March for Science calls for spirit of enquiry

Scientists, academicians and professors were among the participants in the 'March for Science' to promote scientific temper.

The second edition of the march was organised in more than 200 cities across the globe attended by lakhs of scientists, research scholars, teachers and students.

The city-leg of the march-attended by over 250 people-was organised by March For Science Organising Committee (MFS OC) and NGO, Breakthrough Science Society (BSS).

The participants demanded that the government take steps to check the propagation of unscientific, obscurantist and out-dated ideas and to help develop scientific temper, human values and spirit of enquiry as per the Constitution of India.

They also demanded an allocation of at least 3% of GDP to scientific and technological research and 10% towards education. Making sure that the education system does not impart ideas that contradict scientific evidence and to enact policies based on scientific evidence was also a part of their demands.

The participants paid homage to Prof Stephen Hawking and Prof J R Lakshman Rao as a part of the event.

Prof S Mahadevan form IISc, Prof Ramesh Londonker from Gulbarga University, Dr Sudha, a senior plastic surgeon, Prof Sharbari Bhattacharya from Bangalore University and Nagesh Hegde, science writer were present at the event.

Messages from Prof M S Swaminathan, an agricultural scientist from Chennai, Prof M Anandakrishnan, for the VC of Anna University and former chairman of IIT Kanpur and Prof Deepankar Chatterjee, honorary professor at IISc were read on the occasion.