In recent years there has been an increasing attempt by the ruling government to control the scientific and other educational institutions in the country. The tendency towards greater control of these institutions is a regressive step. Unfortunately, most institutions are not just toeing the government’s line but appear to be going overboard to please their political masters. For instance, the CSIR laboratory in Lucknow – the National Botanical Research Institute – developed a variety of the lotus with 108 petals and named it ‘Namoh 108.’ The awards and fellowships, given by the academies and research institutions for encouraging young researchers and recognizing excellence and lifelong contribution, were summarily abolished.
The year just passed by was a picture of paradox for Indian science; on the one hand, there were many achievements that made every citizen proud but on the other, the politicisation of scientific institutions and promotion of bigotry and superstitions under the guise of science were a dampener. The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August was a monumental moment for India’s space research community and demonstrated its technological prowess to the world. While scientific milestones evoked a sense of optimism over the future, certain decisions of the central government came as a big disappointment. Slashing the funds for the Indian Science Congress Association, which organizes the annual Indian Science Congress, abolition of several science awards, closure of Vigyan Prasar, the science communication arm of the government, and removal of lessons relating to evolution from science textbooks for secondary grades were among the moves that went against the cause of science. Another disturbing trend is that several scientific departments have been liberally sponsoring the annual science festival organized by an RSS affiliate, Vigyan Bharti, for the past few years.