Of course not. It’s an elephantplasty. 
Elephanoplasty, but I should be congratulated for my extreme will power for not going there. It was touch and go until the edit window closed.
I don’t think there has been any change in Modi over the last 4 years, but now:
India has seen some significant science-based achievements under Modi’s government, at the same time that pseudoscience has gotten official support. A government ministry was created to support and encourage the use of such things as homeopathy, naturopathy and Ayurveda as “alternatives” to science-based medicine. The Indian Medical Association among other responsible groups have been fighting back against quackery, but it’s a tough go when your government promotes pseudoscience, seemingly as part of a nationalist agenda.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems thoroughly modern. But he also appears to be steeped hopelessly in superstition. He promotes the exploration of the moon, orders the most sophisticated fighter jets, launches the first bullet train project, boasts about India being a vaccine ‘powerhouse’ that supplies vaccines to the world — all products of modern science. But he also simultaneously plumps for pseudoscience. He invokes cosmic energy to drive out the SARS-CoV-2 by exhorting the public to beat gongs and blow conches at auspicious hours based on ancient numerology; he does not pull up his Cabinet colleagues when they launch a yoga guru’s concocted COVID-19 medicine , drugs that haveno clinical evidence of trials and have been condemned by the Indian Medical Association.”
I’ve read through this list, and I’m not seeing where ancient Indian doctors invented plastic surgery. Furthermore, it would be interesting to see how evidence-based any of these listed procedures were and what they accomplished (the part about prostatectomy especially makes me shudder).
India is not the only country where official support of pseudoscience occurs. The worst example may have been in South Africa, where HIV denialism is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Prince Charles promoted homeopathy and was involved in a company selling dubious supplements, including a “detox tincture” and the like. In the U.S., what’s now known as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (initially set up through the urging of Senator Tom Harkin), has gone through several billion dollars in spending with remarkably little to show for it.
Realpolitik. India acts as a great counterbalance to China in the region, and Biden is willing to overlook psuedoscience, support for Russia and oppression of the Muslim minority in support of that goal.
We just voted out our Right Wing Populist leader.
India just voted one back in.
One of the basis of Right Wing Populism is to lie to your base and promise them anything. Make them feel special. Blame some minority. Of course that leads to Fascism.
Yep, Right Wing Populism has come back into popularity. The UK did get rid of Boris, and we voted out trump, so there is hope.
The problem is- those empty promises - when not filled- rebound back.
India does have many significant science-based achievements. Be it space exploration (government funding and moral support), COVID mgt., or smooth vaccine delivery (with minimal corruption). Your reply is vague but I think you assumed allopathy is only science-based medicine but it’s very far from truth. My family always rely on Ayurveda, if you research there are a lot of scientific agreement on the science behind Ayurveda, and in many case how it’s better than allopathy ( as it has no side effects, and have no addiction). Regarding public beating gongs and blowing choches, it’s just ill-informed west news reporters who said it has anything to do with ‘cosmic energy’. The Foundation of Bharat runs on social gatherings and feeling of Vashudev kutumbhkam, it was just a way to bring all of the country together while also at their homes (for social distancing), and it was successful in recharging citizens with nationalism (ofcourse if was one of many attempts which west media picked up)
The fact that something works doesn’t make it scientific. If I ran around telling people that cutting their toenails weekly would prevent lung cancer, I couldn’t claim to have based my plan on science even if it worked.
Some ayurvedic techniques likely do have health benefits. But they are not scientific unless they are based on testable empirical data.
As far as I know, Ayurvedic medicine has actual plant derivatives in it and there is an ayurvedic pharmacopoeia
eg https://cdn.ayush.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ayurvedic-Pharmacopoeia-of-India-part-1-volume-IX.pdf
Exactly which drug is statistically guaranteed to cure all forms of cancer is a different question, but you do not necessarily have to buy everything exclusively from Pfizer.
No, but the testing involved in establishing that it works can be science, even if it’s not as rigorous as we would like. And there is a lot of modern medicine where we have established something works but have not yet figured out why.
I say the best thing that ayurvedic medicine should do is submit to more rigorous testing. And, based on the papers I’ve seen, that is in fact something they often do. Most often the issue seems to be that the effects, while they exist, are smaller. And that there are a lot of overpromises. Not unlike the western supplement industry, really.
I personally come from two countries (Germany and Spain) that have thaught me that nationalism is one of the surest ways to accomplish evil. Would you be willing to elaborate what good you see in nationalism? Perhaps Indian nationalism is better than ours, I would like to become a good recharged Indian nationalist if there are good reasons to do so, provided, of course, India accepts foreigners as nationalists. I just happen to ignore those reasons, please fight my ignorance.
Guten Morgen, I don’t think it is about nationalism of one country is better than the other. I am a student of finance and no expert but for me nationalism is - You understand the roots, tradition, history and culture of the place you are living in, and have respect for it, regardless of whether you agree/follow that or not. I am 22 and still lives with parents and sure will live forever, I guess it’s just hard for you to understand this tradition, so is for me why people move out in your country, but I understand my country cultures value and think you do to, we can debate which is better give pros and cons, that’s okay, but shouldn’t make fun of other just because it’s different. In Bharat, people do as they please, I have full respect for everyone, but when anyone from or outside Bharat, makes fun of the tradition, i just feel angry and sad for it. Because I know my roots and understand the logic and history behind every cultural aspect, and what it stands for. And regarding your Q about Indian nationalism, One of the strongest messages of my country is ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’(which happened to be the theme of G20 recently) translates to the world is one family, so for a Bhartiya to treat everyone equal, and respect everyone is in basics to for be nationalistic. And what prayer is taught to me from childhood ends with " vishwa ka kalyan ho" translates to may whole world prosper. I can go on and on about every single tradition, but I think you get the point.
I think a key question here is “who gets to define what counts as roots, tradition, history and culture of a particular place?”
South Asia in particular, including the modern nation-state of India/Bharata, has had an incredibly rich and lengthy history of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, etc., diversity. Should Indian/Bharati nationalism include, say, the study of Persian literature and respect for the centuries of Indo-Persian culture? Or is it defined exclusively in terms of Indo-Aryan languages and the Hindu religion, or what?
That said, I don’t think anybody here disagrees that India has (and has had for thousands of years) many significant science-based achievements, although unfortunately they are not as well known in global popular culture as they ought to be.
It need not be an exhaustive list of what is a tradition of land and what is not, every tradition has evolved over the course of time, and everyone is ready to accept it’s current variation (even open to change over time). For example, the Raksha Bandhan festival (where the sister ties rakhi/thread to the brother’s hand, which signifies the brother has shared responsibility in protection and care of his sister) has completely changed over the course of time, (this festival finds no mention in Hindu scripture, it’s a totally man-made festival) now it includes sending rakhi through courier, receiving gifts, eating sweets, etc. If you research what it meant say 200 years ago you’ll be amazed to see how it has completely changed, I too only know just because I like to read even my parents don’t know.
I don’t believe we should not encourage change, I love Rakhsa Bandhan in its current variation. Now, I have seen some ill-informed Western scholars categorizing this festival as Patriarchal, woke feminists saying it assumes women are weak. My whole disagreement is towards that who have no idea about culture and Indian history just assume oneselves as only intellectual and critise anyone.
Regarding Hindu Religion- Bharat is a secular country and everyone has their right, Non-hindu religions have been given special protections under the Minority category. Having said that there is something Hindu in Bhartiya identity, the constitution which gives secular identity to the country on the very first page has a photo instance of Shrimad Bhagwat Geet (the most sacred Hindu scripture). I believe there is something Christian in American Identity even thought America is secular. My cousin lives in America and has full respect for all the Christian faith traditions there. Like I have for my Bhartiya Christian brothers living here.
Somethingis getting out of hand, as several newspapers have reported (here the Guardian):
Justin Trudeau has said there is “credible evidence” India is responsible for the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader, a claim Delhi dismissed as “absurd”.
Could this happen without the PM’s knowledge? This goes way beyond mere “nonsense”, this is dangerous.
As others have pointed out, it’s a bit fallacious to think that just because a society embraces science in some aspects, they don’t also embrace batshit-crazy woo, or vice versa.
I mentioned Lysenkoism before, but also, the same Nazis who created the V-2 and jet fighters also sent expeditions to seek out fucking soothsayers and to prove Buddha was Nordic..
It’s the same with India, or any other culture.