The scientific temper which Jawaharlal Nehru espoused and sought to inculcate in every Indian was essentially meant to promote an eternal quest for truth based on reason, rationale and facts. Unfortunately, august forums like the annual Indian Science Congress are being misused by invitees occupying high positions to propagate their delusions of ancestry and racial superiority by asserting that ancient Indians were conversant with genetic engineering and plastic surgery, that Ravana had 24 types of aircraft, and so on. The scientific community should be more vocal in resisting such entry of fiction and mythology in the field of science and unequivocally dissociate itself from such outlandish and chauvinistic claims to a glorious past. Failure to do so would only expose our countrymen to embarrassment, derision and ridicule from science bodies (Editorial, “Life of science,” Jan. 6).
R. Ravichandran,
Chennai
