With the international media in general admiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s patronage of science, it is unfortunate now that his Office is facing criticism for supporting the view that “cosmetic surgery and reproductive genetics were used in India thousands of years ago,” as The Guardian reported on Oct. 28.
It is a great gift to be able to imagine and foresee futuristic technologies, and if Valmiki or Vyasa had imagined cosmetic surgery or reproductive genetics, one can be justifiably proud of that. However, oral or written records of their imagination alone will not constitute proof that such technologies were available in ancient India. If, in the future, scientists in India or China create sleek personal transporters, can the West claim that such transporters were available in their nations in the late 20th century by citing Harry Potter novels or the cartoon series ‘Futurama’? Witches on brooms, magic carpets and flying chariots, have constituted European, Arabian and Indian folklore for millennia, but surely we can’t argue that mankind mastered aviation before the dawn of the 20th century.
The claim of priority in science (for instance, of J.C. Bose’s over Guglielmo Marconi) is tricky business. For it to be credible and internationally accepted would take decades of research, evidence-gathering and publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations; Professor S. Ranganathan, the late Professor T.R. Anantharaman and co-workers took decades to establish India’s metallurgical heritage through the ‘Wootz File’ project at the Indian Institute of Science and Anantharaman’s excellent books on this subject. It is tempting to make tall and unsubstantiated claims about a glorious scientific past, but this will not only make us the laughing stock, but undermine systematic efforts to gain belated international recognition for genuine, historical examples of scientific achievements in India.
If our objective is to inspire young minds to achieve and sustain excellence in science, technology and medicine, this could be better achieved perhaps by looking at modern-day examples, from Sundar Pichai to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, and from Chandrayaan to the Mars Orbiter Mission. Or even better, remind ourselves of outstanding Indian scientists in the recent past, from S.N. Bose, G.N. Ramachandran and U.N. Brahmachari to Yellapragada Subbarow — who thoroughly deserved greater recognition than we bestowed on them when they lived.
Dr. S.S. Vasan,Puducherry
