"Scientific awareness should be developed against superstitions": CM inaugurates 56th State Science Festival and Vocational Expo

ALAPPUZHA: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that a strong scientific awareness against superstitions and malpractices should be inculcated through gatherings like science fairs. He was inaugurating the 56th State Science Festival and Vocational Expo at St. Joseph's Convent GHS, Alappuzha.

"Science education should not be just a means of scoring marks in exams. What happened in modern times, including human sacrifice, cannot be ignored. We had a dark age when scientific awareness and reason had little place. It was the influence of progressive and renaissance movements and the social and intellectual advancement including the establishment of schools that led us forward. Scientific research should be aimed at the bright future of man as well as the green future of the world."

Stating that Kerala has allocated Rs 3,600 crore in the budget for research and scientific advancement, the Chief Minister concluded his speech by saying that the science fair will give a fillip to the continued propagation of science by reciting a four-line poem from Sahodaran Ayyappan's 'Science Dasakam'.

Ministers P Prasad, Saji Cheriyan, MLAs P P Chittaranjan, H Salam, Thomas K Thomas and others spoke at the function presided over by Minister V Sivankutty.

'Superstition in the name of smallpox'

Reminding the superstitious propaganda carried out by a Malayalam teacher in the school during his studies in the name of smallpox seed, the Chief Minister said to stay alert for those spreading false propaganda through WhatsApp and others. The chief minister was referring to an incident at a time when smallpox was rampant, in which a teacher in his primary class had clenched his fist and then pointed out the blood stains on the area where his fingers were pressed and misled the children into believing that it was a smallpox seed.