Rituals of science congress

摘要

Too much of anything is bad. M. K. Unnikrishnan has rightly pointed out the fallacy of too much adherence to rituals and VIP fetishism in the annual mela or melee of the Indian Science Congress. His is probably the most recent onein a very long chain of attempts at drawing the attention of people of importance in our scientific establishment and in our thoroughly unscientific political establishment to the mores of a serious professional and academic gathering. But the coterie of leaders in the Indian Science Congress have proved themselves champions in putting both scientific and unscientific together andsacrificing the former to the latter. This is not new, rather very old- at least as old as our republic. I quote from two well-known personalities to support my points.