Indian prime minister Narendra Modi speaks at the start of the 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Mumbai on January 3. AFP Photo
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi speaks at the start of the 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Mumbai on January 3. AFP Photo

Hindu nationalists claim ancient sage ‘invented spaceships’



NEW DELHI // Speakers at a prestigious science conference in Mumbai have said that a Hindu sage invented interplanetary spacecraft 7,000 years ago, that a herbal paste applied to a person’s feet can help locate underground water and that a bacteria found in cows can turn any material into gold.

These unconventional claims were made on Sunday during a session of the continuing Indian Science Congress, titled Ancient Sciences Through Sanskrit.

The discussion was sandwiched between more orthodox events on nuclear magnetic resonance and the structure of the atom, and speakers were an uncomfortable fit with the rest of those on the day’s schedule: spiritual counsellors and Sanskrit scholars moving among neurologists, chemists and physicists.

“There is official history and unofficial history,” said one of the speakers, retired pilot trainer Anand Bodas. “Official history only noted that the Wright Brothers flew the first plane in 1903,” but the inventor of the airplane was really a sage named Bharadwaja, who lived around 7,000 years ago. “The ancient planes had 40 small engines.”

The pilots of these planes, Mr Bodas went on, wore special suits that protected them from viruses, electric shocks and extreme weather conditions.

But the text on which he relied — titled the Vaimanika Shastra — has been dated by a team from the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru as only a century old at most. The flying machines described in the text, the team said, were “poor concoctions” and “unimaginably horrendous.”

The presence of speakers like Mr Bodas at an ordinarily serious gathering of scientists — the 102nd such annual event — has stirred anger in India’s scientific community. It has also stoked concerns that the rise to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has allowed Hindu nationalists to spread their influence into academia.

The Indian Science Congress Association, which puts on the conference each year, is a professional body under the government’s ministry of science and technology with a membership of 30,000 scientists.

The government’s representative, environment minister Prakash Javadekar, insisted that the forum was “secular and purely academic.”

“We should pay attention to Sanskrit knowledge and use it for human development,” he said.

Leaders of the Hindu right, including prime minister Narendra Modi, have previously suggested that modern science has its origins in ancient Indian understanding.

Mr Modi, who hails from the BJP, said in October that deity Ganesha — who under Hindu myth was formed by the attachment of an elephant’s head to the body of a human boy — was an early example of plastic surgery.

And in November, home minister Rajnath Singh said that Werner Heisenberg’s principle of quantum uncertainty, theorised in 1927, drew upon the Hindu scriptures known collectively as the Vedas.

The political opposition has criticised the government’s encouragement of such declarations. On Monday, Congress party parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor dismissed the “exaggerations of the Hindutva brigade,” using the common term for Hindu right-wing groups.

Mr Tharoor pointed out, however, that old Indian texts did include some robust science, such as an equivalent of Pythagoras’ theorem and some concepts of algebra.

Indian scientists have been forceful in dismissing what they see as the encroachment of political agendas on science.

In December, after the Indian Science Congress’ schedule was announced, California-based Indian scientist Ramprasad Gandhiraman began a petition “to stop providing a platform for pseudoscience.” More than 200 Indian scientists have signed the petition since then.

Calling the presence of such speakers at a scientific conference “appalling,” the petition said it questioned the integrity of scientific progress.

“We as [a] scientific community should be seriously concerned about the infiltration of pseudoscience in science curricula with backing of influential political parties,” the petition said. “The accelerated pace with which it is being promoted will seriously undermine [the] nation’s science and ... will have a disastrous effect on the future generation [of] scientists.”

The congress’ Ancient Sciences Through Sanskrit session “made for some interesting lunchtime conversation” at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, said T A Abinandanan, a professor and the author of Nanopolitan, a popular blog focused on higher education.

"It's pretty bizarre," he told The National. "It has made the event look ridiculous."

Mr Abinandanan observed, however, that the history of Indian science is and should be “a legitimate field of inquiry. What did the ancient Indians know, and how did they know it?”

“There is definitely place for such a session at the Indian Science Congress,” he said. “My grouse is that they didn’t ask people who do science-orientated work to speak about it. They asked a bunch of jokers with a political agenda.”

ssubramanian@thenational.ae

Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.

Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.

The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.

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4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds

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Company%20profile
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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

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What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.

Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.

Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.

When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety

If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.   

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

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