Every country in the world affected by Coronavirus has dealt with it in different ways. However, cultural myths play a huge role in how a society understands and responds to a crisis like this. Even though mankind has progressed so as to reach the Moon (Earth’s natural satellite); and made technological advances in the field of communication, we have not been able to foster a scientific temperament in our societies which still has to fight to keep Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in our school textbooks (across many countries).

This is not to say that myths have no utility and place in our societies. They are rich source of information, wisdom and knowledge for its society. These myths have passed on through many generations because of their inherent utility for the societies they operate in. However, Science is what has helped human beings to progress in last century at least. It has given us the technology to make our lives convenient and safe in manners which could not have been even conceived of before 500 years. The credit of this advancement completely goes to the west for their innovative spirit and resilient attitude towards the progress of mankind.

Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi shared his vision of making India a Vishva Guru (Teacher of the world), however if India has to reach this stage in the material world then there is a dire need to develop scientific temperament among school children and adults too. ‘Make in India’ is only possible when skill sets match the scientific temperament that promotes curiosity and problem solving attitude.

If we fail to instil these values (skill set and scientific temperament) among our youth, there are more chances that they might turn out to be great narrators of Mythologies like Ramayana but won’t be able to fix a screw by themselves and earn a living out of it.

Author:
Pratik Pillai, Assistant Professor, Unitedworld School of Liberal Arts and Mass Communication (USLM)

Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.