One way to gauge how evolved a society is, is to check how it treats science and scientists. On that cue, India seems to be on a downward spiral. Therefore, filmmaker Shyam Benegal’s observation that we need a dedicated television channel to promote the scientific temper should be welcomed. In India today, attempts to pass off bogus and baseless ideas as science have gained unprecedented momentum, and even enjoy official backing. The controversies that erupted around the Indian Science Congress suggest that the country lacks a forum to promote modern ideas. The witch-hunt unleashed by rightwing forces against rationalist writers, and the way seemingly modern middle-class citizens are drawn to godmen and pseudoscience, show that the country needs many avenues to promote rational thinking. A TV channel can only be a beginning.

The fast-disappearing breed of statesmen such as like Jawaharlal Nehru who prioritised reason over religion, and modernity over tradition, is also a reason for the erosion of whatever scientific temper prevailed. A new middle class, which places technology above science, has aggravated the crisis. Emerging India cannot become a Bangladesh, where atheists and rationalists are hunted by lynch-mobs. Will the NDA government, which is seen to be supportive of ultra rightwing, anti-modern outfits, be show the inclination to start and support a dedicated channel? Can National Science Day — February 28, marking the discovery of the ‘Raman effect’ by CV Raman — transcend ritualism and promote a mindset where reason and science prevail?

Jinoy Jose P Senior Assistant Editor

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