In the aftermath of the 106th session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) which was held in Jalandhar, Punjab, some scientific experts have started questioning the relevance of Indian Science Congress.
Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA):
- It is a premier scientific organisation of India having a membership of more than 30,000 scientists.
- Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Origin: The association started in the year 1914 at the initiative of two British chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P. S. MacMahon.
- Objectives: The Association was formed with the following objectives –
- To advance and promote the cause of science in India.
- To hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India.
- To publish such proceedings, journals, transactions and other publications as may be considered desirable.
- To secure and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of Science.
- Meeting: It meets annually, generally in the first week of January.
- 106th session of ISC:
- Theme: ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.
- Venue: Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Jalandhar, Punjab.
Recent controversial claims made at ISC:
- At ISC conference, 2015, A paper that aircraft had not only been manufactured during the Vedic period but also that these planes were far superior to the ones we have today.
- At another annual session, the ISC’s then general secretary pronounced that the Kauravas had been born out of stem cell and that Lord Vishnu possessed heat missile technology.
- An incumbent Union Minister said algebra and Pythagoras’s Theorem were India’s gifts to the world of science. Another claim made was that cows carried bacteria which could turn anything they consumed into gold.
Demand for scrapping ISC:
- These and similar other remarks outraged a number of scientists and experts who cautioned against going overboard and making a mockery of the issue.
- Others have even demanded that the ISC sessions be scrapped since they had turned into arenas for promoting unscientific and ludicrous propositions.
Arguments against Scrapping ISC:
- The demand to abolish the ISC annual sessions is a knee-jerk reaction on the basis of stray outlandish statements.
- Instead, it seeks to undo the role played by it in promoting scientific temper in the country.
- The Congress which began with some 100 members, now has nearly 30,000 scientists.
- The first ISC session had just about 35 papers presented; more recent sessions saw over a thousand papers.
- The ISC’s interest areas now encompasses forestry and agricultural sciences, plant science, anthropological and behavioural sciences, mathematical science (Statistics), etc.
- Besides, the ISC has stepped up interactions with a host of foreign scientific institutions and associations with a view to both sharing and gaining.
- With rapid scientific advancements across the globe, India cannot be left behind in the race, and the ISC is an important vehicle to keep pace with the developments.
Arguments in defence of ancient science:
- Nobel prize winners Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrodinger were committed students of Vedas & Upanishads who firmly believed that these texts contained a great amount of mathematical knowledge.
- Heisenberg is quoted as having said: “Quantum theory will not look ridiculous to people who have read Vedanta.”
- Recently, Manjul Bhargava – winner of the prestigious Fields Medal – simplified a 200-year old number theory with the help of ancient Sanskrit scripts.
Way ahead:
- Thus, efforts must be made in the direction of bringing together the advancements of modern science and the wisdom of our ancient science.
- It would be better for ISC to create more stringent norms for selecting papers that were to be read at the prestigious meet.
- Most important challenge is to reform the ecosystem in which scientific study is done in the country. In the words of former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, a “warlike effort” was needed to tackle the problems which plagued the “overall environment for innovation”.
