and other national objectives in mind. ISRO's PSLV launch of Cartosat-2 Series Satellite along with 103 co-passenger satellites, successful launch of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), establishing India’s first lithium ion battery fabrication facility based on indigenous novel materials, installing ‘Drishti’ a visibility measuring system which provides information to pilots on visibility for soft landing and take-off operations at various airports, developing and now cultivating an improved bacterial blight resistant Samba Mahsuri rice variety in 90,000 hectares in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, installing The Ksheer Scanner, a new technological invention to detect the level of milk adulteration and adulterants in 45 seconds at the cost of 10 paisa in many states are some of the significant developments. The government initiative of laying the foundation of International Solar Alliance (ISA) in India, the first international and intergovernmental organisation (with more than 100 countries as prospective members, 60 countries have already signed the treaty and 30 have ratified it). With UN as a strategic partner, the government is contributing Rs 175 crore towards the corpus fund and meeting the expenditure for initial five years with the aim to meet the demands of clean and affordable energy in the future. Prime Minister’s vision to initiate collective research and development of alternative energy will be an asset for the nation in future irrespective of the subsequent political dispensation.

The protest in the name of Science was also held to project that the present political dispensation is propagating unscientific, obscurantist ideas and religious intolerance. Many amongst us restrict our heritage to the conservative medieval practices. Many renowned scientists including Nobel laureate Albert Einstein have acknowledged the ancient Indian studies and contributions of scientists like Aryabhatta, Brahmgupta, Bhaskaracharya, Kanad, Varahamihira, Nagarjuna, Susruta, Charak, Patanjali. A large repertoire of ancient Indian text which could substantiate the research and knowledge of ancient India in Science, Mathematics, Medical Science, Ayurveda, Yoga, Astronomy and Astrology was lost during the attacks of foreign invaders.

Our apathy towards the science in our ancient scriptures has been rooted in the Macaulay’s education model which alienated us from our traditional knowledge system and still continues to be the foundation of our education post-independence. For example, not many amongst us are aware that the oldest geometry textbooks in existence have an Indian origin. The construction geometry used by Vedic priests in making fire altars has been a collection of Sanskrit texts in ‘Sulbasutra’ whose origin is assumed before 1000 B.C. U.S mathematician A. Seidenberg has stated in his research that the birth of geometry and mathematics had a ritual origin where a circular altar was a representation of earth and a square altar represented heaven. The ritual was converting the circle into a square of identical area. Many astronomical observations which have been documented in Vedic texts have not been taken seriously due to the religious symbolism prefixed with them. Pythagoras Theorem is traceable to the religious text of ‘Taittiriya Samhita’. In 1822, British astronomer John Playfair wrote in his publication in Transactions of Royal Society of Edinburgh ‘Remarks on the Astronomy of the Brahmins’ that it was curious to find the theorem of Pythagoras in India, where, for aught we know, it may have been discovered. Pingala, an ancient Indian music theorist who authored the famous ‘Chandahsutra’, a Sanskrit treatise on prosody is attributed to initiate the first concept of the binary number system. Pingala had classified Vedic meters by binary system. His work also contained the basic idea of Fibonacci number. There are innumerable examples which authenticate that our cultural heritage had a pure scientific temper.

Surely, we can’t live the present in our past glory, but one needn’t be oblivious of one’s heritage. It is time we not only draw inspiration from our texts but acknowledge and explore the vast treasures of scientific wisdom from them. The majority of the names associated with the Science March which alleged that ideas supported by scientific evidence are being brushed aside by the present government belong to the permanent anti-government brigade post-2014. These pseudo-science crusaders themselves have been voracious against organising and promoting science in the past. In 2012, India participated in the Asian Science Camp organised in Israel for the talented youth. This was a platform which exposed the young from Asia, Australia and Pacific to renowned scholars with ideas on innovation and start-ups. Indian participation in this camp was opposed by the same brigade, at that time under the banner of The Indian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel because the funding agency for the camp was Government of Israel and Hebrew University. Their selective criticism is devoid of rationale and logic. They pretend to support policies based on evidence-based science but fret when promotion of Sanskrit as proposed. European countries are competing with each other in offering Sanskrit language courses. In Germany alone, fourteen universities are giving Sanskrit language courses and are still not able to meet the demand. Recently, researchers at the Basque Centre for Cognition, Brain and Language in Spain have reported the fascinating impact of chanting Sanskrit mantras on the human brain. The pseudo-science crusaders are the propagators of the Aryan invasion theory which lacks in scientific and archaeological evidence but mock the existence of Sarasvati river as ‘mythical’ which has been traced by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) using remote sensing.

The legitimacy to the epoch of science in the Indian context has seen more resistance from within than from outside. It is important to research our scientific heritage and sensitize our future generations about the age of positive science in India, bringing forth their perspective of objectivity, experiments, observations and logical analysis.