BANGALORE: A day after his stinging criticism of politicians for “inadequate” funding of science, Bharat Ratna awardee Prof. C N R Rao today maintained that investment in science in the country was “not good that is a bit idiotic.”
“Our investment is not good that is a bit idiotic? that’s all I said… not in anger…I’m not an angry man. I wanted something. Unfortunately, they don’t understand the priority.
That is what I said,” Rao told reporters as he sought to explain his outburst yesterday.
“….Why the hell these idiots these politicians have given so little for us. In spite of that, we scientists have done something,” he had said yesterday while pouring out his anguish and anger on “inadequate” funding of the scientific sector.
“….for the money that government has given to the scientific sector, we have done much more,” Rao, Chairman of Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Council, had said when asked about the fall in standards of scientific research in the country.
Rao said today,” “First of all, they should understand the relative importance of science, they should understand to invest in proportion to our requirement so that India shines…
for that we have to understand what is required. It is not being understood and that is bit of an idiotic situation that is what I meant.”
“It is not an anger you know. I didn’t call somebody an idiot. These are two different things. Unfortunately, use of language has been …. I should not use, I will never use that word again because I didn’t realize people will take it as somebody being called as idiot. I didn’t call anyone idiot,” he added.
Stating that the word is used in British Parliament, Rao said “Prime Minister is doing idiotic things- they will say, nobody will be upset by that. I don’t know why you are upset here.”
On whether government has to do more for science, he said “They are doing it; they have to do more; …..It was not a problem at all 20 years ago that is what I’m trying to tell – now that South Korea has beaten Japan – where do we come from? Where are our people going to be employed? Where will they get the money for feeding the people even?”
“We have to earn that money. For that our industry has to do well, our technology has to do well; competition is there that is why we need more investment,” Rao said.
On his bitter criticism of politicians, Rao said, “I did not use harsh words, its’ wrong. I only used the word idiotic – that’s not a harsh word in English. Unfortunately, it is misunderstood as a harsh word….”
Former Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G Madhavan Nair said funds for research was low but he would not put the entire blame on government or politicians.
“If you see the funds which is reaching the actual research laboratories or the scientists, it is low. But I will not put the whole blame entirely on the government or the politicians, because I have seen the scenario for at least a decade or so.”
“The government very gladly announces substantial increase in funding to the scientific department,” he told a TV channel.–PTI
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