How politics of pseudoscience threatens India's scientific literacy
The Indian media, in particular, can and should address issues of science literacy in the country as science is for all, although literacy is not yet for all Current Affairs News : Should the Indian media pay as much attention as it does to our politicians’ pseudoscientific claims ? The Print had posed this question to me recently – making an apparent reference to the debate between those who say we should simply focus on ‘good science’ and reinforce its traits and those who believe ‘bad science’ is an opportunity for journalists to uncover deeper issues. For example, when junior education minister Satyapal Singh said, “Darwin’s theory is scientifically wrong” or when Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, “Astrology is the biggest science. It is in fact above science. We should promote it.” It’s no secret that some Indian ministers have been trying to rewrite Indian scientific history, and such claims are part of that story.