Published on 24 Nov 2014 Newsclick interviewed Dr. Satyajit Rath on recent comments by the Prime Minister on supposed scientific “achievements” of ancient India. Modi, while inaugurating a Reliance hospital in Mumbai, said that India had discovered genetic engineering and plastic surgery in the days of the Mahabharata. Dr. Rath says that these statements are part of the myth-creation that underpins the project of cultural nationalism of the RSS and the Sangh Parivar. Such myths seek to establish a spurious superiority for Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma and are central to Hindutva. They take us away from, rather than closer to, the contemporary challenges and possibilities of scientific research. Dr. Rath points out that the comments and their context indicate a fusion of Hindutva and a neo-liberal market-driven policy framework, wherein science and technology are seen purely from the point of view of business and profit, and not as a common collective resource to improve the lives of the bulk of the people. youtu.be/SiNUZHCdtpU
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 01:44:48 +0000
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