On August 22 Governor Shyamal Datta and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio released the Report, Album and documentary film commemorating the observance of the Year of Scientific Awareness, a culmination of the Governor and Chief Minister’s Jatha Teams that toured all the districts of Nagaland. The series of tours conducted under the aegis of the State government was aimed at creating awareness and also to highlight how peoples’ lives are constantly being affected by science.
That there is immense scope for development in Nagaland to take place by applying science and technology was explained by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio himself. He cited the examples of hydrogers, solar lightings, telemedicine, connectivity, and cane and bamboo technology in Nagaland as benefits accruing from the application of scientific knowledge.
But whether we have been able to imbibe a spirit of scientific temper among people in the State remains a moot point. Nothing substantiates this point better then the news-report ‘The Cartoon that said it all’ (carried in The Morung Express, August 25). The cartoon depicts a man waiting patiently to fill up his vessel from a dry tap on a rainy day while shielding himself from the rain with the umbrella. The meaning behind this is evident, that he could have easily stored the rainwater in the bucket but he does not apply his reasoning power even though the opportunity is right before him. This metaphorically explains that we have scientific solution in front of us but we fail to see it, as we do not apply our knowledge. This particular cartoon was the center of attention at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan, during the scientific awareness program. The Governor was so amused and yet impressed by this cartoon while the Chief Minister reportedly jested “We are fools”, commenting that one cannot survive without common sense.
While, Nagas aversion to studying science subject in school and colleges is generally accepted, it can be said without much contention that the study of science is useful for the growth and development of the human mind. In societies where science is ignored and neglected, the minds of the people remain stunted and dwarfed and the reasoning faculties remain dormant. The material progress and indeed well being of a society depends on striving towards scientific activity and therefore it is imperative to make students and citizens scientific-minded. Scientific education has another advantage in that it is not based on human emotions. In science there is no prejudice, no bias, no exaggeration, no distortion and no partiality. Science enables us to see things in their own perspective.
For centuries the scientist and the scientific thinker were persona-non-grata with the educational authorities both in the east and the west. The reason could have been the questioning attitude that science demands, while education is stereotyped as demanding perfect conformity from students. Absolute faith was the sine qua non of education. Whether this attitude has changed or not requires another deliberation.
But science as a curriculum in education has come to be widely accepted as essential for a more complete and holistic view of life. It is the scientific temper, the search for new knowledge, the reliance on observed fact and not on preconceived theory, which is seen as necessary, not merely for the application of science but for life itself and the solution of its many problems. As such education must be all comprehensive and in today’s Naga society, science is of as much importance as liberal education. To ignore science is to encourage falsehood, hypocrisy and superstition which have been the retarding forces in the history of mankind.
