India must work together to take science to next level: Prof Rohini Godbole

Chethan Kumar / Jan 26, 2019, 11:02 IST

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There is a lot of good science happening in India and you will see that through our participation in big international projects. That said, the general scientific temper in the country has been sliding and our educational institutions, sadly, are not playing their part in improving this

India must work together to take science to next level: Prof Rohini Godbole

BENGALURU: Prof Rohini Godbole, in many ways, is a brand ambassador for Big Science from India. Having started off at a modest all-girls school in Pune she has navigated to the best labs of physics across the world, riding on government scholarships and high quality research work. TOI caught up with Godbole just hours after the Centre announced a Padma Shri to her late Friday.
Excerpts:
TOI: Congratulations on the award...You have been working on the govt panel on women in science, where does India stand?
Godbole: There have been measures consecutive governments have put in place.

Some of them have been encouraging. But can we do more? Yes! I think India is now ready to take it to the next level through a series of serious studies that can shape future policies.

TOI: There seems to be a concern about overall quality of science in the country...Your views?
Godbole: There is a lot of good science happening in India and you will see that through our participation in big international projects. That said, the general scientific temper in the country has been sliding and our educational institutions, sadly, are not playing their part in improving this. India must work together to restore scientific temper, and there is a role for everybody including the media which often only plays up 'pseudo science' claims or the political angles to a statement, ignoring good science.
TOI: Speaking of pseudo science, your comments on Indian Science Congress?

Godbole

: A handful of irrational claims may have hijacked the Congress, but I still believe there can be a lot of good science at the Congress too. But unfortunately, the Congress is dominated by mediocre papers. The Science Congress is a Mela, and you expect some of these people. It is important to weed out the anamolies and focus on good science which can be made available at the Congress.

About the Author

Chethan Kumar

As a young democracy grows out of adolescence, its rolling out reels and reels of tales. If the first post office or a telephone connection paints one colour, the Stamp of a stock market scam or the ‘Jewel Thieves’ scandal paint yet another colour. If failure of a sounding rocket was a stepping stone, sending 104 satellites in one go was a podium. If farmer suicides are a bad climax, growing number of Unicorns are a grand entry. Chethan Kumar, Senior Assistant Editor, The Times of India, who alternates between the mundane goings-on of the hoi polloi and the wonder-filled worlds of scientists and scamsters, politicians and Jawans, feels: There’s always a story, one just has to find it.

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