The jury is still out on the relevance of the Indian Science Congress. The latest edition, which concluded in Mysuru on Friday, drew a variety of opinion, but much of it quite negative. However, science congresses do tend to draw adverse criticism from core scientists who may find highly specialised seminars in their subjects more useful from a professional perspective. Why this edition was more reviled than usual was because it became a jamboree.
The Prime Minister’s presence and his leading comments on science were important, but mismanagement of the event led to even Nobel laureates being jostled. With India’s pre-eminent scientist and Nobel laureate of recent vintage, Venky Ramakrishnan, declaring he would never attend the ISC because it was a “circus where very little science was discussed”, the flak was abnormally heavy.
However, the “Kumbh Mela” atmosphere didn’t deter Fields Medal winner and Princeton mathematician Manjul Bhargava from finding it engrossing, his reasoning being that science congresses are meant to build bridges with colleagues from everywhere and to interact with the public and government rather than delve deep into science. Where the science congress deteriorates is when the ruling party tries to inject ideology into a field they should leave well alone. The blowing of a conch may be an art but does it have to be featured in a congress meant to encourage a scientific temperament? It is best that governments leave the subject to the scientists so they may prove the Albert Einstein dictum that “action is the real measure of intelligence”.
