Let science go Indian

Sir, - Mr. S.S. Gill (`What ails Indian Science?', May 10) hits it squarely on the head when he says that Nehru's penchant for atomic energy and space exploration was misplaced. Ideally, Mr. Gill should have extended his critique to all education in India. What ails education here is a serious lack of indigenous content and the resulting uncritical aping of Western thought processes. How else can you explain the preparedness of Indian IT experts to debug the much-hyped Y2K problem (a non-event in India) amidst the daily auguries of cholera, typhoid and kindred diseases for which no immediate relief is available? Our education simply meets the Western demand for labour at Indian wage rates. In this context, should we not embrace the recent proposal to incorporate Vedic astrology and mathematics in universities for a start?

Ganesh S. Krishnan,

Minnesota, U.S.

Sir, - Mr. Gill's article could not have come at a more appropriate time. His comparison of scientific activity in India before and after Independence should be an eye-opener for many planners of the post-Independence era. The article underlines the poor condition of our university system. It is this aspect that the planners must think carefully about and resurrect the past glory of some of the universities. One has to only compare a laboratory funded directly by the Department of Atomic Energy or CSIR and one in a so-called good university to appreciate the contrasting conditions.

Prof. K. Subba Rao,

University of Hyderabad

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