India
is known for her resourcefulness of knowledge. The oldest books in the world
were written in India only. From the ancient times, India has been the
knowledge centre of the world. Treasures of ancient wisdom of mankind having
universal relevance and applications – the Vedas and the Upanishads – were
created in India.
India,
from the very beginning, has contributed a lot in the advancement of knowledge.
When Indian had been so ahead in the intellectual pursuits since the ancient
times, then why we are not so ahead today in the field of science and
technology creation? India is the home to lot many cultures, lot many
languages, lot many dance and art forms. Such resourcefulness cannot be
possible without exercising higher intellectual and scientific faculties of the
human mind. Without scientific inquiry, such advances and diversity in
cultures, languages, literature, dance, music, etc. could not have come to
being.
When
Indian scientists could give pi and zero to the world and explore the laws of
geometry and could measure the distances of planetary objects and could study
the subtle effects of celestial objects on human mind and health, then why,
today, we are not the number one producer of science and technology in the
world? Have we lost our glorious past? Can we now never regain the status of
knowledge centre of the world? These important questions are rattling in the
minds of every concerned Indian.
During
the period of invaders, be it Mugals or British, the very fabric of
intellectual pursuits in India was torn away. After that we have been
struggling hard for freedom from invaders, freedom from slavery, freedom from
ignorance, freedom from poverty, freedom from diseases, freedom of expression,
freedom of practicing one’s own religion, freedom to move anywhere in the
country, freedom to pursue/do one’s desired career/work, etc.
After
independence from the invader rulers, India’s much admired nature/tradition of
practicing assorted intellectual pursuits is gaining quantum again. India is
making leaping advances in literature, arts and sciences.
Today,
India has a well established network of science and technology (S&T) laboratories
and institutions. India has around 1000 different institutions under the
umbrella of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), more than 40
research and development laboratories in the different frontiers of S&T
under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a
network of medical research institutions under Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), IITs, NITs, IISERs, network of DRDO laboratories, network of
ISRO laboratories, a bunch of more than 500 state and central universities,
etc.
Indian
research is advancing in each and every frontier of S&T. Thousands of
scientists are working day and night in their respective areas of expertise to
lead India in regaining its forgotten status of the knowledge centre of the
world.
At
this juncture, when our scientists are exploring deeper and deeper truths of
nature through science and creating newer and novel innovations for making our
life easier, most of the society or the general public (who are the end-users
of S&T) are unaware of these leaping advances in S&T which are bringing
sea changes in our perspectives about the world. It sounds very ironical that, on
one hand, our scientists are exploring new horizons in the scientific knowledge,
on the other hand, our society living in the world of S&T is unaware of
most of such S&T advances. Now-a-days, when S&T is fast changing our
environments in which we live, we cannot afford to remain ignorant spectators.
We must become active participants of this change, otherwise, we will be left
far behind making ourselves vulnerable to becoming slaves of S&T and those
who have and know S&T.
Further,
to give appropriate direction to S&T, public has to play an active
participatory role in the decision-making process. For example, if the public
is scientifically not aware about the
recent advances and their social, ethical and economical implications, then any
profit-making organizations/people will create Bt Cotton, Bt Brinjal, etc. type
of things with terminator genes where farmers cannot produce their own seeds
but have to depend on them every year to get the seed. Such exploiting things
can be thwarted only when the public is scientifically aware and has its voice
heard in the decision-making and policy-making processes.
Scientific
questions affecting the wider public/society such as whether to go for nuclear
energy or solar and wind energy cannot be left to be decided by a handful of
scientists and politicians. Such
questions cannot be addressed properly without the active involvement of the
general public. But how the general public can get involved until and unless
they know what’s happening in the world of science and technology.
So
here comes the need for communicating science to the public. Communicating
science and the related issues to the public is the need of the hour so that
the public becomes aware of the S&T advances and their implications on
their daily life and the environment. Science communication can develop a
scientifically aware citizenry who can actively participate in the
decision-making and policy-making matters related to S&T. Science
communication is to take the scientific knowledge/information from scientists and
transfer it to the masses in a way that the masses can understand it.
Science
communication will bring in a paradigm shift from the scientifically ignorant
to the scientifically aware and participating society where the public is not a
sink for throwing in S&T things but a deciding factor for which S&T to
have and which not.
Science
communication will also democratize science and make Indian democracy a better
democracy. Science and technology is a serious business and can have serious
repercussions. We cannot leave it to the politicians only to decide S&T for
all of us. We have to have our say democratically on every important S&T
issue.
When
our scientists are exploring newer horizons of S&T, our public should be
made equally aware of such S&T advances to appreciate and criticize it
constructively. Communicating S&T to the masses will bring a massive change
in the mindset of the public from dogmatic to scientific. When the scientific
culture and scientific temper percolates down into the wider society through
science communication, then the Indian society will again become a hatchery of
new and divergent intellectual and scientific pursuits resulting in more
discoveries and inventions in the field of S&T.
A
society living with scientific culture and scientific temper, can explore beyond
the obvious through scientific inquiry. And that will make India a better India.
Science
communication can popularize the scientific culture, scientific temper and a
spirit of scientific inquiry among the masses which, in turn, will again take
the Indian minds to the higher planes of intellectual and scientific pursuits.
Therefore, science communication will make a better India.
© Abhay
S.D. Rajput, 2013
