Centre’s science conference under fire for promoting Panchmahabhoot

The conference brochure said 'the universe is made up of 5 primal elements or the Panchmahabhoot: Agni (fire), Akash (sky), Vayu (air), Jala (water) and Prithvi (earth)'

A scientific conference organised by the Union government has drawn sharp criticism from a section of scientists for promoting non-science such as “Panchmahabhoot as the fundamental blocks of the universe instead of atoms” and the existence of “ether” that was discarded by modern science nearly 150 years ago.

To be held at Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, from November 4 to 6, the conference titled ‘Sumangalam’ has the theme of “Akash for Life”, and is being supported by the Department of Space, Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the office of the principal scientific advisor, among others.

Yet the conference brochure says, “the entire universe is made up of five primal elements or the Panchmahabhoot: Agni (fire), Akash (sky), Vayu (air), Jala (water) and Prithvi (earth).”

“This essentially implies that these five elements are fundamental in nature – which is entirely mistaken since even ancient people (both Indians and Greeks) were aware of the atom as a fundamental constituent of matter. Modern research has proven the existence of even more fundamental particles as the constituents of all matter,” India March for Science, a collective forum of Indian scientists, said in a statement.

Primal elements

“Given this knowledge, the assertion of the Panchamahabhoot as primal elements is liable to draw not only disrespect, but even ridicule about the state of scientific awareness of India and her scientists from the international community.”

Vijnna Bharati, a Sangh Parivar backed outfit, is also one of the organisers of the conference.

Last week Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the conference would showcase blending of traditional and modern knowledge, through an extended integration of all schools of thought.

The conference brochure also says “Akash is not an empty space, but is ether; ether is without the firmness of earth, the coolness of water, the heat of fire or even the movement of wind. It is therefore the very essence of emptiness.” It even claims that a ‘sensory organ related to ether element is ear as it is hollow and transmits the sound waves.’

“The concept of a ‘luminiferous ether’ was indeed fashionable in the late nineteenth century as a medium which permeated all space. However, the results of the famous Michelson-Morley experiment (of 1887) – which proved that light travels with a constant velocity in all inertial frames and thus laid the foundations of the Special Theory of Relativity – invalidated this concept, which has been soundly rejected by the scientific community a long time back,” the scientists said.

“Referring to such a scientifically disproved concept and associating it with the mechanism of hearing by the human ear (that too in a misleading and physiologically incorrect manner) is a classic example of non-science.

Knowledge, according to the scientists, is generally additive over time, and claiming that knowledge that was developed millennia ago without the aid of modern technology was superior to what is available presently, is entirely illogical and even regressive. “Let us all celebrate our glorious past, but not attempt to return to it,” they added.