The ‘Indian women, transgender and non-binary persons in science 2021-22’ calendar by The Life of Science (TLoS) launched on February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science asks, “Are things any better for women in science?”

In the fourth edition of its labhopping calendar, TLoS stated that the answer becomes ambiguous when a person considers who and what is included in terms like ‘women’ and ‘science’ respectively. Accordingly, this year’s creators decided to pay homage to all women, transgender and non-binary persons, who contributed to science in India.

“These critical, yet hopeful, voices are showing us the way to an inclusive science community… People from the margins still face disproportionate obstacles to their entry and progress in science. The good news is that we are more aware of these obstacles than ever before,” said the introduction of the calendar addressed to “supporters.”

TLoS has been producing calendars honouring women in science since 2018, following a photo exhibition on the same date. However, the group decided to break away from focusing on “individual-driven celebration” to be more inclusive in its latest edition.

As such the 2021-22 calendar from February 2021 to February 2022 identifies three to four individuals who have made their mark in the male-dominated field of science. While hard-copies of this calendar are sold out, TLoS still offers the soft-copy version that can be converted to postcard/flashcards after the month has passed.

A non-printable version of this product can be viewed here:

About the people listed in the calendar:

Asking the big questions

Curiosity is the origin of all scientific enquiry. As such, it makes sense that the calendar starts of with these critical thinkers, leading their groups further in their respective fields.

1. A Mani (Mathematician)
   In her personal essay, Mani says she is a leading researcher in rough sets, a senior elected member of the International Rough Set Society, and among the few lesbian trans women in academia (pronouns are she/hers/her).
2. Radhika Nair (Cancer biologist)
   Radhika is a cancer biologist, studying why cancer cells ‘move’ or metastasise. Having married during her PhD days, she represents women who fight prevalent bias against women (still considered primary caregivers) who take a break for marriage.
3. Srubabati Goswami (Phenomenologist)
   Working at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, Srubabati is both an internationally renowned scientist fellow of two elite Indian science academies and modern Indian mother. The trailblazer simultaneously pushes hard against boundaries that limit our understanding of the universe and fights off the regressive notions.
4. Sudipta Sengupta (Geologist)
   A structural geologist and mountaineer, Sudipta is the first female geologist from India to work in Antarctica. On top of being the only woman to be awarded a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Earth Sciences, she is also the protagonist in a children’s storybook The Rock Reader.

Questioning and Experimenting

1. Nidhi Singh (Climatologist)
   Nidhi is a research scholar at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. She is trying to establish the relationship between the trends of the changing climate and diseases.
2. Praachi Tiwari (Neuroscientist)
   Praachi is a PhD student at TIFR Mumbai trying to understand the mechanisms that regulate susceptibility to anxiety and depression. She also studies the regulation of hallucinations by serotonin receptors.
3. Rubina Mulchandani (Epidemologist)
   She is working on her PhD in clinical research at Indian Institute of Public Health, Public Health Foundation of India, in the Delhi NCR region. During a TLoS webinar, Rubina talked about the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on her work and on gender dynamics.
4. Shalini Mahadev (Neuroscientist)
   At the Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences in the University of Hyderabad, the PhD scholar is trying to understand how rice grasshoppers communicate, and the possible neurons involved. During a conversation with sociologist Vaishali Khandekar, she talks about her experience in casteist academia.

Our technical backbone

1. Beena DB (Lab-manager-turned-faculty)
   Beena is a lab manager who was recently made a faculty member of biology at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Nowadays, she designs new lab activities based on her research protocols, teaches, mentors and guides undergraduate students’ projects and much more.
2. Bhagyashree Chalke (Electron-microscopy expert)
   Working as a scientific officer at TIFR Mumbai, Bhagyashree and her team oversee five electron microscopes – massive beasts that let you peer closely at objects measuring mere nanometers across.
3. Boby KV (Technician)
   Working at TIFR Mumbai as well, Boby is a lab technician creating and maintaining systems on which experiments run. Over the years, Boby has done everything from fabricating small electrodes to supervising the construction of facilities at her institute.

Inspiring exploration and rigour

1. Mrinal Shah (STEM educator)
   Specifically, Mrinal is a microbiologist and science educator at Seed2Sapling trained in curriculum design and pedagogies. She has been involved in various scicomm and outreach activities, including for TheLifeofScience.com.
2. Smitha Hegde (Pteridologist)
   Simply said, Smitha studies ferns at the Nitte University, Mangaluru. She is one of India’s foremost experts on ferns and runs a lab with majorly female staff. Smitha is not deterred by drop-out cases among women stating that the degree is never wasted. “One woman will affect the whole family, the whole generation,” she says.
3. Vena Kapoor (Nature educator)
   Here is an ecologist and conservation researcher whose work with the Nature Conservation Foundation is in developing a well-researched nature learning curriculum and outreach material for primary schools. She also conducts workshops, talks for adults and children to talk about insects, spiders and fascinating nature.

Keeping progress smooth

1. Anju Bhasin (Cluster Uni Founding Vice Chancellor)
   Anju is the Founding Vice Chancellor of the recently established Cluster University of Jammu. Nowadays, she is forming a new team of physicists at CERN, Geneva.
   The particle physicist has led teams of students and scientists in Jammu, fabricating designs for detectors used in large particle accelerators across the globe.
2. Ramadevi Nimmanapalli (BHU Dean)
   Originally a veterinarian and biochemist, Ramadevi is now the second of only two female Deans at Banaras Hindu University. She returned from the US after years of dedicated work in cancer research. On the new university campus in Varanasi the new animal facilities are now taking up advanced research projects under her highly trained vision.
3. Sarah Iqbal (Public engagement practioner)
   Sarah focused on advancing the Indian science community by streamlining grants towards biomedical research and public engagement initiatives, strengthening networks that are pushing the limits of homegrown labs.
4. Urmi Nanda Biswas (Psychology Department Head)
   At Baroda’s M. S. University, Professor Urmi leads the psychology department and trains students in social psychology while also participating in various international projects to understand motivations of women at work in the context of globalisation.

Breaking out of labs

1. Harini Nagendra (Author and professor)
   Harini is an ecologist at the Azim Premji University. She has authored multiple books and is best known for Cities and Canopies, co-authored with Seema Mundoli. Their research focuses on urban sustainability and forest conservation, and covers quite a range of issues, ecological and social.
2. Karishma Kaushik (Talk to a Scientist)
   Karishma is a physician-scientist studying human-relevant infection biology in her lab at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune. Having worked as an independent researcher and run an independent research lab, she says “I am happy to have survived”.
3. Shruti Muralidhar (IndSciComm)
   Neuroscientist and science communicator Shruti co-founded two really important initiatives – IndSciComm and BiasWatchIndia. During earlier articles for TLoS, Shruti makes a case for paying interns in academia and other fields as well.
4. Varuni P (Outreach associate)
   Biologist Varuni P is an outreach associate at IMSc Chennai. She has organised and co-ordinated dozens of science outreach programmes over the years including the first Women in Science calendar & travelling photo exhibition that culminated to its fourth edition.

Reporting truths

1. Priyanka Pulla (Science and health journalist)
   A frontline worker not rescognised as such, Priyanka’s reports value-add the experiences of people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. Riddhi Dastidar (Independent journalist)
   They studied molecular biology before becoming an award-winning poet, journalist and researcher. Riddhi’s work focuses on disability justice, public health, gender, rights and development, climate and culture.
3. Sandya Ramesh (Science editor)
   Sandhya is a science journalist and a science editor at The Print. She writes about science and technology, with a focus on research, lifestyle, and society in India.
4. Shubashree Desikan (Science journalist)
   Shubashree is a theoretical condensed matter physicist-turned science journalist at The Hindu in Chennai. She also translates books between Tamil and English.

Expanding horizons

1. Dhara Mehrotra (Visual artist)
   Based in Bengaluru, Dhara is a visual artist who believes that sci-art increases accessibility to create better hypotheses and understanding of scientific phenomena for different audiences.
2. Ipsa Jain (Science artist)
   Ipsa is yet another artist inspired by stories of science. In her own words, Ipsa wants to engage with science and design students on observation and documentation, which remain the essence of the scientific process. As a freelancer, she hopes to collaborate with more scientists and visualise their science.
3. Upasana Agarwal (Illustrator and artist)
   Upasana is a renowned non-binary artist, based in Kolkata. They illustrated the book ‘31 Fantastic Adventures in Science’ and a comix of the life and science of Bittu K.

Down to business

1. Aardra Chandramouli (Aeka Biochemicals)
   After a biotech and business degree, Aardra and her friend Gayatri started a sustainable-based biotech company Aeka Biochemicals. Her venture offers products and services to improve soil quality to enable Kerala’s organic farming to work on a large scale.
2. Jugnu Jain (Sapien Biosciences)
   Molecular cell biologist Jugnu opened biobank Spaien Biosciences to study a library of human tissues, freezing many diseased conditions with them to unlock biomedical research questions. Jugnu trusts the resilience of scientific experimentation.
3. Vidhya Y (Vision Empower)
   Co-Founder of Vision Empower Vidhya is a visually disabled person. Her social enterprise started at IIIT Bangalore strives to empower disabled children to pursue science and mathematics education. Vidhya said that despite pressure on disabled individuals to pursue subjects like economics, her love for mathematics triumphed. She is the first visually disabled undergraduate student to major in computer science at Christ University.

Introspecting on social realities

1. Aatika Singh (Anti-caste artist)
   Aatika’s art expresses why it is important to look at mental health through an anti-caste lens. In an article co-written by Shubhkaramdeep Singh, she says an individual’s mental health is also affected by systemic discrimination. For Dalits, therapy involves hunting for the one therapist who will understand caste-sensitive experiences.
2. Chayanika Shah (Independent researcher)
   A physicist by training Chayanika is an independent researcher and feminist scholar. While speaking to TLoS, she talked about gender and queer politics, and their intersections with physics academia here.
3. Gita Chadha (Sociologist)
   Gita Chadha is a sociologist at University of Mumbai and studies intersections between science and society. Her work shows how society and science contribute to and impact each other. She has also spoken about mental health needs to be perceived by Indian science academia.
4. Vaishali Khandekar (Sociologist)
   Studying at IIT Hyderabad, the Dalit PhD scholar studies the role of castes and masculinities in the marginal political upsurge of North India. Her research interests are caste and social stratification, urban studies, sexuality, migration, health and pedagogy.

Demanding a better future

1. Chinmayi SK (Technologist)
   Chinmayi aims to promote inclusivity as the world enters the digital era. She started the feminist Bachao Project that undertakes community-centric efforts to develop and support open-source technologies to mitigate gender-based violence and work towards equal rights for women, LGBT persons, and gender diverse persons.
2. Grace Banu (Activist)
   Grace Banu is a Dalit transgender woman and a beloved activist who speaks for transgender and caste-oppressed people’s rights. Grace is the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in Tamil Nadu. Nowadays, the technologist works towards educating transgender people to clear government examinations and keep them from experiencing the same discrimination that she suffered.
3. Prajval Shastri (Astrophysicist)
   The practising astrophysicist is also the Chair of the Indian Physics Association’s Gender in Physics Working Group. Prajval emphasises diversity and inclusion in science and has been featured in the book ‘31 Fantastic Adventures in Science’ written by Upasna.

Contributing silently

January 2022 pays homage to the omnipresent, yet invisible group of women, transgenders, non-binaries who contribute to society every day through maintenance, security, childcare, counsellors and other staff members of any institution. “Their work is crucial to the endeavour of science,” states the calendar.

Those who came before us

The calendar concludes by honouring one of India’s prominent women freedom fighter Savitribai Phule who worked tirelessly towards educating women and breaking caste and gender hierarchies. “As we reflect on how far we have come, it’s worth remembering the contributions of social reformers, feminists, educators and scientists who came before,” says TLoS.

Related:

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I am not fully ‘woke’: Madras HC judge to start psychology sessions to understand same sex relationships
Allahabad HC reinstates LGBTQIA member as Home Guard, deems cancellation order ‘vindictive’

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With the outbreak of Covid-19, one of the earliest claims for its treatment came from Baba Ramdev, a leading Baba who is also close to the ruling dispensation. He began becoming popular with his Yoga exercises and later took up the manufacture of medicines etc. including cow products. He has come to stand in the row of leading corporate houses of the country. He learned his craft of Yoga from his Guru. His colleague Acharya Balkishan is the one who is his partner in the Patanjali enterprise, which has become a leading drug manufacturer. Not much is known about the formal education of the duo.

Their launch of Coronil, as a cure for Corona, drew a lot of attention. There was the claim initially that it has got WHO approval, later the claim was diluted to say that it has been made as per WHO guidelines. A study was cited as the proof of efficacy of Coronil. The claim was made that within seven days the disease will be cured. Later the fallacy of the study which was presented as the basis of proving efficacy of Coronil was demonstrated. Interestingly two central ministers were present at the launch.

Last one year has seen so many claims coming up for treatment of the dreaded pandemic. The Ayush ministry advised the application of sesame oil/coconut oil/cow ghee on the nostrils. Some came up with the idea of steam inhalation. Malegaon blast accused, Bhopal BJP MP, Pragya Singh Thakur claimed that consumption of Cow urine is protecting her from Corona. BJP, Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister Usha Thakur claimed that performing the Fire ritual – Havan; will protect us from the disease.

Swami Chakrapani Maharaj organised a Gomutra party for popularising Cow-urine drinking and for applying cow dung on the body. Similar practice is being done by a group of Sadhus in Gujarat. The peak of this was the statement from the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand who invited people for taking bath in Mahakumbh with the plea that divine powers of the river will protect us from the calamity. The results were right there to see as a number of sadhus lost their lives right during the kumbh and later many sadhus carried the disease to their respective places.

The overarching ideology behind this of course filtered down from the Prime Minister himself, who first gave the call of banging pots and pans for five minutes at 5 PM and in April he asked for burning candles and flashing lights for 9 Minutes at 9 PM.

In a unique way, another BJP worthy, one Sankeshwar in a recent press meet stated that administration of lime juice through nostrils increases oxygen levels by 80%. This as per him was based on observation of nearly 200 friends and relatives.

The whole trend has been to make statements and adopt politics, which do not have any scientific base. What we saw all through this period were statements and actions which are based on faith or common sense. Cow which is a political symbol for the ruling dispensation has been employed extensively for treatment – use of its urine, its dung have been advised widely by the regie’s stooges. Veterinary science will tell us that Urine/dung is the waste products of the body and there is no evidence of any benefit of these to the human body.

The faith that 33 Crore Gods reside in her body is a matter of faith, which is being popularised and being forced on the policies of this ruling dispensation. The fire ritual of Yagna and ablation (Ahuti) is again being proffered out of the hat. The volunteers of the BJP’s parent organisation are doing extensive propagation of the methods of doing Havan at places.

Along with this Baba Ramdev, who is among the major Godmen of last two decades, went on to say that Allopathic system of medicine is stupid and bankrupt science. In response the Indian Medical Association lodged a protest. The Health Minister wrote to Ramdev who in turn has withdrawn his statement. This is the same Ramdev who was in ICU after his few days of fasting. This is the same Ramdev, whose partner Balkishan was recently admitted to some allopathic hospital.

The rise of such faith based irrational statements and policies during the last few decades are running parallel to the rise of sectarian politics, Hindutva. As such the religious nationalism wants to harp on the pre democratic values of caste and gender hierarchy. The major step in the dawn of democratic society was the struggle for reason to come up against the prevalent blind beliefs, blind faith. With democratisation of Western societies the faith/blind faith, such irrational, retrograde practices are seen less often there, if at all.

Here the rise of national movement, the rise of social reform among women and Dalits also saw the firming up of scientific thinking. While the freedom movement ran parallel to the introduction of rational thought in society, those believing in religious nationalism were not only opposed to social reforms, anti colonial struggle but also were against scientific thinking. They harped on faith as it gives legitimacy to inequality in society.

Our Constitution wants the state to promote scientific temper as a matter of policy. As we have seen with the rise of divisive nationalism we have seen an all-out attack on rational thinking. We saw the murders of Dr. Dabholkar, Com Pansare, M.M.Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. The tragedy of pandemic has seen the revival of blind faith as the ruling dispensation’s whole ideology is founded on faith/blind faith. This is an obstacle to efficiently dealing with the pandemic. While the likes of Ramdev are on the top of the pyramid of faith based knowledge, there are hoards of others promoting these things all around. We do need to promote scientific temper and the spectacles of banging pans or lighting lamps are not going to solve the tragic situation in which we are writhing at present.  

* Views expressed are the author’s own. Dr. Puniyani is a human rights defender and a former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay). 

Other pieces by Dr. Puniyani:

Bid Curb Inter-faith marriages: Ruse to Restrict Women’s Freedom

Charlie Hebdo Cartoons and Blasphemy Laws in Contemporary Times

Was Mughal Rule the period of India’s Slavery?

Kashi- Mathura: Will temple politics be revived?

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Religion, Marx argued was the ‘heart of a heartless world’. In times of crisis, religion binds the community together, gives hope and ultimately creates meaning for vast numbers of its followers. Meaning can only be created in social groups and therefore almost all religions in the world have rituals which prescribe some kind of group activity. As the French theorist of religion, Durkheim told us, religion is fundamentally about social solidarity created through group activity. Most religions therefore place a lot of emphasis on certain rituals which are nothing but the collective expression of the community. And yet, in a complete reversal, today we see that all religions are telling their followers to discard this fundamental pillar of ritual expression: they are suspending all ritual congregation and requesting their followers to stay at home. Between religion and coronavirus, it appears that the virus which is winning the day.

More strikingly, the appeal of the virus is much more as compared to religion. Whereas religion speaks to its respective followers, this virus is speaking to everyone: believers, non- believers, agnostics and atheists. The virus has become this great leveller, flattening centuries of religious boundaries. Through centuries, religions have created boundaries, compartmentalised people into exclusive and antagonistic belief systems. The virus, on the other hand, has in an instant laid bare the hollowness of such boundaries. It has made a higher human consciousness possible, bringing us together in order to face this unprecedented challenge. Thanks to this virus, all over the world, people are realising the need and importance of compassion and cooperation, except of course in places like India where some humans have used the virus to amplify religious and caste divisions.

So how has Islam responded to this crisis? Islam is not just a set of ideas but more fundamentally it is an orthopraxy wherein the correct ethical and liturgical practices of the faith become most important. Ethics informs behaviour and social conduct and that’s why for a believing Muslim, his interaction with fellow Muslim is as much a social act as it is religious. Muslims across the world shake hands and then hug when they meet a fellow Muslim or even others. It must have been really hard for them to forgo this cultural and religious practice since the current medical advice has been against such a form of greeting. Similarly, practicing Muslims partake of food from the same plate, believing it to be mandated by Islam. One of reasons why the virus spread within the Tablighis must also be because of their habit of eating from the same plate. It must be very distressing for these Muslims to realise that they will have to suspend this ‘Islamic’ practice for some months. Visiting the sick is considered akin to earning religious merit in Islam. Due to the social distancing norms, believing Muslims today are barred from earning any such merit. Unfortunately, there have been cases where Muslims have denied burial space to fellow Muslims who have died due to this virus. Human insecurity at times triumphs over the precepts of religion.

Another problem for Muslims has been the practice of congregational prayer. Skipping the five times daily congregational prayers easy, but to forgo Friday congregational prayers must have been a daunting challenge. After all, Friday prayers must be performed in a mosque, standing in queue shoulder to shoulder with fellow believers. Perhaps, not since the Prophet institutionalised this in 622 AD, have Friday prayers been stopped on a global scale. Ironically, the first country to ban Friday prayers in mosques was the theocracy of Iran; others hesitated but eventually decided to follow suit. This certainly has not been easy on the followers. Recently, Muslims attempted to gather at mosques on Friday in some parts of India. Thankfully, with the effort of the local administration and some community leaders, better sense prevailed and such prayers were called off. However, the Pakistani mullahs, against the advice of the government, are determined and even exhorting fellow Muslims to perform the Friday prayers in their mosques.

Problems will also arise when Ramzan starts and Muslims will have to perform their tarawih prayers which is again communal in nature. Moreover, during Ramzan, breaking of the fast is often done in a gathering of fellow believers, which again poses problems for the believer. During these trying times, it is best to remain indoors and break the fast within the safe confines of one’s homes. Muslim religious leaders have done well so far to appeal to Muslims to sacrifice congregational prayers. They should make another appeal regarding the religious conduct of Muslims during Ramzan.

It is entirely possible that the greater pilgrimage, the Hajj, will be cancelled this year. Already the Saudi government has cautioned Muslims to halt their Hajj preparations for this year. Although the Hajj is in July and chances are that the virus might subside by then, but it will be risky to allow a congregation of nearly 2 million Muslims in close proximity with each other. Muslims must know that this will not be the first time when the Hajj would be cancelled; it has happened nearly 40 times on earlier occasions due to a number of reasons, including massacres, epidemics and even robbery. In the year 865, the Abbasids launched an attack on Mount Arafat, killing numerous pilgrims and forcing the Hajj to be cancelled. Then in 930, the Bahrain based Qaranatians attacked Mecca, killed nearly 30,000 pilgrims and threw their bodies in the Zamzam, looted the grand mosque and stole the black stone from the Kaaba. The Hajj could only resume after a decade when the black stone when returned. Similarly, in 1831, the Hajj was cancelled due to a plague from India which decimated the pilgrims in Mecca. However, this would be perhaps the first time in its history that it will be cancelled due to a global pandemic.

Many Muslims initially triumphantly declared that their religion was the most scientific since it enjoined ablution before the performance of every prayer. They pointed out to some Quranic verses which extol cleanliness among the believers. However, they were quick to realise that such notions of hygiene were not very effective during this pandemic. Mostly, water for ablution is drawn from a common pool and since Muslims ritually wash themselves from the same pool, chances of their getting infected is very high. Some Islamists deliberately conflated the mask with the veil in order to drive home the point that veils are abundantly beneficial. This is simply nonsense as both are worn for very different reasons; while one is optional or temporary, the other, in most instances, is not.

Those who were driving home the point that Islam is the perfect religion and hence beyond critique, must today be confining themselves to their homes, not because of any religious reason, but due to very practical reasons enunciated by science. In their hearts, they must be realising that like most religions, Islam too is completely defenceless when faced with a submicroscopic, metabolically inert chemical code. Islam claims to explain anything and everything about human existence with complete certitude and yet it has no clue as to what has hit its followers. There is nothing within the teaching and practice of this religion which can prepare it’s believers to deal with this pandemic. Rather, it’s the opposite: the very act of practicing this faith (like other faiths) is a sure way of spreading the virus.

In the end, it is science, not Islam, which is teaching Muslims how to deal with this virus.

Arshad Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com

Courtesy: newageislam.com

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Algebra, alchemy, artichoke, alcohol, and apricot all derive from Arabic words which came to the West during the age of Crusades.

Sculpture of ninth-century Persian scholar Al-Khwarizmi in Khiva, Uzbekistan. Latin discovery of Al-Khwarizmi’s work introduced the numerals 0-9, one of many ways in which Islamic cultures have contributed to Western civilisation. LBM1948/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Even more fundamental are the Indo-Arabic numerals (0-9), which replaced Roman numerals during the same period and revolutionised our capacity to engage in science and trade. This came about through Latin discovery of the ninth-century Persian scholar, Al-Khwarizmi (whose name gives us the word algorithm).

This debt to Islamic civilisation contradicts the claim put forward by political scientist Samuel Huntington in his book The Clash of Civilizations some 25 years ago, that Islam and the West have always been diametrically opposed. In 2004, historian Richard Bulliet proposed an alternative perspective. He argued civilisation is a continuing conversation and exchange, rather than a uniquely Western phenomenon.

Even so, Australia and the West still struggle to acknowledge the contributions of Islamic cultures (whether Arabic speaking, Persian, Ottoman or others) to civilisation.

In an initial curriculum proposed by the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, only one Islamic text was listed, a collection of often-humorous stories about the Crusades from a 12th-century Syrian aristocrat. But Islamic majority cultures have produced many other texts with a greater claim to shaping civilisation.

Philosophical and literary influences

Many of the scientific ideas and luxury goods from this world came into the West following the peaceful capture of the Spanish city of Toledo from its Moorish rulers in 1085.

Over the course of the next century, scholars, often in collaboration with Arabic-speaking Jews, became aware of the intellectual legacy of Islamic culture preserved in the libraries of Toledo.

Their focus was not on Islam, but the philosophy and science in which many great Islamic thinkers had become engaged. One was Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna), a Persian physician and polymath (a very knowledgable generalist) who combined practical medical learning with a philosophical synthesis of key ideas from both Plato and Aristotle.

Portrait of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) on a silver vase from Museum at BuAli Sina (Avicenna) Mausoleum, Hamadan, Western Ira. Adam Jones/Wikmedia, CC BY-SA

Another was Ibn Rushd (or Averroes), an Andalusian physician and polymath, whose criticisms of the way Ibn Sina interpreted Aristotle would have a major impact on Italian theologist and philosopher Thomas Aquinas in shaping both his philosophical and theological ideas in the 13th century. Thomas was also indebted to a compatriot of Ibn Rushd, the Jewish thinker Moses Maimonides, whose Guide to the Perplexed was translated from Arabic into Latin in the 1230s.

While there is debate about the extent to which the Italian writer Dante was exposed to Islamic influences, it is very likely he knew The Book of Mohammed’s Ladder (translated into Castilian, French and Latin), which describes the Prophet’s ascent to heaven. The Divine Comedy, with its account of Dante’s imagined journey from Inferno to Paradise, was following in this tradition.

Dante very likely heard lectures from Riccoldo da Monte di Monte Croce, a learned Dominican who spent many years studying Arabic in Baghdad before returning to Florence around 1300 and writing about his travels in the lands of Islam. Dante may have criticised Muslim teaching, but he was aware of its vast influence.

Domenico di Michelino, Dante and the Divine comedy, fresco, 1465. Dante is thought to have been influenced by Islamic cultures. Wikimedia Commons

Islam also gave us the quintessential image of the Enlightenment, the self-taught philosopher. This character had his origins in an Arabic novel, Hayy ibn Yaqzan, penned by a 12th-century Arab intellectual, Ibn Tufayl. It tells the story of how a feral child abandoned on a desert island comes through reason alone to a vision of reality.

Hayy ibn Yaqzan was published in Oxford, with an Arabic-Latin edition in 1671, and became a catalyst for the contributions of seminal European philosophers including John Locke and Robert Boyle. Translated into English in 1708 as The Improvement of Human Reason, it also influenced novelists, beginning with Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe in 1719. The sources of the Enlightenment are not simply in Greece and Rome.

Civilisation is always being reinvented. The civilisation some call “Western” has been, and still is, continually shaped by a wide range of political, literary and intellectual influences, all worthy of our attention.

Courtesy: The Conversation

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Make no mistake: the next big sci fi book coming out from India will come from members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This statement, of course, will not bode well with the emerging market for new speculative fiction writers from India, but what can our lovely writers do when they are faced with such stiff opposition from the BJP?

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of our country, had already made excellent pitches that the publishing industry (already rattled because of injunctions coming their way , courtesy Baba Ramdev), has ignored. He had suggested that we already had pushpak vimans in India. How dare we read about the Wright brothers in school textbooks? This was, of course, followed by his next book of haikus, tentatively titled “Climate change/ my dear/ is in your head” (Please ignore the syllable count).

Taking cue from his life source, aka our Prime Minister, Vasudev Devani, the Rajasthan Education Minister has said  that Newton did not discover gravitation, Brahmagupta did, 1000 years ago. I have two problems with this. Why do the BJP and the RSS only focus on round numbers? Brahmagupta II might well have discovered gravitation 1001 years ago. For my second reservation, consider this statement of his:

Abhi mai teen chaar din pehle padh raha tha, ki Newton ka… gurtwakarshan ka niyam kisne kiya? To bataya ki Newton ne kiya, maine bhi padha, aapne bhi padha. Gehrai me jayenge, to Brahmagupta Dwitiya ne usse ek hazar saal pehle is gurutwakarshan ka niyam diya tha (A few days ago, I was reading about Newton…who came up with the law of gravitation? Newton did, this is what I read, you read. If you delve deeper, Bramhagupta the second had given us this rule a thousand years before Newton).

Now, if you are the education minister who is 70 years of age, I would expect you to have read about Newton a little earlier in life, not two to three days before a programme celebrating 72 years of the foundation of Rajasthan University. This is not the first time, though, that the Rajasthan Minister has been inspired by the Prime Minister. Earlier, he had declared cow exhale oxygen. Quick question for you sir: when we fart, what gas is it that makes the smell pungent?

Needless to say, what is worrying is the fact that such statements are not made in private, and his wisdom is not confined to the members of his family. Students of a state university have to keep up with such nonsense. No wonder you are led to a sign that says “Page not Found ” when you want visit the university’s website and wish to take an “Overview” of the university.

What would the view look like if, in a room full of students and teachers, such comments are made? Bleak, my friend, very bleak.

On a more serious note (please note that all the above points were also made very, very seriously), this makes a mockery of the struggle our unversities went through to give quality, affordable education to its citizens. If we dig up the history of colonial education, and the subsequent transition into post colonial educational institues, we will realise the immense investment in education in Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of a modern India.

Our constitution says that developing a “scientific temper” is one of our fundamental duties. Not only that, this Brainpickings  article gives an introductory look into the relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein. The relationship between India’s tryst with modernity in general, and Einstein in particular, went far deeper. Two young professors at the University of Calcutta, Satyendra Nath Bose and Meghnad Saha, translated Einstein’s book on relativity from the original German, into English for the first time, anywhere in the world. Published by Calcutta University in 1920, it was titled The Principle of Relativity. Original Papers by A. Einstein and H. Minkowski, translated into English by M.N. Saha and S.N. Bose with a historical introduction by P.C. Mahalanobis.

Image courtesy snbose.org

As Bose’s grandson writes  in his blog:
It is generally accepted, although not commonly known, that this publication was the first English translation from the original German of these famous papers — anywhere in the world. When I first learned this fact it struck me as remarkable that two young Lecturers of Physics and Applied Mathematics — Saha was 26 years old and Bose 25 — both entirely self-taught in physics, located in the far outskirts of the British Empire, a colonised people living under colonial rule, with very little access to the latest scientific publications coming out of Europe, were cognisant enough of the happenings in the world of science to embark on such a task in 1919-20.

Meanwhile, it is 2018 – almost a hundred years since Bose and Saha’s stupendous achievement, and more than 70 years since we gained independence from our colonial rulers.

If some good soul in heaven tells Newton of this history, he will probably throw an apple, either at Brahmagupta II, or at Vasudev Devani.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in
 

The post Dear Rajasthan Education Minister, Did Newton Drink Gaumutra as Well? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN) expresses deep grief at the passing of Professor Yash Pal, a well known scientist and a guide to many, who are committed to the promotion of science and scientific temper amongst our citizens. He was one of the prominent scientists of his time, who reminded the Indian State of its societal duties in these areas and contributed his energies towards creating platforms from where message of scientific temper could be addressed. Professor Yash Pal passed away in NOIDA on 24th July 2017, i.e. on the same day when his one time colleague, Professor U.R. Rao passed away in Bengaluru. Both these stalwarts shared in their heart the love for their fellow citizens, and respect for the pluralistic, composite cultural ethos of India, which is now being threatened with the rise of divisive, hedonistic, majoritarian attacks.

The AIPSN sends its heart-felt condolences to Professor Yash Pal’s family.

Professor Yash Pal was born on 26thth November, 1926, in Jhang, undivided Punjab, which now falls in Pakistan. Interestingly, it was the same Jhang district that the Nobel Laureate Professor Abdus Salam hailed from. Yash Pal’s childhood was spent in the Baloch town of Quetta, from where they moved after the 1935 Quetta earthquake, in which Yash Pal’s house was completely devastated. Such devastation revisited Yash Pal a second time, with the partition of the country that coincided with our independence. Yash Pal was then studying for his M.Sc. in Lahore but could not complete the degree since he had to leave for India as a refugee.

Jobless and without a masters degree, he would have had to give up hopes of doing research but for the kind advice of Professor D.S. Kothari and the chance that the newly founded Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay ( now Mumbai)  offered. With his fellow colleague, Devendra Lal and guidance from Bernard Peters (an American scientist,  former student of Robert J Oppenheimer, who came to India on self imposed exile, to escape the McCarthy era) the TIFR group did some pioneering work in cosmic ray research in the 1950’s. Later, Yash Pal went to the MIT in the US for his Ph.D. under the guidance of the famous scientist, Bruno Rossi. Professor Yash Pal returned to the TIFR in 1958 and served there till 1973 until he shifted to Ahmedabad to set up the Satellite Application Centre (SAC, now called the Space Application Centre).

Being inspired by the tradition of our freedom movement, Yash Pal responded with great energy to the demands of the SAC. It was Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s dream that the benefit of India’s Space programme must reach the homes of every Indian. This was taken forward with an expanded vision when Professor Satish Dhawan took over the reins of the space commission, after Sarabhai’s premature death. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) of the SAC was one of the first trials towards that, in bringing educational programmes to Indian villages. And this was the beginning of the “turning point” which finally led to the immensely popular science programme “Turning Point”, twenty years later, in which Professor Yash Pal himself would answer TV viewers.

Professor Yash Pal was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 2013. He was the Chairman of the University Grants Commission from 1986-1991. It was during his tenure that the concept of Inter University Centres took shape. Even in retirement, he served in many committees to look into the problems of education, the last one being the Yash Pal Committee on Higher Education, set up in 2009.

Professor Yash Pal was awarded the Kalinga Prize for his contributions in science communication. We, in the AIPSN fondly recall that he was the National President of the Bharat Jan Gyan Vigyan Jatha (BGJVJ) 1990, in which the AIPSN played an important role.  It may be recalled that the Literacy campaign, emerged through the BGJVJ in which the BGVS and AIPSN played prominent role.
 
S.Chatterjee,                                                                                            T.Ramesh
President, AIPSN.                                                                                   General Secretary, AIPSN

Courtesy: Newsclick.in
 

The post A Man of Science is No More: professor Yashpal appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The genetic evidence shows significant migrations from Eurasian steppes into South Asia. The Indo-Aryan language speakers have a higher signature of Central Asian genes, and even higher for the male population. 

This interview was first published on Newsclick.in.

The post Insider Outsider: Genetic Evidence Shows Significant Migrations from Eurasian Steppes into South Asia appeared first on SabrangIndia.

पंडे-पुरोहित चला रहे हैं देश.

हम गोमूत्र पीने के ही काबिल देश हैं.

सरकार पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे!

हम सब अपने चारों ओर विज्ञान और टेक्नोलॉजी से घिरे हुए हैं. जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में इनका असर है.

ऐसे समय में केंद्र सरकार स्पेक्ट्रम की नीलामी को श्राद्ध यानी पितृ पक्ष खत्म होने तक टालने का मन बना रही है. 1अक्तूबर से नवरात्र शुरू है. टेलीकॉम कंपनियों ने सरकार को लिखकर दिया है कि वे शुभ मुहूर्त में ही यह बोली लगाना चाहती हैं. भारत सरकार के टेलीकॉम सचिव इसके लिए तैयार हैं.

स्पेक्ट्रम तरंगो का वह सुपर हाईवे है जिसपर चलकर हमारी मोबाइल आवाज और डाटा का सफर तय होता है.

एक पोंगापंथी देश सबसे आधुनिक टेक्नोलॉजी को कैसे अपनाता है, इसकी मिसाल हैं हम.

The post सरकार गोमूत्र पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे appeared first on SabrangIndia.

कुछ वाकये हमें उस तरह की सैद्धांतिकी के व्यावहारिक पहलुओं को समझने में मदद करते हैं, जिसमें यह बताया जाता है कि व्यक्ति की शिक्षा-दीक्षा उसकी चेतना पर अनिवार्य रूप से असर डालते हैं। इस लिहाज से विज्ञान और तकनीक के साथ समाज का साबका और उसका व्यक्ति के सोचने-समझने या दृष्टि पर असर का विश्लेषण सामाजिक विकास के कई नए आयाम से रूबरू कराता है। कुछ साल पहले की एक घटना है। राजधानी दिल्ली से सटे और तब ‘हाईटेक सिटी’ के रूप में मशहूर शहर गाजियाबाद में एक काफी वृद्ध महिला को उनके तीन बेटे तब तक (शायद चप्पलों से) पीटते रहे, जब तक उनकी जान नहीं निकल गई। किसी ‘ऊपरी असर’ से छुटकारा दिलाने के मकसद से ऐसा करने का निर्देश एक तांत्रिक बाबा का था।
 
अंधविश्वासों के अंधेरे कुएं में डूबते-उतराते हमारे समाज में साधारण लोगों के हिसाब से देखें तो इस तरह की यह घटना न अकेली थी और न नई। लेकिन यह घटना मेरी निगाह में इसलिए खास थी कि उस बुजुर्ग महिला को तांत्रिक के आदेश पर पीटते-पीटते मार डालने वाले तीन में से कम से कम दो बेटों की शैक्षिक पृष्ठभूमि विज्ञान विषय थी। उनमें से एक ने डॉक्टरी और दूसरे ने इंजीनियरिंग की पढ़ाई की थी। यानी जिस विज्ञान और तकनीकी विकास ने समाज में अज्ञानता के अंधकार को दूर करने और समाज को अंधविश्वासों की दुनिया से काफी हद तक बाहर लाने में अपनी अहम भूमिका निभाई है, उस विषय की शिक्षा-दीक्षा भी उन बेटों की चेतना पर पड़े अंधविश्वासों के जाले को साफ नहीं कर सकी। क्या यह विज्ञान की शिक्षा के ‘लेन-देन’ में वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि के अभाव का नतीजा नहीं है?
 
हाल ही में एक दिलचस्प अनुभव से रूबरू हुआ। हालांकि फिल्मों, टीवी धारावाहिकों और समाज में इस तरह की बातें आम हैं। एक बेहद सक्षम, जानकार और अनुभवी सर्जन-डॉक्टर के क्लीनिक में इस आशय का बड़ा पोस्टर दीवार टंगा था कि ‘हम केवल माध्यम हैं। आपका ठीक होना, न होना भगवान की कृपा पर निर्भर है! -आपका चिकित्सक।’ दूसरी ओर, अंतरिक्ष यानों के प्रक्षेपण जैसी विज्ञान, तकनीक और प्रौद्योगिकी की चरम उपलब्धियों को मुंह चिढ़ाते हुए हमारे इसरो, यानी अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन के मुखिया जैसे पद पर बैठे लोग भी किसी यान के प्रक्षेपण की कामयाबी के लिए ‘ईश्वरीय कृपा’ हासिल करने के मकसद से किसी मंदिर में पूजा-अर्चना करते हैं। 24 सितंबर, 2014 को भारत के मंगलयान की शानदार कामयाबी इसरो के हमारे तमाम वैज्ञानिकों की काबिलियत की मिसाल है। मगर यह वही मंगलयान है, जिसके प्रक्षेपण के पहले चार नवंबर, 2013 इसरो के अध्यक्ष के. राधाकृष्णन ने तिरुपति वेकंटेश्वर मंदिर में पूजा-अर्चना की और इसकी अभियान की कामयाबी के लिए प्रार्थना की थी। राधाकृष्णन के पूर्ववर्ती इसरो अध्यक्ष माधवन नायर भी यही करते रहे थे।
 
वैज्ञानिक चेतना के बगैर विज्ञान का समाज
 
यह साधारण-सा सच है कि कोई भी पोंगापंथी, दिमाग से बंद, कूपमंडूक अंधविश्वासी व्यक्ति जब यह देखता है कि भारत के अंतरिक्ष प्रक्षेपण अनुसंधान संगठन, यानी इसरो का मुखिया विज्ञान पर केंद्रित किसी कार्यक्रम में शिरकत करते हुए या किसी उच्च क्षमता के अंतरिक्ष यान के प्रक्षेपण से पहले घंटों किसी मंदिर में पूजा करता है तो यह उसके भीतर बैठी हीनताओं को तुष्ट करता है। इसे उदाहरण बना कर वह कह पाता है कि इसरो जैसे विज्ञान के संगठन के वैज्ञानिक ऐसा करते हैं तो उसका कोई आधार तो होगा ही। जाहिर है, हमारे समाज में विज्ञान की पढ़ाई-लिखाई और उस क्षेत्र में अच्छी-खासी उपलब्धियों में कोई कमी नहीं रही है। लेकिन वैज्ञानिक चेतना या दृष्टि का लगभग अभाव रहा है। चिकित्सा के क्षेत्र में महान खोजों से प्रशिक्षित, मस्तिष्क, तंत्रिका या हृदय की बेहद जटिल शल्य-क्रिया करके किसी मरीज को जीवन देने वाले सक्षम डॉक्टर जब अपनी काबिलियत और कामयाबी का श्रेय वैज्ञानिक खोजों के साथ-साथ अपनी मेहनत और कुशलता को देने के बजाय ‘अज्ञात शक्ति’ या भगवान को देते हैं तो इससे क्या साबित होता है! ऐसा करके या मान कर क्या हम उन तमाम लोगों की क्षमता, सालों की दिन-रात की मेहनत और वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि को खारिज नहीं करते हैं, जिनके जरिए कई बार हमारा जिंदा बच पाना मुमकिन होता है?
 
यह कोई नया आकलन नहीं है कि मानव समाज के विकास के क्रम में एक दौर ऐसा रहा होगा, जब मनुष्य ने अपनी सीमाओं के चलते मुश्किलों का हल किसी पारलौकिक शक्ति की कृपा में खोजने की कोशिश की होगी। लेकिन आज जब मंगल पर कदम रखने से लेकर ब्रह्मांड की तमाम जटिल गुत्थियों को खोलते हुए दुनिया का विज्ञान हर रोज अपने कदम आगे बढ़ा रहा है तो ऐसे में अलौकिक-पारलौकिक काल्पनिक धारणाओं में जीते समाज और उसके ढांचे को बनाए रखने का क्या मकसद हो सकता है?
 
विज्ञान और वैज्ञानिक चेतना का द्वंद्व
 
यहीं आकर एक बिंदु उभरता है जिसके तहत समाज में चंद लोगों या कुछ खास समूहों की सत्ता एक सामाजिक व्यवस्था के रूप में आकार पाती है। यह व्यवस्था अगर शोषण-दमन और भेदभाव पर आधारित हुई तो संभव है कि भविष्य में प्रतिरोध की स्थिति पैदा हो, क्योंकि वैज्ञानिक चेतना से लैस कोई भी व्यक्ति यह समझता है कि दुनिया में मौजूद तमाम अंधविश्वास का सिरा पारलौकिक आस्थाओं से अभिन्न रूप से जुड़ा हुआ है। इसी स्थिति को पैदा होने से रोकने के लिए लौकिक यथार्थों पर पारलौकिक धारणाओं का मुलम्मा चढ़ा दिया जाता है। ऐसी कवायदों का संगठित रूप धर्म के रूप में देखा जा सकता है। हालांकि मानव समाज के लिए धर्म की अलग-अलग व्याख्याएं पेश की जाती रही हैं, लेकिन इसके नतीजे के रूप में सामाजिक सत्ताओं का ‘केंद्रीकरण’ ही देखा गया है। और चूंकि विज्ञान लौकिक यथार्थों पर चढ़े अलौकिक भ्रमों की परतें उधेड़ता है, इसलिए वह स्वाभाविक रूप से धर्म का घोषित-अघोषित दुश्मन हो जाता है।
 
विडंबना यह है कि ब्रह्मांड और मानव सभ्यता के विकास का आधार होने के बावजूद विज्ञान अब तक दुनिया भर में धर्म के बरक्स एक सत्ता या व्यवस्था के रूप में खुद को खड़ा कर सकने में नाकाम रहा है। जबकि विज्ञान, तकनीकी या प्रौद्यागिकी के सहारे कई देश अपने आर्थिक-राजनीतिक ‘साम्राज्यवाद’ के एजेंडे को कामयाब करते हैं। हालांकि इसकी वजहों की पड़ताल कोई बहुत जटिल काम नहीं है। पहले से ही हमारे सामने अगर ‘राज्य की उत्पत्ति के दैवीय सिद्धांत’ जैसी व्याख्याएं हैं तो ‘विकासवादी सिद्धांत’ भी है। लेकिन आखिर क्या वजह है कि सामाजिक व्यवहार में ‘दैवीय सिद्धांत’ अक्सर हावी दिखता है!
 
दरअसल, राजनीतिक-सामाजिक सत्ताओं पर कब्जाकरण के बाद इसके विकेंद्रीकरण की प्रक्रिया को रोकने के लिए उन तमाम रास्तों, उपायों को हतोत्साहित-बाधित किया गया, जो पारलौकिकता या दैवीय कल्पनाओं पर आधारित किसी ‘प्रभुवाद’ की व्यवस्था को खंडित करते थे। चार्वाक, गैलीलियो, कोपरनिकस, ब्रूनो से लेकर हाल में नरेंद्र दाभोलकर की हत्या जैसे हजारों उदाहरण होंगे, जिनमें विज्ञान या वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि को बाधित करने के लिए सामाजिक सत्ताओं के रूप में सभी धर्मों में मौजूद ‘ब्राह्मणवाद’ ने बर्बरतम तरीके अपनाए।
 
दिलचस्प यह है कि विज्ञान का दमन करने वाली ताकतें यह अच्छे से जानती थीं कि विज्ञान की ताकत क्या है। इसलिए एक ओर उन्होंने समाज में वैज्ञानिक नजरिए या चेतना के विस्तार को रोकने के लिए हर संभव क्रूरताएं कीं तो दूसरी ओर धार्मिक और आस्थाओं के अंधविश्वास को मजबूत करने के लिए विज्ञान और तकनीकों का सहारा लिया और उनका भरपूर उपयोग किया। एक समय सोमनाथ के मंदिर में जो मूर्ति बिना किसी सहारे के हवा में लटकी हुई थी और जिसे देख कर लोग चमत्कृत होकर और गहरी आस्था में डूब जाते थे, उसमें चुंबकीय सिद्धांतों की बेहतरीन तकनीक का इस्तेमाल किया गया था। इसे ‘मैग्नेटिक लेविटेशन’ या चुंबकीय उत्तोलन कहते हैं, जिसका अर्थ है चुंबकीय बल के सहारे हवा में तैरना। इसी तरह, किसी सीधे खड़े संगमरमर के पत्थरों से दूध भरे चम्मच का किनारा सटते ही चम्मच में मौजूद दूध का खिंच जाना गुरुत्व के सिद्धांत से संबंधित है और इसकी वैज्ञानिक व्याख्या है। लेकिन इसी का सहारा लेकर तकरीबन दो दशक पहले समूचे देश में गणेश की मूर्तियों को अचानक दूध पिलाया जाने लगा था।
 
विज्ञान के बरक्स अंधविश्वास का समाज
 
धार्मिक स्थलों के निर्माण से लेकर जादू-टोना, तंत्र-मंत्र, झाड़फूंक, चमत्कार वगैरह विज्ञान और तकनीक के सहारे ही चलता रहा है। यह बेवजह नहीं है कि मर्सिडीज बेंज या बीएमडब्ल्यू जैसी आधुनिक तकनीकी से लैस कारें चलाने वाले और ऊपर से बहुत आधुनिक दिखने वाले लोग अपनी कार में ‘अपशकुन’ से बचने के लिए नींबू और हरी मिर्च के गुच्छे टांगे दिख जाते हैं। इसी तरह, उच्च तकनीकी के इस्तेमाल से बनने वाली इमारतें बिना भूमि-पूजन के आगे नहीं बढ़तीं। बहुत आधुनिक परिवारों के लोग अपने शानदार और हाइटेक घरों के आगे या कहीं पर एक ‘राक्षस’ के चेहरे जैसी आकृति टांगे दिख जाएंगे, जिसका मकसद मकान को ‘बुरी नजर’ से बचाना होता है! यानी जिन वैज्ञानिक पद्धतियों और तकनीकी का इस्तेमाल अंधविश्वासों को दूर कर समाज को गतिमान बनाने या आगे ले जाने के लिए होना था, वे समाज को जड़ और कई बार प्रतिगामी बनाने के काम में लाई जाती रही हैं।
 
इसकी वजह यह है कि विज्ञान अपने आप में दृष्टि है, लेकिन वैज्ञानिक सिद्धांत, संसाधन या तकनीक एक ‘उत्पाद’ की तरह है, जिसका इस्तेमाल कोई भी कर सकता है- विज्ञान का दुश्मन भी। बहुत ज्यादा पीछे जाने की जरूरत नहीं है। मौजूदा दौर में ही इलेक्ट्रॉनिक मीडिया और अखबार के अलावा फेसबुक, ट्विटर, व्हाट्स ऐप जैसे सोशल मीडिया के मंचों और मोबाइल जैसे संचार के साधनों के दौर को हम विज्ञान और तकनीक के चरम विकास का दौर कह सकते हैं। लेकिन हम देख सकते हैं कि इन संसाधनों पर किस तरह वैसे लोगों या समूहों का कब्जा या ज्यादा प्रभाव है जो विज्ञान और तकनीकी का इस्तेमाल वैज्ञानिक चेतना या दृष्टि को कुंद या बाधित करने में कर रहे हैं।
 
आधुनिकी उन्नत तकनीकों के इस्तेमाल से बनाई गई अंधविश्वास फैलाने वाली फिल्में या धारावाहिक पहले से चारों तरफ से अंधे विश्वासों में मरते-जीते आम दर्शक की जड़ चेतना को ही और मजबूत करते हैं। टीवी चैनलों पर धड़ल्ले से अंधविश्वासों को बढ़ाने या मजबूत करने वाले कार्यक्रम ‘धारावाहिक’ के तौर पर चलते ही रहते हैं, कई बार ‘समाचार’ के रूप में भी दिखाए जाते हैं। यह ‘बाबाओं’ और ‘साध्वियों’ के प्रवचनों और विशेष कार्यक्रमों से लेकर फिल्मों के हीरो-हीरोइनों या मशहूर हस्तियों के जरिए ‘धनवर्षा यंत्र’ या ‘हनुमान यंत्र’ आदि के प्रचारों के अलावा होता है। अखबार इसमें पीछे नहीं हैं। इससे टीवी चैनलों मीडिया संस्थानों को कमाई होती है, मुनाफा होता है, लेकिन समाज को कितना नुकसान होता है, इससे उन्हें कोई मतलब नहीं होता! इसके अलावा, फेसबुक जैसे सोशल मीडिया का मोबाइल पर व्हाट्स ऐप जैसे संवाद-साधनों के जरिए किस तरह सांप्रदायिकता का जहर परोसा जा रहा है, यहां तक कि दंगा भड़काने में भी इनका इस्तेमाल किस पैमाने पर किया जा रहा है, यह जगजाहिर तथ्य है।
 
यानी विज्ञान के जरिए की वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि या चेतना को कैसे कुंद किया जा रहा है और विज्ञान का सहारा लेकर समाज को किस तरह अंधविश्वासों के अंधेरे में झोका जा रहा है, यह साफ दिखता है। दरअसल, किसी भी धर्म के सत्ताधारी तबकों की असली ताकत आम समाज का यही खोखलापन होता है कि वह विज्ञान के सहारे अपने जीवन की सुविधाएं तो सुनिश्चित करे, लेकिन उसे किसी ‘अज्ञात शक्ति’ की कृपा माने। पारलौकिक भ्रम की गिरफ्त में ईश्वर और दूसरे अंधविश्वासों की दुनिया में भटकते हुए लोग ही आखिरकार बाबाओं-गुरुओं, तांत्रिकों, चमत्कारी फकीरों जैसे ठगों के फेर में पड़ते हैं और अपना बचा-खुचा विवेक गवां बैठते है। यह केवल समाज के आम और भोले-भाले लोगों की बंददिमागी नहीं है, बौद्धिकों, बड़े-बड़े नेताओं, मुख्यमंत्रियों, प्रधानमंत्रियों और राष्ट्रपतियों तक को फर्जी और कथित चमत्कारी बाबाओं के चरणों में सिर नवाने में कोई हिचक नहीं होती।
 
दलील दी जाती है कि आस्था निजी प्रश्न है। लेकिन विज्ञान की कामयाबियों के साथ आस्था का घालमेल आखिरकार वैज्ञानिक चेतना को भ्रमित करता है। और यही वजह है कि गहन और जटिल ऑपरेशन हो या भूकम्प और बाढ़ जैसी आपदाएं, इनकी वजहें जानने, उसका विश्लेषण करने के बावजूद व्यक्ति या खुद इसके विशेषज्ञ इन सबको किसी भगवान का चमत्कार, कृपा या फिर कोप के रूप में देखते-पेश करते हैं। यह अपने ज्ञान-विज्ञान और खुद पर भरोसा नहीं होने-करने का, अपनी ही क्षमताओं को खारिज करने का उदाहरण है। क्षमताओं के नकार की यह स्थिति किसी विनम्रताबोध का नहीं, बल्कि भ्रम और हीनताबोध का नतीजा होती है। और जब हम विज्ञान के विद्याथियों या वैज्ञानिकों तक को इस तरह के द्वंद्व और भ्रम में जीते देखते हैं तो ऐसे में साधारण इंसान या समाज से क्या उम्मीद हो, जो जन्म से लेकर मौत तक वैज्ञानिक चेतना से बहुत दूर दुनिया के धर्मतंत्र और अलौकिक-पारलौकिक आस्थाओं के चाल में उलझा रह जाता है।
 
जाहिर है, असली चुनौती यह है कि विज्ञान केवल लोगों के जीवन को सहज नहीं बनाए, बल्कि दुनिया के यथार्थ को समझने के लिए समाज को वैज्ञानिक चेतना से भी लैस करे। यह समाज के ज्यादातर हिस्से को सोचने-समझने के तरीके या माइंडसेट पर कब्जा जमाए पारलौकिक आस्थाओं के बरक्स एक बहुत बड़ी चुनौती है। अगर यह कहा जाए कि जिस पैमाने पर समाज धार्मिकता के जंजाल में उलझा है, अगर उसी पैमाने पर वैज्ञानिक चेतना होती तो हमारा समाज शायद अभी से कई हजार साल आगे होता, तो शायद अतिश्योक्ति नहीं होगी।

('चार्वाक' ब्लॉग से)
 

The post विज्ञान बनाम आस्था के द्वंद्व का समाज… appeared first on SabrangIndia.

ICF Team

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani has presented students and teachers of science and technology with a tool to ‘facilitate’ their studies: the Sanskrit language.  The purpose of teaching Sanskrit in institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) is, apparently, so as to study Sanskrit works which may contain ‘scientific knowledge’.  Ms. Irani’s suggestion is based on the report of a panel chaired by former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, which also suggested that the ‘inter-disciplinary study of Sanskrit and modern subjects’ should be introduced in the IITs.

The Indian Cultural Forum asked two people closely associated with the field, Dr. Satyajit Rath and Prabir Purkayastha, about the panel’s recommendation regarding Sanskrit.

Dr. Rath, a highly respected senior scientist at Delhi’s National Institute of Immunology, wrote back to us saying:

This is a ‘recommendation’ from a ‘panel’ set up about ‘Sanskrit’. I wonder what other recommendations they have made, particularly in the context of studying any given ‘modern subject’ using Sanskrit texts.  After all, surely it is important, even crucial, for students of economics (or home economics) to study ‘ancient’ Sanskrit texts for economic policies (and economical recipes)?  Similarly, has the earlier ‘panel’ on ‘classical languages’ recommended that Tamil (not to mention other classical languages) be similarly taught in IITs so as to study ‘science and technology’ in ancient Tamil texts?  There is a great deal of such textual material in Pali as well; has there been any recommendation about Pali?

On the other hand, I also wonder if this ‘Sanskrit’ panel has noted the many contributions the IITs have already made to studying Sanskrit at a variety of levels, from a lexical dictionary to a tool for identifying metre to providing an open online text-and-translation of the Valmiki Ramayana?  Finally, I wonder if this ‘Sanskrit’ panel has given any examples of Sanskrit texts with viewpoints in science and technology that have remained unappreciated as a result of a lack of Sanskrit pedagogy in IIT syllabi and curricula?

If (as is likely) the answers to these sorts of questions are some version of ‘not likely’, then it is reasonable to infer that this latest ‘recommendation’–’suggestion’–’plan’ is mainly, if not entirely, about promoting a particular political viewpoint which depends on historical ‘superiority’ as the basis of current identity, dignity and rights, and therefore is anxiously and insistently trying to use any tools that will ‘establish’, or at least promote, this preconceived historical superiority.  Such viewpoints inevitably foster, as is evident from the current dismal states of social discourse in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, a xenophobic and uncivil polity.  If this is not regressive politics, what is?  Further, they promote the idea, perhaps even more fraught, that scholarship ought to be about finding justifications and validations, rather than about exploration and understanding.  If this is not regressive education, what is?

Prabir Purkayastha of the Delhi Science Forum responded:
Gopalswami is currently the Chancellor of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, and if he believes that Sanskrit helps develop science and technology, he can certainly try and get research conducted there to show results.  Why is he prescribing what needs to be done in the IITs, about which he knows little, and understands even less?

There is nothing to show that learning Sanskrit will help in any way in understanding new knowledge.  This belief in Sanskrit is akin to what people thought in the middle ages, when all medical students had to learn logic and classics in Latin for three years, spending only one year studying actual medicine.

Our institutes today lack basic infrastructure—labs, properly equipped classrooms, and libraries.  They need access to the latest research findings through academic journals and books.  Indian institutes such as the IITs, built in the 50s and 60s, today are far behind similar institutions in China, South Korea and Brazil.  Quality science and technology education is capital intensive and needs public funding.  Instead, the allocation for the IITs, and for higher education as a whole, has been cut significantly by the Education Minister and the NDA government in its 2016 budget—including a 55% cut in funds for the University Grants Commission.

Prescribing that IIT students study Sanskrit, and failing to provide the necessary funding, will lead our education down a blind alley.  We seem to be following the path of science education in Pakistan under Zia-ul Haq, when knowledge of the Quran and sharia was considered a prerequisite for appointment as faculty in the sciences.

This attempt by Gopalaswami and his committee to claim that ‘high science’ is waiting to be discovered in Sanskrit classics is based on a belief in myths such as flying chariots, nuclear weapons and genetics in our history. Not surprisingly, Gopalaswami is also a firm believer in astrology. The problem is not his private beliefs, but in the HRD Ministry making his irrational beliefs the educational policy for the country.

The Indian Cultural Forum welcomes reactions to the Gopalaswami Panel recommendation from more scientists and educators at indianwritersforum@gmail.com.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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