Maybe it’s because his boss Murli Manohar Joshi is sulking at home. For, his deputy Sanjay Paswan, who is going gaga over the virtues of tantra and exorcism, is perhaps not aware that the HRD Ministry annually allocates funds to propagate ‘‘reason and science’’ and wage a war against ‘‘superstition’’ and ‘‘magic.’’In Bihar, Paswan walked on fire, sang the praises of exorcists, shamans and charmers. He would have probably thought twice if he knew that his boss also looks after the Ministry of Science and Technology, an important section of which is the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC).The NCSTC has a frugal but adequate Rs 4-crore budget this year. Madhu Phull of NCSTC has trained resource-persons of voluntary organisations over the years to fight these traditions plaguing rural society for centuries. In sharp contrast, Paswan now wants ojhas and bhagats treated with respect, even reverence and subjects like exorcism and tantra included in the school curriculum.A NCSTC spokesperson pointed out that they have been fighting to shut down the thriving businesses of exorcists and miracle workers in the countryside. The NCSTC works in close tandem with state councils for science and technology commmunication. It also trains ‘‘rationalist NGOs’’ who spread the message of science and demonstrate how activities of the miracle workers can be disproved in full public view.Every year on February 27, Science Day, NCSTC hosts a prize-giving ceremony, more often than not chaired by Joshi himself. And awards are given out for ‘‘best effort in science popularisation, best effort to popularise science through media and best effort in science popularisation among children.’’The NCSTC also holds a children’s science congress, this year it will be hosted in Lucknow in December.Not just the NCSTC, there is also an autonomous body, Vigyan Prasar, which functions under the aegis of the S&T Ministry. It too has an annual budget of Rs 2 crore. The Prasar’s publication ‘‘Seeing is not always believing’’ tells you 115 common tricks tried out by godmen, shamans and miracle workers. Paswan walked on fire in Bihar. This book tells you how to eat fire, how to create a fire-proof body, how to use your head as a cooking stove and even how to dip your hand in boiling oil. Paswan also probably doesn’t know that Vigyan Prasar aired a 13-episode programme called Chhoo Mantar against these ‘‘jaaduwallahs’’ on All India Radio. The Vigyan Prasar is now keeping a close watch on activities of ‘‘miracle workers’’ in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh (areas around Indore), parts of Gujarat, Tripura and Jharkhand. Maybe they should start keeping a tab on the Minister.
