01-06-2025
Very few have courage to stand up against astrology today: Mashelkar on Narlikar
SCIENTIST DR Raghunath Mashelkar recalled how astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar had the 'courage to stand up against pseudosciences like astrology', while noting that 'many could not do the same today'. Speaking virtually at a tribute event at the Pune International Centre on Saturday, Mashelkar said, 'He fought pseudoscience with reason, not with ridicule. And he stood up. I remember that I was in Delhi at that period of time, there was an effort to introduce astrology courses. And he was the first one to stand up and say astrology is not science. He had the courage to do that. We have very few people today who have the courage to do that. I don't want to elaborate on that.'
In 2008, Narlikar teamed up with the late rationalist Narendra Dabholkar to conduct an experiment testing the validity of astrology. Published in scientific journal Current Science volume 96 in March 2009 titled 'A statistical test of astrology', the experiment invited astrologers to predict the mental capabilities of a set of 40 students based on their birth charts or kundalis. This set of 40 would be randomly drawn from a total set of 200 students. Half of these students were 'intellectually bright' in their schools while the other half were not.
Out of all the astrologers who participated in the experiment, the best performance was 24 out of 40 correct answers while the average correct answer per sample was 17.5. These numbers were below the minimum threshold for success statistically calculated to be 28 correct answers.
Mashelkar added that Narlikar invited pride in ancient Indian astronomy, showing how our scientific heritage is both rich and relevant. Narlikar's death on May 20 led to an outpour of tributes from scientists, citizens, and politicians from across the country. One of the most popular and accomplished scientists from India, Narlikar was the founding director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune.
A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
