Inauguration

National Science Week

Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre

8 May 2019

Chairperson Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre Trust Fund, Dr. Jayantee Naugah,

Director from Ministry of Education, Human Resources and Scientific Research, Mrs. D. Sauba,

Chairperson, Mauritius Research Council, Dr. Michael Atchia,

Executive Director, Tertiary Education Commission, Prof. Sid Nair,

Director of Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, Dr. Aman Maulloo,

Distinguished Guests,

Fellow Diplomats,

Students and professors,

Friends,

Congratulations to all students and schools, participants & winners of the National Youth Conference.

I thank the Science Centre for inviting me here today to join you all for the launch of the National Science Week.

This is an important initiative.

It is very encouraging to see the young students in this Hall and in the ground outside.

Human mind is curious. Curious to understand what is going on around us. And to manipulate it.

Our evolution as a species has been driven by our capacity to think, to imagine what lies ahead, remember what happened in the past, correlate events, analyse them, make assumptions, do trial and error and experiment to reach conclusions and find solutions to problems.

Our survival has depended on these faculties, which themselves evolved over millions of years. It helped the human species to outcompete others and explore new vistas.

Our capacity to imagine helped the early hominins to shape tools out of volcanic rocks. The capacity to observe patterns and correlate cause and effect for instance helped our ancestors to recognize daily and annual cycles and constellation of stars that helped them navigate their way, make fire and assisted farming.

All these are examples of scientific method. Science is not something remote. It is intimately connected with every person’s daily life. The food that we cook, the clothes that we wear, the houses that we build all are based on scientific principles.

While religion and arts are also human endeavours to understand and make sense of our life and surroundings, their approaches are different from that of science. Many of the early leading thinkers have combined all these three aspects of looking at things.

Science is today understood as a more rational evidence-based approach on learning the why and how of things. But then a scientific and rational mind should also be an open mind. And not become dogmatic or pre-judge things.

I say this in the context of the outright skepticism that is often displayed towards cumulative indigenous knowledge and wisdom. We must remember that the indigenous knowledge is also built upon generations of observation and trial and error. Its benefits are often clear in certain areas of farming and healthcare. It is useful to understand the basis of such knowledge.

In a modern sense, scientists have taken huge strides to observe and understand nature both at a very macro level – creating an image of a Black Hole for example recently, to also a very micro level – manipulating the DNA inside a cell.

All this requires great engineering and technology skills that themselves are practical applications of science.

Today, science has become highly specialized. And we often forget that science is cross cutting. The distinctions between various branches of science are man-made. Nature did not make these distinctions. The vast body of scientific knowledge means that it is difficult to keep track of developments in different disciplines. However, most of the latest advances are based on a more comprehensive understanding of a cross section of fields.

While there are limits to scientific method and its limitations vis-à-vis moral and ethical issues, the history of civilizations shows that advancements in science and technology largely determine the longevity and success of societies.

This continues to be true.

Today our knowledge and manipulation of the individual cell, the atom and information byte is leading to an ongoing revolution in terms of technology that impacts all spheres of our lives.

Friends,

While there has been a long tradition of scientific thought in India dating back to millennia, our progress as an independent nation in the last seven decades has been built upon the efforts of our scientists.

Despite relatively limited resources, our scientists have achieved success in reaching the moon and Mars; they explore the depths of oceans; they have ensured the green revolution to meet the huge food grain requirement for over a billion people; have contributed immensely through advancements in pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

Several efforts are going on in India by the Government, the scientific establishment and the civil society alike to popularize science among the youth. A latest example is a mega exhibition Vigyan Samagam – that will cover four Indian metros starting this month. It showcases some mega science projects that are fine examples of large scale international cooperation. Such projects are not only informational and but inspirational, especially for young people.

Since my arrival in Mauritius around four months back, I have had the opportunity to interact with colleagues here at this Science Centre, at Mauritius Research Council, and the University of Mauritius among others.

I was excited to see the interest in the events organized here at this Centre to mark the UN International Year of the Periodic Table. I was impressed to see the level of interest, including in young girl students, in Mathematics at the Contest organized by the Ramanujan Trust, named after the great Indian Nobel laureate.

We recently invited students from University of Mauritius to visit the visiting Indian navy ships to see the science and engineering that goes into making a ship sail. I understand that the participants enjoyed the experience.

I also understand that the young scientists in Mauritius are currently working to develop a nano-satellite that will be launched in coming months. It will surely excite the imagination of the young Mauritian student. And I am also very much looking forward to that big event.

Mauritius is an island nation but has a vast EEZ, the size of the Indian EEZ. Its emphasis on developing the ocean economy will require a range of scientific and technological expertise ranging from disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, fisheries, mineral exploration, surveillance etc.

I, therefore, complement the continuing efforts of the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre in popularizing science in Mauritius. I hope that more and more young students in Mauritius will get excited to pursue science subjects. This will also surely be a more lucrative career option going forward.

My best wishes for the success of this National Science Week.

Thank you.

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