Mysuru: A young botanist claimed that Lord Shiva, often claimed by many as 'the Destroyer of the world', was also the greatest environmentalist of the world. He made this view in a paper which he was to present in the ongoing Indian Science Congress in the city.
According to the Hindustan Times, the botanist, Dr. Akhilesh Pandey, claimed the deity as the world's greatest environmentalist. However, he failed to turn up at the 103rd Indian Science Congress on Wednesday.
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The Science Congress had been in controversies last year for claiming the existence of aircraft in ancient India. This year too, the organization is finding itself in the same puddle by selecting Pandey's paper for the environmental sciences segment.
People in social media had alleged the organizers of promoting a non-scientific subject in pursuit of a "larger political agenda".
Attempting to come to clean out of the controversy, Pandey, a Ph.D. in botany was reported as saying, "My absence had nothing to do with the controversy. I injured my leg and that's why I couldn't come." He further added, "So what if my paper has nothing to do with science. What is science? Today's fiction is tomorrow's science. Fiction is the mother of invention."
Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. Unsplash
Indicating his homeland's ancient history, he added, "all the things in science we are talking about today are all in the Vedas and the Puranas. If somebody doesn't believe me, they have to validate their position scientifically."
"Don't we all worship Shiva? Why then can't we follow his path? Whether it is environmental conservation or anything else, society can't be governed by rules alone. We need religion to show us the way."
Arguing that one of the main motives behind his paper is to promote environmental conservation, he founded one of his strongest supporters in Dr. Gangadhar Mishra, the president of the environmental sciences segment.
Although the paper of two pages starts with the claim that Shiva was the world's greatest environmentalist, it does not provide much information to support the assertion. Moreover, random unrelated things such as why the Hindu god is depicted with water spouting from his hair or why he sits on a tiger skin mat are included in it.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, KS Rangappa, distanced himself from the controversy and said that the institution only provided logistical support. (IANS)(Picture courtesy:timg.com)