Spirit of scientific innovation in India

Science is the key to salvation for the poor nations. It has been a liberating

force in ancient India upon which the foundation of modern science rests.
We are a nation of one billion people.

A recent attempt by Nature and Science to launch the SciDev.Net, to bring
useful literature to the reach of developing countries5,6 talks about the role of
innovations, but there is indeed nothing in the web site for the children of developing
countries that may help them cultivate the spirit of innovation. It is true
that poverty can be cured by development, and that true development can take
place only by innovations, which are an integral part of development6. However,
in order to translate this to reality we must understand that children are the
future of the world, and the seeds of innovation should be sown early in life.

Both students and teachers need to be aware of the latest developments in science.
More than this, scientists need to understand that they are being paid by
the society not only for good research, but they also have the responsibility to
teach the scientists of tomorrow.

I wonder, how many top scientists in India have ever gone to primary schools –
apart from being chief guests in school functions – to talk to school children or
deliver an inspiring talk to motivate them and inculcate the kind of spirit of innovation
that helped C. V. Raman to discover ‘a new type of secondary radiation’8 and
made him the first Asian scientist to win the Nobel Prize. It was this inner drive
that compelled Raman not to bask in the glory after becoming a Nobel Laureate;
he went on to provide experimental proof for the spin of photons soon after.