 "No place for Lord Shiva at 103rd Indian Science Congress")
Lord Shiva: As a Greatest Environmentalist in the World, a paper that was to be presented at the 103rd Indian Science Congress here on Wednesday, could not be presented as author Akhilesh K Pandey failed to show up.
The science meet has already been marred by controversy after another paper, Blowing of the Shankh by Rajeev Sharma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, was found to have no scientific base but was still presented.
While it isn’t known why Pandey failed to show up at the event, participants have questioned why the organising association let the topic graduate to the presentation stage in the first place despite preparations to weed out mythology from this year’s event.
“We are venturing into everything that can give you information, including mythology,” said Mishra on the sidelines of the event. “Whether it has any science or not will be challenged before the speaker when he comes and delivers his lecture.”
Mishra, a retired professor of chemistry and dean, faculty of science, at the Ranchi University, is the director of Dr Mishra’s Laboratories Pvt Ltd, which produces medicines that he claims were discovered from ancient Indian scriptures.
“Only pure science is our real business this time,” Arun Kumar, general secretary of ISCA, had said on Saturday. “Last year, we had certain issues when mythology overshadowed science. We are staying away from it and concentrating only on science.”
Papers sent to the ISCA are not peer reviewed or published. Once these are presented at the event, the association cross-examines the author before selecting or rejecting the paper for publishing.
“In the great Hindu epic, The Mahabharata, Lord Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God and is often referred to as the Tryambaka Deva. The sun is said to be his right eye, the moon the left eye and fire is his third eye,” reads an abstract of Lord Shiva: As a Greatest Environmentalist in the World.
Mythology creeping into the event is not a new phenomenon. The 102nd edition of the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai was marred by a controversy over the presentation of a so-called scientific paper claiming aircraft were developed in India during the Vedic period.
Ashok Kumar Saxena, general president of ISAC, said he wasn’t aware of the latest development. General secretary Arun Kumar wasn’t available for comment.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had apparently snubbed Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), a scientific association backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, by deciding not to present it with an award at the inaugural ceremony of the 103rd Indian Science Congress.
A Jayakumar, general secretary of VIBHA, claimed the organisation was to be awarded for its achievement of finding a mention in the Guinness World Records for successfully conducting the world’s largest practical science lesson on December 7.
On Tuesday, Blowing of the Shankh was presented under the anthropological and behavioural sciences section by Sharma, the IAS office from UP, suggesting that the shankh had ‘spiritual’ and ‘mysterious’ powers. The presentation drew the ire of the audience, who claimed there was no scientific backing to Sharma’s claims.
The science meet has already been marred by controversy after another paper, Blowing of the Shankh by Rajeev Sharma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, was found to have no scientific base but was still presented.
While it isn’t known why Pandey failed to show up at the event, participants have questioned why the organising association let the topic graduate to the presentation stage in the first place despite preparations to weed out mythology from this year’s event.
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Gangadhar Mishra, sectional president-environmental science at the International Science Congress Association (ISCA), claimed that the body received 380 papers related to environmental studies, out of which 30 papers were picked, including the one about Shiva.
“We are venturing into everything that can give you information, including mythology,” said Mishra on the sidelines of the event. “Whether it has any science or not will be challenged before the speaker when he comes and delivers his lecture.”
Mishra, a retired professor of chemistry and dean, faculty of science, at the Ranchi University, is the director of Dr Mishra’s Laboratories Pvt Ltd, which produces medicines that he claims were discovered from ancient Indian scriptures.
“Only pure science is our real business this time,” Arun Kumar, general secretary of ISCA, had said on Saturday. “Last year, we had certain issues when mythology overshadowed science. We are staying away from it and concentrating only on science.”
Papers sent to the ISCA are not peer reviewed or published. Once these are presented at the event, the association cross-examines the author before selecting or rejecting the paper for publishing.
“In the great Hindu epic, The Mahabharata, Lord Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God and is often referred to as the Tryambaka Deva. The sun is said to be his right eye, the moon the left eye and fire is his third eye,” reads an abstract of Lord Shiva: As a Greatest Environmentalist in the World.
Mythology creeping into the event is not a new phenomenon. The 102nd edition of the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai was marred by a controversy over the presentation of a so-called scientific paper claiming aircraft were developed in India during the Vedic period.
Ashok Kumar Saxena, general president of ISAC, said he wasn’t aware of the latest development. General secretary Arun Kumar wasn’t available for comment.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had apparently snubbed Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), a scientific association backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, by deciding not to present it with an award at the inaugural ceremony of the 103rd Indian Science Congress.
A Jayakumar, general secretary of VIBHA, claimed the organisation was to be awarded for its achievement of finding a mention in the Guinness World Records for successfully conducting the world’s largest practical science lesson on December 7.
On Tuesday, Blowing of the Shankh was presented under the anthropological and behavioural sciences section by Sharma, the IAS office from UP, suggesting that the shankh had ‘spiritual’ and ‘mysterious’ powers. The presentation drew the ire of the audience, who claimed there was no scientific backing to Sharma’s claims.