It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform -- Article 51A (h), Indian Constitution
What is Scientific Temper?
Put simply, it is the ability of an individual to be logical in his/her thinking. It involves making opinions/decisions based on reason and evidence rather than on faith. It is more a way of life than a particular ideology.
In India, the phrase “scientific temper” was popularised by Jawaharlal Nehru in his book - Discovery of India.
He defined it as -
"the refusal to accept anything without testing and trial, the capacity to change previous conclusions in the face of new evidence, the reliance on observed fact and not on pre-conceived theory, the hard discipline of the mind—all this is necessary, not merely for the application of science but for life itself and the solution of its many problems"
Many leaders after Jawaharlal Nehru too hailed the importance of Scientific Temper.
Narendra Modi, at the Indian International Science Festival in Kolkata, highlighted the constitutional importance of scientific temper. He said that “scientific temper reduces superstitions and helps us tackle the fear of the unknown”
Yet, the idea of scientific temper remained a lipservice in India. It is used without any regard on National Science Day (February 28) or when ISRO sends a rocket to space.
Many social problems have a solution in scientific temper. Child marriages, Low women labour force participation, Dowry, Honour killings, Health of women, Air pollution, Water pollution, Liver problems, fake news, and Terrorism.
Scientific Temper is NOT
Scientific Temper is NOT Atheism. Joseph Stalin was a staunch atheist but got devoted to the idea of Marxism to such an extreme that he never allowed questioning it.
Even scientists who practice science do NOT necessarily have a scientific temper. [Jawaharal Nehru, Discovery of India]
Scientific Temper is NOT to disrespect traditional and indigenous knowledge systems. In fact, many superstitions and pseudosciences that Scientific temper challenges are not even Indian. (Case-in-point: Homeopathy)
Scientific Temper is NOT a draconian provision that was added to the Constitution during the dark times of Emergency. True, it was added through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act during the Emergency, along with several draconian provisions. But the Janatha Party that came to power later undid a lot of such draconian provisions — and Article 51A (h) was not one of them.
Need for Scientific Temper in the Political Class
The government is the only body that has and requires a degree of discretionary power. But discretion should be balanced by public reasoning. Government officials should be able to rationalise their discretionary power. Otherwise, we could end up with a government which can do all types of nonsense without any reasoning.
Celebrating a few of the harbingers of rationalism in the country:
Martyrs of Scientific Temper in India:
Narendra Dabholkar: A Physician and the founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samithi. He championed the development of the Anti-Superstition and the Blackmagic Act, which the Maharashtra government enacted after his assassination. On August 20, 2013, when Dabholkar went on a morning walk, he was murdered by two gunmen who fired four bullets into his head and chest, killing his radiating intellect and daring heart. The main perpetrators of the murder are still not arrested.
Govind Pansare: A prolific author, who mostly wrote about social wrongs. He encouraged inter-caste marriages and fought superstitious rituals. On 16th February 2015, he was shot by two gunmen when he was out on a morning walk. The shooters and the main perpetrators of the murder are still not identified.
M.M Kalburgi: A literary scholar and a progressive reformer in the Lingayat community of Karnataka. His research provided insights and raised new perspectives into the Lingayat history and community. On August 30, 2015, two gunmen posing as students of Kalburgi went to his home and fired two bullets into his head and chest. The murderers are still not arrested.
Farook Ahmed: A vocal rationalist and an atheist. He ran a Whatsapp Group “Allah Murdad” (There is no God) to provide a safe space for Muslim youth who embraced atheism. On 16th March 2017, he was stabbed 18 times by his childhood ‘friends’ for his vocal atheism.
And many others are facing innumerable challenges to date. Sanal Edamaruku is in voluntary exile as he was charged with blasphemy for exposing Christian priests. Narendra Nayak lives under police protection. And many more are receiving daily threats as we read this.
Scientific temper is one idea that need not have any ideological divisions. We can see that people from different ideological, social and religious backgrounds have fought for scientific temper and became martyrs in the process.
And it is also straightforward to practice.
Ask questions. Seek evidence. Be sceptical. Don’t accept anything just because it is told by an elder, a person with a white beard, or a person wearing colours associated with your religion. Respect yourself and your intellect. You can understand things based on reason instead of faith. That is your fundamental duty as a citizen. Jai Hind!
“I think, therefore I am” — Rene Descartes
Please treat this article as a running document of scientific temper in India. Share resources, news, people, laws ., etc associated with scientific temper and rationalism by commenting here. I’ll update it accordingly.
And please share this post, especially with those who would disagree with the contents of the post. It is through debates that rationalism blossoms.
Resources:
Rationalists of India:
Abby Phillips a.k.a “The Liver Doctor” [Active]
Amit Schandillia [Active]
Babu Gogineni [Active]
Javed Akhtar [Active]
Pranav Radhakrishnan (Science is Dope) [Active]