Scientist Vs Humanist

When our former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam paid a visit to an Engineering College in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, on June 26, 2011, he made an observation during his dialogue with the students to the effect that the establishment of Nuclear Reactors could not be stopped due to the possibility of disasters alone. He tried to argue that the air-crafts and other automobiles could hardly be dispensed with simply because that there had been accidents from time to time. Dr. Kalaam’s observation was prima facie based on his thinking as a scientist. Knowing full well that atom bombs are more harmful not only to a few individuals but to a few thousands and millions, one cannot justify their proliferation. Similarly, due to a few accidents in the air or on roads people cannot avoid the use of air-crafts or the manufacture of automobiles, it is true. But the difference between these two sets of activities or operations lies in their sweep and intensity having long term implications to humanity. After all the developed nations like Germany, Japan and the USA are not foolish to abandon the future plan of Nuclear Reactors for power generation and to scale down the existing operation till they are phased out of their life-time in the very near future.

Keeping this point in mind Professor Shivaji Rao, Director of the Department of Environment in the University of Geetham has questioned the wisdom and observation of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam. I too agree with the Professor after seeing the untold sufferings and long term implications caused by the reactors of Fukushima recently in Japan, Cherinobyl in Ukraine and Pennsylvania in the USA in the past. While the developed countries can’t afford dangers from such Nuclear Reactors, the same sold by those developed nations to India cannot be expected to avoid such disasters likely to be caused by the callousness of our engineers and scientists.