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Manmohan: no terrorist or enemy can destroy India’s unity

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh receiving a memento from scientist C.N.R. Rao (left) at the inauguration of centenary celebrations of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore on Wednesday. Governor Rameshwar Thakur looks on.

BANGALORE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday sent out a strong message against the recent acts of terrorism in the country and asserted that “no coward, no terrorist, no enemy of our secular and democratic republic will ever succeed in destroying the unity of our country.”

Dr. Singh made the statement while inaugurating the centenary celebrations of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here. Making a specific reference to the terrorist attack on the institute three years ago, he said the terrorists chose the IISc as their target because “this great institution and this vibrant city (Bangalore) have come to represent the spirit of a resurgent India.”

He also paid tribute to Prof. M.C. Puri, who was killed in that attack.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Singh announced that the Union government proposed to establish a National Science and Engineering Research Board on the lines of the National Science Foundation in the United States to provide a boost to research in science and engineering.

Addressing scientists and researchers after dedicating the International Centre for Materials Science and the C.N.R. Rao Hall of Science in Bangalore, the Prime Minister said the proposed board would be set up as an autonomous body. “It will provide unfettered financial assistance to researchers, academic institutions, research laboratories and industrial concerns.”

Reiterating his government’s commitment to doubling the financial allocation for science and technology from the present 1 per cent of GDP to 2 per cent, Dr. Singh called for preparing a blueprint for making basic sciences and mathematics the preferred discipline of children.

The Prime Minister noted that many of the country’s brilliant engineers who had migrated to the West were coming back as they wanted to be part of India’s “growth story.” He stressed the need for creating a similar conducive environment to attract Indian scientists to return from foreign countries to take part in research in the country.

He said India needed a huge step-up in investment in basic sciences if it wanted to be one of the top-ranking scientific nations in the world.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Rao said the Hall of Science was an open house for young children to learn science and carry out experiments.

Dr. Singh said the institute, which has come to be the “most visible symbol of India’s presence in the arena of basic research in science and engineering,” must now focus its scientific attention on the problems of energy, health, water, food security and climate change.

Conceding that the special grant of Rs.100 crore made by the Centre to the IISc four years ago “was not enough,” Dr. Singh said, “We are doing all we can to free the processes of public funding of research from unnecessary bureaucratic impediments.”

Speaking of the contributions by great scientists such as J.C Bose, Ramanujan, P.C. Ray and C.V. Raman, he said, “There is a feeling that this momentum has not been sustained in post-Independent India,” adding that “the entire knowledge pyramid in the field of basic science needs to be revitalised.”

“Newly industrialising nations like China and South Korea have leapfrogged ahead of us by their mastery of science and technology. China has made impressive strides in the science by its own efforts and by linking itself to the best institutions around the world. We must also be open to beneficial links with institutions around the world,” he added.

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