In the case of the Indian science congress however, we see, that the template has not been followed. A text is read, from ancient Indian mythical books, which can be best regarded as figments of imaginations of saints, and presented as facts. No corroboration or evidence is given. It is like implying, that some people from the ancient Norse civilization knew how to fly with the momentum and inertia of a hammer, or the ancient Egyptian civilization were advanced enough to have people transform with the help of telekinesis into half humans and half animals or birds. Myth and science got blurred in the incessant push for cultural revisionism and glorification of Indian exceptionalism.

The problem is, Indians want to be proud of their country's past and achievement and it is understandable that they should be, because it is legitimately glorious. Aryabhatta made major contributions in planetary movements, as did Barahamihir; Gargi and Maitreyi could be termed as two of the earliest feminists before the birth of Christ, from a country where ironically rape is one of the major crimes now. The Kama Sutra is still the oldest, most vivid treatise on sexual positions, again ironically in a country where people can pee in public, but not kiss. In the modern day, scientists like Jagadish Chandra Bose have carried out ground-breaking research on discovering that plants have life and radio waves. C. V. Raman won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics as Ronald Ross won a Nobel for his work on malaria, working from a tiny lab in Calcutta University. The word Boson, or God particle, comes from the surname of Satyendra Nath Bose, probably one of the most famous protégés of Albert Einstein, with whom he worked on Quantum theory and formulating the Bose-Einstein Condensate.

A civilization and culture shows its inherent weakness and insecurity when it tries too hard to revise history and glorify myths. India is sadly undergoing that phase. The majority of the population in India lacks scientific tempers or knowledge and sudden capitalism without proper education and enlightenment have given rise to a middle class who are extremely defensive about any criticism, as evident from the comment boards of any random Indian news website or forum. In addition, the extremely socially conservative nature of the sub-continent is slowly destroying the potential of what could be truly an Indian science decade after the glorious days of the Moon and Mars adventure. A beautiful future awaits, provided the country and its leaders can learn how to differentiate between what is truth and what is imagination, and also learn not to embarrass themselves in public, in front of the world.

Sumantra Maitra is a foreign affairs journalist and research scholar on Foreign Policy and Neo-Realism, based in New Zealand. He tweets @MrMaitra.

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