Perhaps for the first time ever, numerous scientists and science students will take to the streets on Wednesday demanding their share not just in budget but also in policy-making. The India March for
Science, an offshoot of the global march which was held in April, will be observed in seven cities of Karnataka, including Bengaluru, where scientists and researchers will take out a march between Town Hall and Senate Hall.
Reasons
Apart from cut in funds to national science laboratories and “dwindling” government support, the protest action aims to highlight the “rising wave of unscientific beliefs and religious bigotry”. The demands include enacting policies based on evidence-based science, stopping propagation of “unscientific, obscurantist ideas and religious intolerance”, ensuring that the only ideas based on scientific evidence are taught in educational institutions and allocation of at least 3% of GDP to scientific and technological research. More than 3,000 scientists across the country have signed the petition. In Bengaluru, more than 500 research scholars and scientists from institutions such as IISc., Raman Research Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, National Centre for Biological Sciences, ISRO, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, among others have extended support.
Cities
While protests will be held in 27 cities and towns across the country, in Karnataka, scholars will gather in Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Davangere, Dharwad, Chitradurga, Mysuru, Ballari, and Tumakuru.
Source : The Hindu
