India stands at a critical juncture. In an era defined by data, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and rapid technological change, scientific temper, the habit of evidence-based thinking, scepticism, rigorous testing of claims, and public reasoning, is not a luxury but a foundational civic capacity. Its erosion, fuelled by ideological myth-making that romanticises an imagined glorious past, unchecked social-media quackery, and long- standing weaknesses in our education system, risks undermining innovation, public health, sound governance, and India’s long-term competitive edge.

Without urgent renewal, India’s demographic dividend could rapidly turn into a liability. What exactly is scientific temper, and why does it matter? Scientific temper is not professional laboratory science alone, nor does it demand atheism or the abandonment of personal faith. It is a mindset: refusing to accept claims without testing them, being willing to revise views in light of evidence, relying on observed facts and method rather than preconceived notions, and having the discipline to admit uncertainty.

A deeply spiritual person can maintain personal faith while insisting on peer-reviewed data for public health policies, agricultural guidelines, or technological choices. Scientific temper is about domain separation, protecting public reason and policy from the realm of personal belief. This habit underpins democratic deliberation, high- quality policy-making , and economic competitiveness. In a knowledge economy, nations that reward critical thinking attract talent, investment, and high-value industries. This erosion is not new. India has deep-rooted vulnerabilities. India’s education system has long suffered from a pre-existing weakness: an obsession with rote memorisation, cracking the exam code, and the coaching-centre industry epitomised by Kota’s pressure-cooker culture.

Scoring 100 per cent in a physics or biology exam through cramming does not cultivate scientific temper. Inquiry-based learning, hands-on experimentation, and the cultivation of doubt have been sidelined for decades in favour of the mechanical reproduction of textbook content. This has........

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