India, as a tropical country, allures several eminent ecologists, naturalists, environmentalists, and evolutionary biologists to undergo their research work here, due to India’s tremendous diversity in flora and fauna. The landscape in India, is extremely diverse and found to, not only, include terrestrial ecosystems like mountains, grasslands, forests, deserts but also, aquatic ecosystems like seas, oceans, wetlands, estuaries, coral reefs. There is a good gradient of abiotic factors like temperature, precipitation and humidity across India. Therefore, a lot of variation is expected to be present in every sphere of interaction in between and among the living organisms. This provides enough room for researchers engaged in ecological sciences to enjoyably conduct their studies on this exciting playground to find answers to a varied range of unexplored ecological questions.
Even after having all of these natural advantages, the government policy sector of India has not been able to completely capitalize on it, by sustaining the faculties, researchers working in ecological sciences from other countries or from their own country, for the development of ecological sciences research on this hotbed. Sampling across India for conducting ecological research is hindered due to government interference, multiple governmental rules and permit issues.
Further, there is very little exchange of scientific data across laboratories in India. This creates a self-centered research atmosphere which is detrimental to science. A lobbying effect is then formed among the Indian ecologists, researchers, faculties, professors at all levels, and they propagate the same to their students, which totally dismantles the very essence of science i.e. to propagate knowledge across every section of the society. Also, nepotistic behaviour is highly promoted by researchers, professors, more so at university levels, that destroys real talent. In this process eventually, the scientific temperament gets lost.
There is also a lack of funding for generating a scientific infrastructure. In India, the government readily allows release of funds for developing huge statues and religious places of worship, while not investing in the ecological research sector, when it is the need of the hour. For research in general, a lot of equipment’s are required to measure different variables of interest. However, due to lack of funds, the equipment’s cannot be bought, or they reach the universities/institutes much later when already a considerable amount of time has been lost. A lot of existing equipment’s are either outdated or are non-functional, in most of the universities/institutes in India. Also, broadly speaking, research in general and research in ecological sciences, in India, reflects students and faculties mostly from the elite financial class of people. Students belonging to conventional poor class or middle class usually face extreme difficulties to make a mark among the class of the leading ecologists in the country and the world.
Recently, amidst the COVID-19 rage in India, as per the instructions of the Prime Minister of India, the Indian citizens showed gratitude towards the hard work of the Indian medical doctors, nurses and the other frontline workers, by banging their thalis (metal plates), ringing bells and lighting up diya’s, but sadly, in a crowd while forgetting the social distancing norms set by the Indian government. Further, these activities were believed to be powerful in keeping the novel coronavirus at bay by the common sector of people in India. Also, discrimination of people due to religion and race, increased during these COVID-19 times in India. This is exactly where the Indian government failed by not stopping the spread of superstitions and by not propagating proper information with regard to the science behind the novel virus and its spread. The scientific advisory committee of India could have intervened here and communicated with the Indian citizens to spread the correct scientific facts especially in these grim situations. Thus, a lack of top to bottom approach to tackle every problem created such a ruckus. Some efforts are definitely starting to pop up, made by the scientific committee here but due to rampant corruption and poor science communication especially with respect to ecological sciences, such good work do not trickle down the line to reach the common citizens and henceforth, remains largely ineffective.
However, every cloud of problem, has a silver lining. If the ecological scientific community in India, comprising the students, researchers, and most importantly the faculties and professors, decide to unite and take a stand to bring about changes in the society, by taking steps to decimate the science, promote talented students, allow easy exchange of scientific knowledge amongst each other through collaborations, and propagate the knowledge acquired to the common public through the government, then, it would provide a ray of hope to millions of people across the world, to not just pursue ecology as a study field in this nation, but to also have faith on the Indian scientific research environment. The government of India has to allocate more funds towards research and more importantly, ecological sciences research, so that necessary scientific infrastructure can be built and acquired as per the projects conducted at the Indian institutes and universities. Discarding the existing self-centered, selfish approach and adopting an approach intended towards the common good, at all levels from labs to the government offices, is the only way to increase scientific temperament in this developing country, thereby allowing the collective progress of India -- a mega-diversity country, as a whole.
Comments