The need for scentific temper in India and the world today:
Scientific temper involves the application
of logic and reasoning, and the avoidance of bias and preconceived notions in
arriving at decisions, and becomes particularly valuable while deciding what is
best for the community or the nation. To apply scientific knowledge to
problems, to grapple with them, through the method of scientific inquiry and to
work for social transformation inspired by Scientific Temper. Essential for Scientific Temper is the mental attitude of which is, behind the method of acquiring reliable and practical knowledge. Not accepting answers without testing and trial. Requiring of
solid information and incontrovertible data then suitable analysis before the
accepting anything. Not accepting
views and opinions, simply
because traditionally they have accepted these views. Not
observing obscurantist and superstitious practices. Openness of mind and absence of dogmatism.
Scientific temper is one of the attributes
that Pandit Nehru wanted all of us Indians to cultivate. Scientific
temper involves the application of logic and the avoidance of bias and
preconceived notions. Since the Upanishad or Mahabharata times, arguments, disputations,
questions and dialogues have characterized
Indian thought. Heterodoxy was the
characteristic of medieval mystical thought including
“the Bhakti and Muslim Sufi traditions”.
Each community in India has retained its identity
within India's spectrum of faiths
The Relevance and Need of Scientific Temper :
If any organization or the country as a
whole were to achieve progress, we have to foster a Scientific Temper in the
citizens with absolute capacity for critical evaluation. With lack of
Scientific Temper our ability to take rational decisions weakens. Though
sometimes we take rational decisions but at many occasions we don’t. It is the Scientific
Temper that enables us to take our decisions rationally. This may be the reason
why the concept of “Scientific Temper” was built-in in our constitution.
Article 51 A of our constitution which deals with fundamental
duties makes it a duty of every citizen to develop a Scientific Temper.
Article 51 A of our constitution also makes it a duty
of every citizen to develop Humanism
& spirit of enquiry and reform.
It further makes it duty
of every citizen to abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and as we
know Secularism is one of the most important ideals of our Constitution.
Secularism, Humanism & Spirit of
enquiry and reform are directly related to Scientific Temper. It is
the Scientific Temper that helps in developing Secularism, Humanism &
Spirit of enquiry and reform. Secularism is
basic requirement for Human Development. Secularism unites people, whereas
religion divides them in to different groups. We can get rid of religion and
its irrational beliefs only with the help of Scientific Temper. Without
Scientific Temper we can’t become Secular. Though the country
today can claim in various spheres like atomic energy, space and
telecommunication, technological excellence, it is a matter of regret that
the Scientific Temper among the general public, more so with the educated
public has not progressed to the desirable degree. It should be realized
that our education, especially our school education has not generated this
critical spirit of Scientific Temper. Scientific Temper has to be an inherent
quality in minds of our people, particularly the educated and it has to be a
societal responsibility also. This quality is somehow missing in the modern
educated Indians
Need and proposals for labour reforms in India today: Critically Examine.
Labour reforms have a key role to play
in improving the ease of doing business in India. Therefore, there is a rising
expectancy that government, both federal and state is set to push through major
initiatives for making changes in labour laws. The government has to actively
and aggressively discussing, drafting and engaging with labour groups to
address their concerns and has assured that the reforms are not directed
against labour. Traditionally Indian governments at federal and state level have sought
to ensure a high degree of protection for workers, but in practice, legislative
rights only cover a minority of workers. India is a federal form of government
and because labour is a subject in the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution matters are in the
jurisdiction of both central and state governments. Both central and state
governments have enacted laws on labour relations and employment issues.
In the Constitution of India from 1950,
Article 14 states everyone should be equal before the law, article 15
specifically says the state should not discriminate against citizens, and
article 16 extends a right of "equality of opportunity" for
employment or appointment under the state. Article 23 prohibits all trafficking
and forced labour, while article 24 prohibits
child labour under 14 years old in a factory, mine or "any other
hazardous employment”.
Labour reforms have long been pending in
India. Almost 90 per cent of the labour community is casual and not protected
by laws and regulations. On the other hand, some sections of industry and
neo-liberal thought have argued for greater flexibility in labour markets and
easier hire and fire policies for increased competitiveness, push in
manufacturing, and greater output. Reforms in Labour laws are being much talked in recent
years. It is being advocated that all talk of liberalization is futile without
squarely facing up to the imperative of labour reforms. These are an integral
part of the economic reforms process itself. Other efforts at raising the
standard of performance on the economic front to world class are apt to stall
if those managing enterprises find themselves hamstrung by outdated trade union
laws and dilatory methods of adjudication of industrial disputes. For instance,
the unwieldy number of adjudicating authorities -conciliation officers, conciliation
boards, courts of inquiry, labour courts, industrial tribunals and the national
industrial tribunal — under the Industrial Disputes Act and the complex procedures
are out of sync with the essential pre-requisites for the success and even the
survival of companies in a globally integrated economy. Productivity, customer
service, cost-effectiveness, keeping to delivery schedules, technological up
gradation and modernization have emerged as the criteria for judging the quality
of management of companies, and labour reforms hold the key to increased
competitiveness and investment flows in all these respects. The need for introducing
labour market flexibility and simplifying labour laws has no doubt been emphasized
by the President and Prime Minister of the country downwards from time to time.
India's
labor regulations - among the most restrictive and complex in the world - have
constrained the growth of the formal manufacturing sector where these laws have
their widest application. Better designed labor regulations can attract more
labor- intensive investment and create jobs for India's unemployed millions and
those trapped in poor quality jobs. Given the country's momentum of growth, the
window of opportunity must not be lost for improving the job prospects for the
80 million new entrants who are expected to join the work force over the next
decade.
