Will mythology win over science in India's schools?

November 21, 2014 14:41

Indians were flying aeroplanes, carrying out stem cell research and may even have been using cosmic weapons 5,000 years ago, according to the chairman of India's leading historical organisation.

Professor Y. Sudershan Rao, the head of the Indian Council of Historical Research, has been criticized by fellow historians for comments that Hindu epics are adequate to understand the ancient world, rather than relying on evidence or research.

The Hindu nationalist government appointed Rao to the prestigious academic post soon after winning the biggest landslide in three decades, fuelling concerns of a push to teach the superiority of Hindu values and mythology at the cost of academic rigour, and cutting against the grain of secularism that runs through multi-faith modern India.

Read more

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Winning Worlds in Olympic category was huge: Lovlina

Lovlina Borgohain is aware that fierce competition awaits her at the Paris Olympics but the ace Indian boxer is quietly confident of snaring a second successive Games medal, having found considerable success in her new category, which is...

INDIA leader will be decided after ....: Vijayan amid Cong-CPM rift

He said, during a press meet in Kannur, that during the LS polls, alliances were being formed in various states as part of the platform and its result was that the Bharatiya Janata Party was being largely isolated.

Don't expect too many high-scoring games in T20 World Cup: Miller

South Africa and Gujarat Titans' middle-order batter David Miller doesn't expect too many high-scoring matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas as he feels the pitches there will be on the slower side.

Ladakh MP Namgyal defiant as BJP replaces him

The BJP's decision to drop Namgyal comes amid resentment towards the ruling party among a section of Buddhists in Leh.

BJP seeks CBI probe into Neha's murder, says conduct of CM raises questions

Speaking to reporters after meeting Neha's parents in Hubballi, he claimed that the statements made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, home minister G Parameshwara and a few ministers in connection with this case are "very disturbing".