Book

Science must be properly communicated to young and impressionable children as a part of a larger and a broader process of science communication to the general public, and we believe efforts in this regard and respect have still not reached their full potential. This is the justification for this book. We also need a scientific temper to be inculcated in young children, and this was a term coined by the first Indian prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The term refers to a rational, logical and an evidence-based mindset that lays a great deal of emphasis on questioning, observation, and logical thinking over superstition, prejudice, and blind belief. As a part of this book, we also review the work and output some modern and contemporary Indian scientists, after a broad overview of science in ancient and pre-modern India; while scientific output from India and other developing countries is rising, it is still subpar, and way behind that of developed nations, particularly in the west. The preceding statement is especially true of theoretical and foundational science. The next generation of researchers and scientists – science warriors as we would like to call them, - must remediate this, and ensure that this imbalance is addressed, and set right. Consequently and resultantly, the list of competent scientists from India is rather small, and the list of Nobel prize winners is even smaller.