While this falls short of the access to all Indians that was envisioned, it is nevertheless a one-of-its-kind agreement globally: a welcome first step but hopefully not the end of the story.
One solution could be for India to set up a truly global family of journals, with global editorial boards, that scientists around the world will want to publish in.
Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti is a faculty member at IIITB, Bengaluru. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Confluence, its editorial board or the Academy. For the other cartoons in this series, please click here.
An appreciation of evolution enriches the mind. To delete it from the syllabus is as foolish as not teaching a language, or poetry, or history. Being exposed to evolutionary thinking should be considered an essential element of human culture, on a par with being told about the planets, stars and galaxies and where they come from.
The concept of evolution is something that all citizens should be aware of because it speaks directly to who we are, as humans, and our position within the living world. So, the concern is not so much that “evolution is removed” from curricula, inasmuch as students taking biology in Std XI-XII will get exposure to evolutionary biology. The concern specifically is that, other than basics of how the human body functions, evolution is perhaps the most important part of biology that all educated citizens should be aware of and, therefore, it should remain in the Std X curriculum which all students study before they choose different specializations in Std XI.
ChatGPT by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
“Online or Offline (Part 2)” by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Teachers’ Day 2022: A cartoon by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Virtual Socialisation: A cartoon by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
“Online or Offline” by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Mentorship experiences of Prof. S. Sivaram
