Keep science above partisan politics
SEVERAL scientific institutions and national laboratories have in recent weeks installed ‘selfie points’ on their premises where visitors can take pictures and post them on social media. In the age of Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories, it has become routine for government agencies to promote such gimmickry to get free publicity. However, the purpose of the exercise in the case of research institutes seems to be different. They have been directed by the government to design selfie kiosks in a particular style — all of them must have a portrait of Prime Minister Modi on one side and a display of the laboratory’s achievements on the other.
Political interference erodes the autonomy of scientific institutions and promotes centralised decision-making.
Anybody with even rudimentary knowledge of outdoor advertising would know the objective of such a publicity drive. It is to convey that the scientific achievements listed at the selfie point are an outcome of the benevolence of one individual — the PM. Unsurprisingly, scientific labs have fallen in line meekly, with some even going a step forward by putting up large cutouts instead of a simple poster.
The projection of the PM as the messiah of Indian science is not limited to selfie points, websites and social media handles of scientific labs. It has got into school textbooks too, as evidenced in a set of 10 ‘Chandrayaan Utsav’ modules released in October by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for various grades.
The running theme of the modules is to portray the PM as the chief architect of Chandrayaan-3’s success, particularly after the failure of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019. The module for Secondary Stage (Code 1.4S) minces no words when it says: “The leadership quality of Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, led to Chandrayaan-3’s triumph.” Elaborating on the episode of the partial success of Chandrayaan-2, the textbook says: “Despite the loss of energy, time, effort, and money on the mission, the Prime Minister was not discouraged; instead, he emerged confidently and motivated the ISRO scientists and people of the country for the new vision.” For Chandrayaan-3, it says: “The leadership of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi played a crucial role in the triumph of Chandrayaan-3 and landed our country’s name on the surface of the Moon.” This module has nine references to PM Modi, but omits mention of the landmark discovery of water molecules on the lunar surface by the Chandrayaan-1 mission launched in 2008.
Such unabashed glorification of the political leadership for a project which is the result of the collective and continued achievement of Indian scientists amounts to politicisation of science. Politicisation is different from political support. Political support is critical to ensure public funding for scientific research and to keep it aligned with broader national objectives of development and economic growth. The foundation of science and technology infrastructure after Independence recognised this. Nehru directly oversaw the portfolio of scientific research, given the need to sensitise the public, bureaucracy and parliamentarians about investments in science. But he merely acted as a facilitator and did not interfere in the functioning of research councils while ensuring fair allocation of resources and autonomy.
In more recent decades too, scientific issues relating to space, nuclear power, climate change, etc. have been kept above politics. Political leaders have displayed healthy bipartisanship. During major space missions launched from Sriharikota in the presence of then PM Rajiv Gandhi, his arch-rival and then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao was always invited.
Chandrayaan-1 was conceived during the tenure of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the project was given the go-ahead only after it was discussed by the multi-party parliamentary standing committee. Though Vajpayee announced it in his Independence Day address (he also changed the name to Chandrayaan from Somayaan, originally suggested by ISRO), it was never projected as his personal achievement. While the Indo-US nuclear deal was in the final stages of negotiation, then PM Manmohan Singh deputed one of his senior advisers to brief Opposition leaders before it was announced. He included Opposition MPs in the delegations he led at climate change summits.
Politicisation and overt political interference are harmful to science. Minister for State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh has repeatedly said that ISRO’s space successes after 2014 were due to the leadership of his boss, and the same is now reflected in NCERT textbooks. Such statements undermine the dedication of thousands of scientists toiling for several years. Chandrayaan-1 was conceptualised in 1999 and became a reality in 2008. Its successor missions were also conceived before 2014. To say that Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 are post-2014 achievements is an insult to ISRO’s time-tested and meticulous project planning and management systems. It is absurd to compare the number of satellites launched before and after 2014. The large number of satellites ISRO launched post-2014 is due to the emerging market of micro-satellites that did not exist earlier.
Inflated claims apart, political interference erodes the autonomy of scientific institutions and promotes centralised decision-making. It affects the direction of research, as reflected in funding for cow science. It leads to the suppression of scientific results or data perceived to be critical of the political ideology. ISRO had to take down Joshimath satellite images (which showed substantial sinking) from its website because it did not suit the Centre’s narrative. Science awards have been abolished and research centres closed without a murmur. Recently, the scientist in charge of family health surveys was suspended and then made to resign. The Indian National Science Academy, which took an independent position on controversial issues like GM food in the past, is now happy to comply with the selfie-point directive. Scientists keep mum when NCERT mentions Vymaanika Shastra as documentary proof of Indian ‘knowledge of flying vehicles’ like Pushpak Viman in the chapter on Chandrayaan. All this is unhealthy for science.
