Scientists to blame?
Every body blames politicians for present day economic crisis. I differ, I think it is the high level scientists enjoying all comforts and honor and doing nothing to find appropriate substitute for petrol, diesel, conventional power supply source are to be blamed. All our economic problems stem from these basic things. If any one of them can develop, invent suitable alternative for these things our economic condition shall improve considerably. Scientists of great reputation are demanding large sums of money for most unimportant issues and do nothing even in them at all. These so-called great scientists do not allow any other person, not coming in their group, to get the benefits from government facilities. I say why not allow other people who can work but are not so reputed as these so-called great scientists from such reputed houses as TIFR, BARC, and Science & Technology etc. Journalists should investigate into these matters and expose these scientists. Most of the time of these scientists goes in giving lame excuses to explain their failure in not solving these national problems.
To site an example I remember a senior level scientist was appointed to undertake a project to develop appropriate technology for harnessing sea waves and produce electricity from that kinetic energy. He chose Tamilnadu seashore to set up the pilot plant for the purpose. Time proposed for reaching the result level was decided to be 30 years. A foreign scientist was also appointed to associate this scientist from BARC. I happened to be going to BARC for some other work in those days and there I came across this scientist. While discussing that project the foreign scientist told that Bengal Sea does not have strong waves so much, so that any reasonable quantity of electricity can be recovered from them and so he suggested that the project be shifted to western shore on Arabian Sea. Moreover, he pointed that the time allotted is also very long, as per his calculations time required to complete the project need not be more than 5 years if funds are provided in time. BARC scientist refused to shift the place and insisted that it must be on Tamilnadu seashore and period also to be about 30 years.
I asked the scientist why he objected to that suggestion even though it was most appropriate to shift such sea wave based projects to the shore where waves are highest and strongest. The time limit proposed was also not proper when a project can be completed in just about five years why delay it to 30 years? He told me the reason for his objection. He told me that he is retiring after 20 years and he wants to be in his home state for the work hence, these conditions. He further told me that he was not interested in the project excepting for doing some work. Whether the project becomes successful or not, he was only interested in securing his position and for that, he wanted additional time so that the project will continue after his retirement. Therefore, even if it does not work he is free from the responsibility of that project!
Later on, I came to know that this is not the only project that BARC is working on. In most of them scientists involved are not interested in project excepting for securing their job guarantee. Almost all scientists in such research centers are having this mindset! Therefore, they all knowingly connive at such provisions put up by head scientist and the fraud continues without any check. No scientist works for doing some dynamic work to help the country, most are more bothered about their job security, benefits, promotions, suitable transfers etc. Desire to shift blame for failures is a very common experience. That showed to me that these highly trained scientists are of no use for our country. I noticed lesser-qualified personnel in these research places are found to be more interested in results while their superiors more interested in delaying the projects so that they can shift blame on new scientist and escape the responsibility for failures of such projects. Many of them are surer of failures than success of these projects!
One more defect I noticed amongst Indian scientists of senior level is that they are good in theory but very bad in practice of those theories. They lack confidence and very often, they admit of that weakness. When he sees that, he is not going to be successful in the work, he instead of striving to get results prefers to get transfer on any conjured excuse and run away from the project. This is similar to our Judges, they also get transfer when case under them becomes more complicated. Apparently, every thing appears to be normal. Newly appointed scientist is also of the same type and the project continues to suffer. In some cases we see that if a scientist is genuine and gives results, other incompetent fellow scientists try to sabotage his work so that they are not to work like him. There is so much politics in our research institutes that somebody should do come with serious situation in those institutes. Concerned officers of government show their displeasure on such occasions but never take any action against those scientists.
Another important problem with our new formed scientists who get Doctorate and qualify for PhD certificate is that their research is not backed by actual experiments in most cases. We have so many research papers being published every year but none is of any material use. One professor told me some years back that getting PhD is not a very difficult job. Some experienced readers are doing business of preparing the research paper and the student has to only pay him his fees and the paper is published in his name and he/she gets the Doctorate. Viva is not a serious work, every thing is cooked up nicely so long as they are paid their charges. These ready made PhD holders then get job as scientists in our research institutes, what research they can do? Anybody can visualize. One estimate suggests that about sixty percent or more PhD holders are coming in this way, we may say our scientists are not true research people. Some claim that India is producing maximum research papers in the world but they are prepared in this fashion and so at the end of the day we see no sensible research is happening. Things in other countries are not so bad. There students have to do real work to get their Doctorate. Unless we change all these things; we shall never come to the international standard in research work.
Time has come that we investigate into these research scientists and find out how many are real researchers and how many are bogus. I am putting it here because Mr. Modi, our PM is expecting them to perform real research work and solve our technical problems. Recently we witnessed ISRO shooting Mangalyan successfully. Let us not take that as answer to this problem. These ISRO scientists do not represent all scientists of other institutes.
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