National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, CSIR, India

25 years of Science Communication In India

LessonsFrom Kumbh Mela Studies

Gauhar Raza & Surjit Singh

In India the first efforts to communicate modern scientific ideas originating in the west were made during the latter half of the nineteenth century. A number of science books were translated from English into Indian languages

the beginnings…

the pioneers …

• Small groups in the form of ‘science societies’ mushroomed in various parts of the country

• Such groups held regular discussions on mathematics and science subjects but their sphere of activities was confined to the upper ‘class’ and ‘caste’ intellectuals

• they did not make any serious efforts to transform themselves into a large scale ‘science movement’

mass movements…

• Organised freedom movement, in India started taking shape in the last decade of 19th century

• The freedom movement was the most potent source and the carrier of modern ideas.

• The phrase ‘scientific temper’ was coined by a politician. It was Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India

the realm of ideas…

Freedom movement while constructing Indian identity popularized a few specific notions. Most of these ideas did not originate in Indian culture

– World peace and nonviolence– Equality of human beings– Gender equality– Freedom of speech– Education for all– Jobs for all– Science and technology for nation building

pioneer scientists..

• JC Bose, CV Raman, SN Bose, SS Bhatnagar, H Bhabha, Birbal Sahani----- argued that when we get independence we will require large scientific and technical manpower and infrastructure

shaping of modern India ….

• Their personal close relations with political leadership helped the cause of science and science popularization

• After India achieved independence the ruling classes of the emerging capitalist society were convinced that a wider acceptance of modern scientific ideas is necessary for building an industrialized country

discourses on S&T …..

• Phrases such as ‘scientific temper’ ‘broad scientific outlook’, ‘scientific belief system’ and ‘scientific method’ echoed repeatedly in various forums of debate including political speeches

institution building…

• Education, agriculture extension centres and health system expanded

• CSIR, IARI, DRDO, Atomic Energy Commission were built

• Popular Science Books, Text books, journals (specialised as well as popular), print and electronic media was geared up to propagate science. Many Museums and Planetariums were built

science communication ...

• But India is a large country with complex problems. It is a multicultural, multi-lingual society and is a stratified nation. The ruling classes did not have any reason to educate every citizen

• Official and private media catered to both the emerging scientific consciousness and the existing reactionary retrograde thought structures

science communication ...

• It is in this context that a few members of the Communist Party of India and some social reformers who were ‘left of the centre’ realised the importance of communicating science to the people in their own mother tongue

communicating for class consciousness...

• They recognised that communicating science to the masses could serve two important objectives. One that, it could enhance the class consciousness of the people and two that it would help the 'left', to reach newer sections of society, specially the younger generations

cultural modes for communication...

• Through experience the leadership of the movement had understood that some scientific ideas propagate faster through the cultural medium

• Therefore Street plays and songs became an integral part of Peoples’ Science Movement

deconstructing PSM ...• By 1983 some among the leadership of PSM

started asking simple questions

– What science should be communicated and why?– Why some of the scientific ideas propagate faster

than others?– Why some of the ideas can be communicated easily

through songs, drama and films?– Is people’s structure of thinking a clean slate on which

any thing can be written by scientists or communicators of science?

question of progress..

• These questions were not articulated as clearly as I have put them in the previous slide, but these issues did bother us in some form or the other

the ‘deficit model’....

• The second half of the 1980s was the period when Jon Miller and many other colleagues were trying to probe the level of scientific literacy, in the western countries

• By mid 1990s Miller et al. developed categories of Scientific Literacy (civic, cultural, etc.)

• This lead to categorisation of citizens in Scientifically literate and Scientifically illiterate

• And finally the trajectory crystallised into what is known as ‘Deficit Model’

development of indigenous models...

• In India, I was asking a different set of questions.• In order to measure PAUS, can we use the same

questionnaire that have been developed in the west?• Who should we focus on, those who give scientifically

correct answers or those who give wrong answers?• Instead of categorising respondents can we develop

categories of responses?• Given the same demographic parameters of

respondents why do some questions elicit higher percentages of correct response while others don’t. What are the causes of percentage variation across various questions?

Can we use the same questionnaire?

• Answer to the first question was No• Indicators developed in one cultural setting

may not be of use in other socio-cultural milieu

Who should we focus on?

• The second question also led to a clear answer: surely, one can probe why certain sections of society achieve a higher level of absorption of scientific ideas but one must deeply investigate those who have not given correct answers

• This would help us to devise strategies to communicate science to those section who have given scientifically wrong answers

Can we develop categories of responses?

• The third question led to four categories of responses

• Scientifically Correct• Scientific but Incorrect• Extra Scientific• Don’t Know

Why certain questions elicit larger percentage of correct answers?

• The fourth question led us to an understanding that there are a few parameters, besides demographic factors (such as age, gender, education, exposure to media, etc), which determine the intensity of propagation of scientific ideas

parametrics of cultural distance...

• Intrinsic factors

– Complexity: involved in explaining a phenomenon– Control : Collective or individual– Intensity :of intervention in quotidian life of a

citizens– Lifecycle: of a phenomenon

Cultural Model of Analysis…

ScientificKnowledge

System

People’sCultural cognitive Structure

Demographic determinants

Intrinsic factors

Cultural distance

relative cultural distance model..

• The next natural question was: Can we determine this cultural distance empirically

• In response to this question a method to measure ‘Relative Cultural Distance’ was developed

relative cultural distance model..

The ‘Relative Cultural Distance’ can be defined as the distance travelled by a scientific idea, information or law on time scale to become an integral part of worldview of a common citizen

In 1989 we the research team goes to Kumbh Mela, held at

Allahabad, to administer a survey and collects data for the

first time

Idi= index of democratisation of an ideaXi= cultural distance of a phenomena from quotidian life of people

Average Cultural Distance has reduced over the years…

Province 1

Kerala

Shape of

earth

-0.5

Rotation of

earth

3.0

Revolution of earth

6.2 Formation of galaxy

6.6Evolution

of mankind7.4

First QuadrantCultural distance

Fourth QuadrantCultural distance

Cultural distance of various Scientific concepts from province of Kerala

Shape of earth

Kerala-0.5

Haryana0.5

Bihar

2.4

Maharashtra2.8

Assam1.8

First QuadrantCultural distance

Fourth QuadrantCultural distance

Rajasthan

Delhi

-2.0

0.0

Andhra Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

-0.9

West Bengal1.2

-0.5

Cultural distance of various provinces from Rotundity of Earth

Comparative Shift in Cultural Distance

ΔΧci = ∑Χcit2 ─ ∑Χcit1

Where,

• ΔΧci: denotes the shift in cultural distance

• t2: is the latest point of observation on time scale

• t1: is the earliest point of observation on time scale

Efficacy of Channels of Information Vrs Cultural Distance

Cultural Distance of Natural Phenomena

Q8 Q7 Q6 Q5 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1

Effic

acy

(Δ

= ac

cess

to c

hann

els

- no

acc

ess)

50

40

30

20

10

0

High Efficacy

Low Efficacy

Window of opportunity

Newspaper

Television

Radio

The Most ImportantLesson

From Kumbh Mela Studies

To Create A

National Centre Which will conduct research

on all aspects of

Scientific temper and Public Understanding of Science

National Council For Science Technology Communication, DST,

And National Institute of Science

Communication and Information Resources,

have taken a decision to launch this centre

Objectives

Carry out surveys, create and maintain data bases

Carry out international, national and regional comparative studies

Define and monitor scientific temper / rationality in everyday life

Construct of indicators of ‘scientific culture’

Structure of the Centre

NCSTIn-charge

Cross Country PAUS research

Developing countries

National PAUS Research

Regional and Micro Studies

Developed countries

Indicators, statistical and database

laboratory

National media monitoring and

intervention laboratory

Macro level Studies

Indicators Monitoring Cell

Database Services CellStatistical Tools Development Cell

Electronic media Monitoring Cell

Interpersonal media/ NGOs Monitoring

Cell

Print media Monitoring Cell

Science Education Monitoring Cell

Studies on Values, Norms and Attitudes

Central Audio Video Facilities

PUS information Dissemination Cell

Thanks