India March for Science to be flagged off for the protection of science, technology
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram will march with the rest of the country on Wednesday calling for the protection of science and technology and scientific temper.
The Thiruvananthapuram edition of India March for Science will be flagged off from near the Kerala State Central Library at Palayam at 11 am. Scientists, teachers and students from various institutions in the state capital will participate in the march. The march, a national-level campaign, raises a four-point agenda: Scientists across the nation have urged the government to allocate at least 3 per cent of the GDP towards scientific and technological research and 10 per cent towards education.
Two, they have urged the Central government to stop propagation of unscientific and obscurantist ideas and religious intolerance. The scientific community also urges the government to develop scientific temper, human values and the spirit of inquiry in conformation with Article 51 (A) of the Constitution.
Three, the government should ensure only those ideas that have a scientific basis are propagated through the country’s educational system. And four, all enacted scientific policies should be based on evidence-based science.
At the national level, the march is spearheaded by more than 400 well known scientists. In Kerala, the campaign is led by science organisations like Breakthrough Science Society, All India peoples Science Network, Astro Kerala and the Indian Writers’ Forum led by prominent writers including Sachidanandan and N S Madhavan. P Radhakrishnan, former deputy director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre chairs the organising committee in the state. Former deputy director of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Thiruvananthapuram, D Krishna Warrier, is the vice chairman.
According to the organisers, the march in Kerala will not be confined to any particular venue in the state. The India March for Science was inspired by similar marches held at the international level. More than 10 lakh people had participated in similar marches in around 600 cities of Europe, the US and Latin America on April 22.