Relevance: Mains: G.S paper III: Science and technology
Context:
- The 107th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Bengaluru has served as a reminder of the status accorded to science and technology in the early years of the Indian republic.
• Though the formation of the congress pre-dates the Indian republic, it was the intellectual nursery of modern science in the country.
Significance of the program:
- Early ideas of how science and technology could aid the development of the new nation were incubated at this coming together of scientists.
• The years since have seen the nature of the congress change: from one where scientists, in the era of postal communication, congregated to exchange scientific ideas to one today where it has become a ‘science mela’.
• The prime purpose of the ISC now is to draw school and science college students to hear Nobel Laureates and Indian-origin scientists from abroad to lecture about their work and the future prospects of science.
• The other draws are science projects and innovations by schoolchildren and stalls showcasing scientific work being done in key national laboratories and institutions.
A mix of myth and pseudoscience:
- In recent years, Congress often makes news for becoming a forum for pseudoscience and less for interesting scientific ideas or demonstrations.
• Speakers, some holding distinguished positions in leading universities have tended to mix mythology and science and publicize far-fetched assertions: that the Kauravas were born from stem-cell technology and the Vedas discussed avionics.
• While this has eroded the congress’s public image, the government itself does not seem too keen to vitalize it.
• The exhibits at several scientific laboratories are re-runs from old congresses, or from similar and past science fairs.
• Many laboratories showcase their work as ‘posters’ rather than actually showing demonstrations or working inventions.
• Several luminaries of India’s science establishments the Principal Scientific Adviser, secretaries from several ministries, the chiefs of major organizations such as ISRO or the Department of Atomic Energy, who have been fixtures, or have at least had their organization present a dedicated talk or session, were absent this year.
• It is inevitable that traditions change over time and the relative importance accorded to institutions wax and wane.
Way forward:
- However, this must make way for inspiring new ideas, or new models of taking science to the public.
• A rising trend in science displays, at museums or exhibitions in many places, is to mix science and art as well as make interactive displays that encourage audience engagement.
• A rebirth, and not a creeping requiem, is what the congress needs.