After negating Darwin's evolution theory, Satyapal Singh, the Minister of State for the Human Resource Development (HRD), now says "Law of motion was codified by Mantra much before they were discovered by Issac Newton."
Singh said, “There are mantras which codified ‘laws of motion’ much before it was discovered by the Newton. Hence it is essential that traditional knowledge must be incorporated in our curriculum."
According to Hindustan Times, the minutes of the meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) revealed that Singh also mentioned that Vaastu compliance of educational buildings was important for the purpose of learning.
Police commissioner turned BJP minister, Satyapal Singh, holds an M.Phil degree in Chemistry. He believes, he would have been a scientist had he not cleared the Civil Services examination to become an IPS officer. His dream of becoming a scientist may have remained unfulfilled but now, as minister of state (MoS) for Human Resources Development (HRD) in-charge of higher education, he sees an opportunity in dictating what others should study in science.
Earlier, the minister had called Darwin's theory of evolution "scientifically wrong". According to the HRD minister, the theory was false because nobody actually saw an ape turning into a man.
The theory of biological evolution that states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
Singh was quoted saying, “From the time we have been hearing stories from our grandparents, ever since books were written, until today, nobody has, either in a story or in writing, said he went somewhere into a jungle and saw an ape turn into a man. Darwin’s theory is scientifically wrong. Since man came to Earth, he has always been man, and will always be man.”
People who have known Singh closely are not really surprised at his passionate appeal to shun Darwin’s theory. As Additional DGP of Maharashtra – prior to becoming Mumbai Police Commissioner -- Singh had started a campaign targeting college students to break the myths around religion and create awareness about Vedic literature.
Over the years, he developed an interest in vedic studies and took to organising occasional ‘havans’ at police stations.
“He was a self-proclaimed Arya Samajist and pretty much unapologetic about it. We were definitely not surprised when he decided to quit the police force after nearly 35 years in service to join the BJP. There was always an RSS man hidden in him somewhere.” This is what one of his colleagues from the 1980 batch tells Outlook. Singh claimed he was responding to his “inner voice” when he gave up khaki for khadi. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls BJP pitted him against Jat leader Ajit Singh, who was relegated to the third spot.
“He delivered lectures on spirituality and promoted Vedas as the divine order for world peace. Once in 2000 I heard him speak at an Arya Sammelan in Mumbai. He spoke about the Satyarth Prakash (written by founder of Arya Samaj Swami Dayanand Saraswati), giving the book generous credit for his expertise as a police officer,” recalls another police official, who was Singh’s senior.
The Darwin statement, however, led to protests from several sections and renowned science bodies such as the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Science Academy. The bodies issued a combined statement, saying there was no scientific basis for the Minister's statement.
"Evolutionary theory, to which Darwin made seminal contributions, is well established. There is no scientific dispute about the basic facts of evolution. This is a scientific theory, and one that has made many predictions that have been repeatedly confirmed by experiments and observations," the combined statement had said.
"Remarks made by persons in government positions affect the scientific temperament of the citizens, which indirectly impacts the importance attached to funding research innovations in Indian universities," shish Samanta, Treasurer of the Breakthrough Science Society West Bengal Chapter quoted as saying.
