Governor in favour of cloning humans

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, SEPT. 6. The Governor, Ms. V.S. Rama Devi, today came out in support of human cloning, and said cloning was being attempted since scientists had the ability to do it.

She was speaking here after giving away the Prof. Y.T. Thathachari National Research Award instituted by the Bhramara Trust to two eminent physicists. Dismissing the controversy over the ethical aspects of human cloning, she said scientific knowledge had advanced to the extent of making it possible to clone a human being. It was the presence of divinity in the individual that had made it possible for man to expand his knowledge.

She said there were limitations on the ability of science to explain all phenomena. There was a need for fusion of science and spirituality, as propounded by Swami Vivekananda, for the all- round development of humanity.

The former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. R. Chidambaram, said the values of the Indian science had to change. Scientists should be given credit for their work, which would encourage further research activities. Technology should enhance national security, promote rural development and conservation of the environment. Only when technology was able to address such issues would sustainable growth and development of the country be possible. The country must develop technology for self-reliance, and not just self-sufficiency, he said.

On the recycling of fly-ash generated by thermal power-generating units in the country, he said the use of fly-ash in construction activity had gone up from a dismal three per cent to 19 per cent at present.

Basic research and technology development were the two dimensions of science, and the upgradation of technology would create national wealth, he said.

Earlier, the Governor presented the Prof. Y.T. Thathachari National Research Award to Prof. Rajpal Singh Sirohi and Prof. S.V. Bhat. While Prof. Sirohi, who is the Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has worked in the field of applied optics, Prof. Bhat, associated with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore, has worked in the field of nuclear magnetics and electron spin resonance.

The award comprises a citation and Rs. 1 lakh in prize money. Ms. Madhuri Thathachari, Managing Trustee of the Bhramara Trust, was present.

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