Words - Asmita Yadav
The world is moving towards modernisation and has achieved great success in the field of science, technology and medicine to such an extent that scientists have now captured the first-ever image of a black hole which was considered as science fiction until now. In an era where humans are achieving things which were earlier thought unachievable, our Indian politicians are making statements that just don't stand anywhere in science and history.
Why do they give wrong statements about history and science? And why do we still love them despite their non-factual and utter rubbish statements?
Today we’ll discuss a few statements made by our famous Indian politicians and discuss the facts behind those statements.
RAHUL GANDHI
Statement: On 11th June 2018, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said an epic statement while addressing a gathering of people in Delhi. He said, “Everyone must have heard about the Coca-Cola Company. Who started this company, does anyone know? He sold Shikanji in America. He used to mix sugar in water. His talent was acknowledged and he made money and started the Coca-Cola Company.”
Fact: John Pemberton was a licensed pharmacist who became addicted to morphine given to him to ease the pain of the wound he got during the Battle of Columbus. To get rid of the addiction, he started experimenting to make an opium-free painkiller. During this time, he mixed carbonated in a syrup he prepared which then got the name of Coca-Cola.
NARENDRA MODI
Statement: On 28th June 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a statement during the 620th anniversary of Sant Kabir in Maghar, UP. He said, “Mahatma Kabir’s reflection upon equanimity and harmony has given direction to the society for centuries. I once again salute him who hailed from this land of nirvana. It is said that here, Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak Dev and Baba Gorakhnath sat together and discussed spirituality.”
Fact: The three historic figures lived in different eras. While Baba Gorakhnath is believed to have been born between the 11th and 12th century, poet Kabir was born at the end of the 14th century. Guru Nanak, on the other hand, lived between the 15th century and the 16th century.
Statement: On Friday, September 5, Modi took to the stage in a packed Delhi auditorium to address not teachers but the nation’s students. Seven hundred were in the hall, but students across India were listening. In response to a girl student from the eastern state of Assam, “Climate has not changed. We have changed…our tolerance and habits have changed. If we change then God has built the system in such a way that it can balance on its own.”
Fact: The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect first identified. In the late 19th century, scientists first argued that human emissions of greenhouse gases could change the climate and said that climate change is real and major issues in today’s era.
BIPLAB KUMAR DEB
Statement: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb— who we earlier dubbed as the ‘king of bloopers’ once said that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore rejected the Nobel Prize as a mark of protest against the British Empire.
Fact: Tagore never declined the award that he received in 1913 for his work ‘Gitanjali.’
VIJAY RUPANI
Statement: On 27th Aug 2017, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, "If we link infrastructure with Lord Ram, imagine what kind of engineers he had at that time to build that Ram Setu bridge between India and Sri Lanka. Even squirrels contributed to building that bridge. It was Lord Ram's imagination which was realised by the engineers of that era".
Fact: According to NASA, this bridge made of floating stones can still be seen between India and Sri Lanka from Rameshwaram, the place where Lord Ram prayed to Lord Shiva and started the construction of the bridge. Since this story is very old and unproven, many historians, scientists and archaeologists deny accepting this bridge to be built by Lord Rama. Scientists believe that if air is trapped within a shell of silica it would look like a stone but would actually be very light and would thus float. Another example is ice. When put into glass having liquid, ice floats on liquid & after some time it sinks. Another prime example is of ‘Pumice’ stone.
There are many more such statements given by our leaders which mislead us about the facts. This is really very shameful and scary which make us laugh at one side and on other the side, it scares us on the future of our science, technology and education.
Unfortunately such type of statements made by our top leaders who are followed by millions of people not only in India but across the world which end up giving a wrong impression of our country around the globe.
Suggestion: You should not follow your leader blindly. Science and history are written by proof. Research it and then believe it.
Mast!!
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