Noted scientist and former Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) P.M. Bhargava lambasted the organisers of the forthcoming Indian Science Congress at Tirupati and the Central Government for taking up sessions of Science and Spirituality and the likes.

“I must have attended 40 Indian Science Congress meetings since 1948 but treating science as synonymous with superstition shows total bankruptcy of Indian science. It is not the government’s fault alone, but that of scientific community too. They should have refused to participate in the meeting for mixing up superstition with valid proof,” he said here on Monday.

He was addressing a press meet organised by the Jana Vignana Vedika - Telangana for releasing a declaration based on a day-long seminar conducted on what ails the Indian Science Congress attended by scientists, activists and rationalists. A set of recommendations was also prepared to be submitted to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The JVV’s contention is that instead of deliberating on the serious problems the country is facing with and working for a scientific solution, the ISC is bent on deliberating “non-issues” like “pseudo-science” and “Vedic science”, according to M. Adinarayana, T. Ramesh and B.N. Bapu Reddy of the organisation.

Dr. Bhargava accused the scientific community of having buckled under the government’s “dictatorial attitude” and he was sure it has the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The ISC has become progressively bad and has now degenerated to this level of treating science with superstition or absurdities which do not stand logic or reasoning. It should be wound up,” he said.

The government betrayed a total lack of understanding of what science is as a human endeavour based on reason, logic, proof and evidence.

“This kind of imposition on scientific organisations and that the scientists have succumbed is a bad reflection of our government and the scientific community,” he added.

The JVV in its declaration has accused the ISC of not addressing the problems of Indian masses effectively. Proceedings of such meets have been “directionless” seldom addressing the deepening social and economic inequalities in the country, agrarian economy, rural health, promotion of scientific temper, etc.

The Tirupati meeting should be focussing on these issues and more, it said.