Modiji – Faith Scientist or Obscurant Reformist

How should we describe the most popular, most followed, the most respected leader – Narendra Modi, the Honorable Prime Minister of India? To describe his government in true sense, we must take the help of Koichi Tokuno, a 11th grade student who wrote a few lines when the atom bomb was dropped in Hiroshima during world war II.

The poem begins with the following message

“In the right hand we have Penicillin and Streptomycin; in the left hand the atom and hydrogen bomb. Perhaps the reference was about science which came with formula for total destruction and perfect recipe to save life from imminent death.

Today India is facing the same contradiction under Modi regime.

Modiji speaks about development of the nation, sab ka sath sab ka vikas, digital India, New India, E governance etc., at one end and pushing cow urine, AYUSH as an advanced medical science, inclusion of Yoga, Vedas, Puranas and other ingredients of Hindu tradition and religion into the curriculum of engineering graduation at the other end. How this contradiction is going to help the people of this country and how this contradiction of Modi can be described?

The above traits exhibited by Modij warrants the people to identify and or associate Modiji with several historic /mythological heroes.

Mermaid, Sphinx, two headed Janus, Chinese symbol Yin and Yang, fact & fiction, truth & lie, sorrow and joy, in all the above frames can easily fit Modiji.

Indian politics is in such a state of disarray therefore India has to accept the fact that Modiji is necessary evil to our country.

Modiji represent two extremes of philosophies, ideas and contradictions.

When he talks about sab ka vikas and digital India, the same Modiji wants to infuse AYUSH and its graduates as MBBS doctor to ensure that every villager has a doctor. The point is whether he should provide a ‘true doctor’ to people or just a doctor tag and if so whether such doctor tag is sufficient to address the health problems of rural India?

Modiji as a reformist questions most of the rules and acts as they all have turned old and deserve to be given superannuation and new enactments needs to be brought in considering the present realities and requirements. He is certainly right. But the irony is that the same Modiji is attempting to mix hay and husk into scientifically proven allopathic medicine after giving a tag to such quackery called integrated health care approach.

The Modiji who talks about quality education and NEET for medical admission and exist exam for medical professionals is also attempting to infuse YOGA, Vedas, Puranas etc., into the curriculum of engineering courses with the logic that such fusion would make our students more rationale, strengthen their logical reasoning, increase sharpness etc. The premise of such an idea itself is irrational but according to Modiji it is highly rationale.

The Modiji eloquently talks about the ethos of centre and states equal partnership in governance and say the states legitimacy must be protected but ironically the same Modiji is trying to bulldoze all independent institutions and bringing them under his control that all such institutions will wag its tail to Modiji and be loyal to him. The best example is NMC bill where the he attempts to scuttle the role of professionals and instead installs bureaucrats to serve dikat to qualified doctors.

How many scientists since independence our country has produced with the stature and recognition equal to a Nobel laureate. The answer would be hardly any for the world to recall and recite. Does that mean we have failed to infuse Puranas, Vedas and Yoga into our curriculum long ago and that is the reason why we could not produce great engineers and scientists?

Instead of improving the quality and content of the curriculum and teaching faculties in line with global standard, we are attempting to thaw all those frozen and fossilized concepts of ancient India to be included into our curriculum either as condiment or as main ingredient. Wonderful thought worth admiration. The most paining aspect of the entire deliberation is Modiji appears to be personally pushing all these ‘GREAT REFORMS’.

The genuine doubt the voters have developed recently is that whether Modiji enjoys ‘sampoorna swaraj’ in his government ie., is he ‘free & independent’ or is he a lion inside a cage by the so called ‘Hindu religious patriots’ and spiritual gurus. It looks like he has freedom only for making rhetoric statements about reforms but he has to achieve all such reforms only with the ingredients of our ancient tradition, puranas, yoga, AYUSH etc.

Is promoting AYUSH as medical science is wise idea and brilliant proposal for the country like India? Is transforming all those who have studied the faith based ancient healing practices as MBBS doctor is scientific and such gift has any humane face to people in rural India?

Instead of empowering AYUSH vaidyas, the qualified PG nurses can be trained through bridge course and can be empowered to provide the primary health care to rural India under the tag – primary health care providers.

Our PG Nurses are better trained in modern medicine than AYUSH vaidyas because AYUSH vaidyas are rooted in the philosophical concepts of Tridosha, Pancha bootha, pulse reading etc. None of the drug preparations of AYUSH has any scientific reasoning of what, why, how explanations but only total belief, faith and complete submission of ones intelligence rule such process. Doubts or questions are not entertained or allowed.

No one knows what in the drug is effective, how, who would get such effect, how soon, what concentration is required etc.

So empowering AYUSH vaidyas to deliver allopathic drugs is dangerous because the vaidyas have to first unlearn a lot of their obscurant learning and only then they can re-learn.

Instead of promoting AYUSH as medical science, it should be promoted as paramedical practice and its graduates as wellness experts instead of doctor. Such an approach would certainly help to develop AYUSH in its own path if anything worthwhile is there in AYUSH as well as preserving science and its serenity in health care system.

Modiji will be the choice of people in 2019 only if he renounces his faith science and obsessed love for obscurantism and its juxtaposition i.e. the elephant head of Lord Ganesh validate the existence of head transplantation and plastic surgery in ancient India etc. To attract the youths, he must focus on inculcating scientific temperament in governance. The youths of the present generation are highly rationale and hence Modiji should not try to attract the youth with superstition and faith science.

When science admits its failures to answer certain questions that do not be assumed as religious philosophy is great and it has tremendous values. Science says so because it does not have evidence either to believe or discard certain concepts/belief systems.

But religious philosophy and AYUSH unfortunately does not want evidence either to prove its science nor is ready to accept the science that questions / disproves its science.

Faith alone is sufficient. Will the Indians have the same faith in Modiji in 2019, may not be. Certainly 2019 election will prove Modi magic is on retreat.