SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, AT THE FUNCTION TO MARK THE
PUBLICATION OF "INNOVATIVE INDIA"
NEW DELHI, MAY 22,
1999
Shri L.K. Sharma, Professor M.G.K. Menon, Professor C.N.R. Rao, Dr Mashelkar
and Professor Goverdhan Mehta, Professor Ramamurthy, Dr. Manju Sharma,
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Dr. S. Varadarajan, Dr. Srivastava and many other
distinguished scientists and friends,
In
a weak moment due to the persuasiveness of Shri L.K. Sharma, I agreed
to attend this meeting. Though, I did not promise to give a speech far
less, a lecture on this occasion. I have come here primarily to celebrate,
together with our scientists in the precincts of this Indian National
Science Academy, the publication of this very attractive, impressive and
vital volume.
First
of all, I would like to congratulate Sharma and Sima Sharma for bringing
about this significant volume. I myself know very little about science
having not been a student of science but a student of literature. But
I learnt a little about science late in my life when I was the Minister
of Science & Technology. In fact I asked Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
who put me in that position, why did he choose me; because of my ignorance
of science or for what reason. He told me that it was because all our
scientists are great intellectuals; I thought that you will feel at home
because of your reputation at that time. And whatever science I learnt
is by interaction with the top scientists of India, the Heads of Departments
and the Heads of institutions. By picking their brains and interacting
with them on specific problems which came up before me and in Parliament,
I picked up a little of science. Otherwise I have no qualification to
be standing here.
This
book "Innovative India" is a very significant title. For nearly
a century, India has been trying to change itself and the process of innovation
started with the Renaissance figures of India, then by Swami Vivekananda
and later Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
You
have identified as a critical factor in the innovation of India as science
and technology. It is really so. Because, for ages, our society has got
congealed in all manner of traditions, beliefs, superstitions and inactivity
and in this context, innovation is what we require most. No doubt, the
Indian mind was very audacious in the past. It has soared the heights
of philosophy and plumbed into the depths of human nature. But in the
material field it has not done very much in producing what I should call
the good things of life for the people.
I
am here really to get some vibrations from the distinguished scientists
present here. I was told that when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister,
a school girl wrote to her that we had great scientists like C.V. Raman,
when we were still a subject nation; can you give me a few names of such
scientists in India in the present. I do not know what Mrs. Gandhi wrote
back, but she gave that letter to one of our scientists to give her information
about it. But I think it is not true to say that we have not got great
scientists like C.V. Raman and others. Because the world itself is changing,
it has produced so many great scientists of great excellence that even
the bjustifyer scientists will get lost in this forest of intellectual dignitaries.
I
have no doubt that science is the critical element in changing India and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, more than anyone else, knew this truth. He has
not only created a series of laboratories, research institutions in India
but constantly talked about the necessity for scientific temper in life.
The scientific temper and attitude is required if you are to innovate
in any sphere of life. Science touches every aspect of life and what the
scientists have to do is to think about these various aspects of life
in India and direct their attention to providing answers to the problems
of the people from the scientific point of view.
It
has been said that we have followed the illusion of mega projects in the
beginning. To this Pandit Nehru had something to say. He said that it
is true that these mega projects may not be directly valuable to the people
themselves, to the life of the ordinary man, but the fact that they are
there is very important because projects do not descend from the sky;
they are created by us, by our scientists and by our technicians and it
is, therefore, our creation. And it sets before us examples of what we
can do ourselves.
Today
what we require is application of this vast store of scientific knowledge
that we have accumulated for the benefit of the people, how we can use
this for the betterment of the life of people in their ordinary life.
Mention has been made of drinking water. Drinking water is going to be
one of the biggest problems of mankind and of course, of India also. Advances
in sciences are relevant to solving this big problem and I remember when
I was in the Ministry of Science and Technology, CSIR had a plan for drinking
water it was then that Rajiv Gandhi introduced his Technology Missions.
These missions were all focussed on the actual needs of the peoples in
their lives. As Professor Mashelkar has said such Mission project is really
required for the application of science to the life of the people. We
are fully aware of these aspects because in the Scientific Policy Resolution
of 1958 itself, it was stated that "Science is the basis of technology
and its applications for the solution of problems." I think the area
which we need most for the good of our people is first of all, agriculture
and food production. We have fortunately succeeded in bringing about a
revolution in food production by the application of scientific methods
to agriculture. But still much has to be done to carry forward this revolution.
Now next what we need is a 'nutrition revolution', so that people have
nutritious food and a balanced diet.
Another
elementary requirement of the people is housing. Scientists have to project
their knowledge and technology to the building of houses for the people.
Of course many attempts have been made by the Ministries and Departments
for this purpose. But it is an immense job providing millions of houses
for the millions of people in our country.
I
recall what Mahatma Gandhi used to say what his concept of "ideal
village" in India was. It is often said that he was a retarding influence
on progress, but if you recall what concept he had of an ideal village,
you would see that he was very far ahead. He said an ideal village should
have first of all, houses with fresh air and good sanitation. He said
that there should be streets devoid of all avoidable dirt and dust. Every
house must have a courtyard for growing vegetables and for looking after
the cattle. Then he also said that the houses should be built of materials
easily available, say within 5 miles of the place and that every village
should have a primary school, secondary school and places of worship etc.
Now, when you put these all together, what you will see is an advanced
concept of village life. After 50 years, we have not reached even half
the way towards that concept. If the scientists apply their minds and
efforts and the nation pools its resources for developing rural areas,
and giving basic amenities to the people, I think we can accomplish this
job.
In
house building, there are several examples before us. We have been running
after the concept of big buildings using steel, aluminium and concrete
on a large scale. These are not the kind of constructions which are required
even for the cities in India, not to speak of the villages. Of course,
considerable work has been done by HUDCO and other innovators in the field
of building cheap and better houses. In Kerala, I know Mr. Lawrie Baker,
an architect who has introduced mud as the basic substance of house construction,
he called it mod mud, which is suitable to our climate, salubrious for
the environment and cheap for the people. For some reasons, the values
of our people do not permit us to build houses of this kind. First of
all, therefore, there must be a massive effort for fashioning the values
of our people as well as our rulers.
Literacy
has been mentioned in this regard. Literacy is certainly the basis of
everything, because literacy is the nucleus of knowledge and science is
knowledge. How scientists can contribute to the spread of literacy in
the country is a matter to be thought about. That includes scientific
literacy also. But you must have basic literacy before we can get into
the realm of scientific literacy.
I
think we have so many projects for the alleviation of the conditions of
the life of the people introduced by the Government itself. But one thing
lacks in these. If these projects are equipped and supported with a certain
degree of scientific knowledge, they would bring about revolutionary changes
in India. I have often thought that our various schemes like NREP, NRDP
etc., while operating them if some young scientists are also included
along with bureaucrats, then they would be able to operate them meaningfully
and in a way that would change the society. Why is it not possible for
us to create a core of scientific extension workers from among our educated
people, to be attached to every rural development project that is being
sponsored by the Government and in executions of these, such core of scientific
extension workers can be introduced. They would not only be able to find
solutions for some other problems in the execution of such projects but
would learn themselves about real life in India. In this way, there are
so many areas where we can and we ought to apply science to change the
conditions of India to be really innovative.
Of
course, science is a very free activity. It has to be unimpeded. It has
been said that a scientist cannot think of what the consequences would
be of his inventions or innovations when he is making all these things.
But it is true that scientists should have absolute freedom. Pandit Nehru
once said that a scientist must be prepared to look into the pit of hell
unafraid if he is to exercise his imagination and talent for creating
new things. I am afraid that science has been literally looking into the
pit of hell to-day in the world. But when the world is like that we have
ourselves got to look into the pit of hell while thinking about the future
inventions and possibilities. But essentially and fundamentally, science
is a peaceful avocation. It is true that scientists produce horrendous
weapons, and in this world when everybody is rushing towards such instruments,
and refuses to put any limitation on their activities in producing them,
multiplying them and perfecting them and using them, experimentally or
for particular geo-political purposes, it is unavoidable that we in this
country also should be thinking along these lines, if we are to protect
ourselves, our culture and billions of our people. Because the defence
of a country of nearly 1 billion people is a complicated matter. The manner
in which scientific discoveries are being used to selectively annihilate
certain people is a fjustifyening prospect. In the past there have been
terrorists getting hold of weapons and doing damage to innocent people.
Today some States themselves tend to assume the aspect of an instrument
of terror for peoples of other States. We can take pride that we have
made great progress in all aspects of science in our country.
We
have to think of new fields of science where we should excel ourselves.
Constantly, new fields of science are opening up. Bio-technology has opened
up so many things of the inner secrets of life. It is true that we have
made wonderful progress particularly in electronics, computers and software.
I understand that India is now trying to make bio-chips for computers
which has not been achieved anywhere in the world. This venture into in
the new field of bio-technology and inventing and discovering something
new is particularly important. Of course, the practical aspects of life
- export, competition, quality products etc., you have mentioned before
me, are of utmost importance to live in this competitive world.
I
believe that Sharma and Sima Sharma have focussed our attention to the
larger application of science as well as to the minute applications of
science for the benefit of the people by bringing about this impressive
volume. I congratulate them for this achievement. May I also say I am
very delighted to be with distinguished scientists at the headquarters
of Indian National Science Academy. I should like to say some thing more.
Scientists should not look down upon our previous achievements in India.
Much of our empirical knowledge we have gathered have a basis of scientific
knowledge behind it. For example, in medicine we have several systems
of medicine in India. Our Ayurveda is a scientific system but it is not
what you call modern science. I find that even in the face of very powerful
empirical evidence, scientists tend to shy away from looking at Ayurveda.
If they have invented one drug which cures, say Cancer, and it is empirically
proved, even then the approach of our medical scientists is one of scepticism.
Of course, scepticism is good, it is one of the well-springs of life.
There is a lot we can learn from our past experience and while we reject
the rigid structures we have built up in the past in our society. In order
to innovate, we should take what has been achieved by the intellect, insight
and imagination of our forefathers and build upon them. Of course, we
must apply to it the rigorous standards of modern science.
Science
has done a lot for culture. Science has helped in the view of culture
which is modern and not ossified. It has made culture available to the
generality of the people, to the vast masses of the people. Therefore,
information technology is something we have been pursuing with vigour.
I would like to
conclude by saying that I am really delighted to be amongst you all
and to see that this book has received such encouragement from scientists
in India. I should like to thank and congratulate the Sharmas for this
achievement.
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