Science Communication for Better India

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