Kasaragod: Some people in constitutional posts are giving leadership to efforts to turn the country into a religious state, giving importance to fairy tales instead of rational thinking, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Article 51 A (fundamental duties) of the Constitution makes it the duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform, he said. "But that perspective is being blown to the winds. Some people are deliberately trying to turn our country into a religious state and giving importance to fairy tales instead of rational thinking," Vijayan said. "We are seeing the unfortunate sight that even those in constitutional posts are giving leadership to these endeavors," said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the 36th Kerala Science Congress in Kasaragod on Friday.

He said social unity is a prerequisite to maintaining scientific temper and rational thinking in society. "Scientific thoughts and scientists cannot survive in a society that leans on hate and divisive thoughts," he said.

"This is a Science Congress. But you should not confine the discussions only to science," Vijayan said and added that the progress of science also depends on social unity. He urged scientists to initiate activities that promote unity in society. "We should remember the experience of Albert Einstein who had to flee a Germany where racism was on the rise," the Chief Minister said.

This is an era of artificial intelligence, he said. "AI-driven industries will have an upper hand. But there is a bad side to it, too. Systems such as AI are being used as a tool to spread hate, defamation, and commit crimes," he said.

When Kerala is organising a four-day science congress, one should remember that the Indian Science Congress has not yet been organised. "The stakeholders cannot even say why it is not being organised or when it will be organised," Vijayan said.

Since 1914, the Indian Science Congress has been an annual permanent fixture held from January 3 to 7, and the Prime Minister inaugurates the gala event. It's been more than a month since the organisers missed the date and there is no word on it.

Vijayan said India ranked at the bottom of the list of countries investing in research. "We invest only 0.7% of our GDP in research and development when the world average is 1.8%," he said. Even when the allocation is low, one part of the R&D funds go into utterly unscientific things, said the Chief Minister. "But Kerala is different here, too. In the budget, the government has set aside Rs 3,500 crore for R&D," he said.

He said the government allocated Rs 200 crore (Rs 20 crore each) to 10 universities to set up "Translational Centres", where research can be translated to services and products that benefit society.

He said Kerala was promoting research with limited resources because of which "we cannot compete with developed countries". "But we are implementing a scheme called Brain Gain to tap Kerala researchers abroad for the benefit of the state," he said.

One Health, theme of the congress
Transforming Kerala's economy through one health approach is the theme of the 36th Kerala Science Congress, being organised by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology, and Environment and the Centre for Water Resources Development & Management.

Explaining the theme, the Chief Minister said the health of the people of the state was dependent on the health of the environment and the flora and fauna. "The one-health approach is essential for the safety and progress of the human race," he said. This policy is particularly relevant for Kerala because it is a state with high population density and forest area, he said. "People of Kerala have high interaction with the environment and living organisms," he said.

One of the challenges faced by Kerala was communicable diseases, particularly animal-borne diseases, he said. "This affects our economy, too," he said.

He said the government initiated the "one-health approach in 2021 and launched schemes in four districts".

Steps are being taken to launch the State Centre for One Health. "I am hoping this Science Congress will throw up discussions and recommendations that will strengthen the state government's initiatives," he said.

The three-day Kerala Science Congress will see 424 delegates presenting 366 papers from 12 subjects.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, is the chairperson of the Congress.

Nobel laureate Morten Meldal, a Danish chemist whose work revolutionised the way scientists construct molecules, delivered the Nobel lecture at the congress on day one.