1. Nobel Prize is about excellence and newness, discovering something not already known. While India has the largest scientific man power, the emphasis is not on excellence and new discovery. It is on doing science at the middle and lower levels, or in its application.
2. Why is it not about excellence and discovery in India?
Because excellence and advancing the cutting edge of science need the right climate and years of nurturing. Accomplished scietists are not produced in a short period. They are bred, groomed and nurtured in an atmosphere where scientific pusuit is all that seems to matter. And they feel comfortable sacrificing everything else to pursue it.
3. It is not by chance that many Nobel Prize winners hail from few universities like Harvard (USA), Cambridge (UK) and Gottingen (Germany). It has taken decades and centuries for these centers to become hubs of scientific pursuit. The best scientists work here, teach here and bring up and inspire the next generation to come up and match their high standards, and go beyond. Scientists are well paid (in Germany, they are among the best paid), feel secure in pursuing science as there are enough opportunities in this profession. Contrast this with Indian scientists in premiere institutions like IITs or IISc, where committed scientists and teachers have to go on hunger strikes to get decent financial returns that would keep them there. Many would soon move to greener finacial pastures in industry or go overseas. The climate in India is certainly not conducive to high end research.
4. In India, we often confuse merit with seniority and the perks that go with it. A brilliant scientist may be at the bottom of the ladder, is crippled with beaurocratic hurdles and has to struggle for every grant, equipment and chemical. His opportunities to excahnge ideas with international experts are often severely restricted or not available. His mind then starts wandering from the cutting edge of science to more immediately rewarding issues such as promotions, pay, perks, contacts with people in power and opprtunities else where. The single minded pursuit of science is therefore gone.
5. Do we really need cutting edge research in India? Basic science research is often open ended, where it is difficult to speculate what one might find, when, and what might be the implications of the finding. Organizations and labs must have deep pockets and long horizons to fund such research. All such research does not often end up in major breakthrough discoveries. But some do, and they often change the world. In India most politicians, administrators and science organizations do not often back such research where the goals are very distant and uncertain. We look for close ended research that will provide quick returns. These are not often the conceptually revolutioning discoveries that Nobel prizes are awarded for.
As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times)
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