Nakul Parashar, Director, Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology, Madurai addressing PhD scholars during the training workshop on Popular Science Writing under AWSAR programme. , Photo Credit: G.Murthy
JayA few days before National Science Day (28 February) this year, an official press release from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) cryptically announced the death of Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous body under its purview. It gave no explanation for the decision to close the agency, which is tasked with fostering scientific thinking through communication and increasing public understanding of science.
It has now emerged that the agency will cease to exist from the end of July this year. Officials have tried to explain that the move was a part of an exercise initiated by the NITI Aayog to rationalize the functioning of autonomous societies working under different wings of the central government.
The fact that Vigyan Prasar is not alone in this exercise is of no consolation. Without public consultation at any stage, the entire matter has been shrouded in secrecy. Since this began as an exercise targeting autonomous bodies, it implies that the government wants all its agencies to be centrally run, with no room for any functional, institutional and intellectual autonomy.
Origin of Vigyan Prasar
While Vigyan Prasar started functioning in 1989, it was a Nehruvian idea of science communication and scientific awareness that was discovering itself in the early days of independence. It has been part of an unbroken chain of government institutions and policies since 1947 related to scientific temper – a key foundational idea of modern India.
For Jawaharlal Nehru, science and technology were essential inputs in the nation-building project, and this was reflected in the construction of national laboratories, institutions of higher education, large dams, etc. To fight irrationality and orthodoxy, Nehru supported the plan to open ‘Science Temples’ across India in the First Five Year Plan. These science centers tried to popularize scientific ideas among the rural population and were equipped with basic scientific equipment, books, film slides, etc. New, high-yielding crop varieties driving the Green Revolution.
Faced with new social challenges such as pollution, energy crisis and superstition, the DST decided to create an agency to promote public debate on science and technology and eliminate irrational attitudes. Thus in 1982 the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) was born. It supported a large number of voluntary groups and grassroots science movements. One of its major contributions was a mass movement called ‘Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha’ (BJVJ) which, after its culmination, gave rise to a network of voluntary organisations. This network took the shape of the All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN), and it remains so to this day.
The work of NCSTC and the momentum generated by BJVJ led to the idea of a National Institute of Science and Technology Communication. This was science dissemination. Both NCSTC and Vigyan Prasar had a common driving force: Narendra K. Sehgal.
Vigyan Prasar produced material on scientific thinking in the 1990s and disseminated it widely through radio and television. These include ‘Vigyan Vidhi’ (a 13-part radio series on the methodology of science in 16 languages), ‘India Ki Chhap’ (a 13-part television series on the history of science in India), ‘Evolution of Man’ (144-part radio series on human development in 18 languages), ‘Why and How’ (television series on critical thinking), and ‘A Question of Science’ (television show on scientific questions).
In addition, the agency commissioned filmmakers to make documentaries on the lives of prominent scientists, history of science, etc. Total solar eclipse of October 1995. Since then, popular astronomy has become a major component of science dissemination activities as a vehicle for spreading scientific literacy and awareness.
from its original mandate
However, in recent times, Vigyan Prasar has moved away from its original mandate of promoting scientific temper, science literacy and public understanding of science. New projects were taken up without adequate preparation and coordination. For example, the agency launched ‘DD Science’ in collaboration with Doordarshan as a one-hour daily program on science, but it rerun previously aired documentaries and did not offer new or original content to fill the slot. Could do After this came an OTT channel named ‘IndiaScience.in’.
While implementing these projects, the leadership of Vigyan Prasar fell into the trap of linking science communication with government propaganda. The OTT science channel has turned into an open propaganda platform covering the Prime Minister’s Republic Day speech and regular programs like ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’. The ‘Science Channel’ dutifully highlighted even minor incidents in the constituency of Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh. More seriously, the channel left no stone unturned in glorifying ancient texts and the “scientific benefits” of yoga, interviewing Swami Ramdev and even a chief controller of accounts at DST on “science in the Vedas”.
Besides this, Vigyan Prasar management also opened a revolving door between Vigyan Prasar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliated ‘Vigyan Bharati’ aka VIBHA. Senior officials of Vigyan Prasar held positions in Vibha and the two agencies organized joint events which were funded by Vigyan Prasar. VIBHA was given financial assistance of an estimated ₹1.5 crore in a year for conducting an online science aptitude test called ‘Vigyan Vidyarthi Manthan’; It included a module on “Ancient Science” and required a fee of ₹200 per student. For the annual event of the Vibha, funded by the scientific departments, Vigyan Prasar served as the secretariat and paid the salaries of the Vibha advisors. VIBHA programs are frequently featured in Vigyan Prasar’s Dream 2047 magazine, and its office bearers are interviewed on the Science Channel. It is strange that the rise of VIBHA has coincided with the decline of Vigyan Prasar in the last five years.
The Government of India has not disclosed its motives for shutting down Vigyan Prasar or any alternative arrangements it may be considering. In any case, the idea of Vigyan Prasar as an agency to promote scientific temper and critical thinking is already dead. It doesn’t matter if the entity is allowed to survive in some other form or not.
Dinesh C. Sharma is a columnist and writer based in New Delhi. He was associated with Vigyan Prasar as the Founder Managing Editor of India Science Wire (ISW) from 2017 to 2019.