Bangalore University Says No to Astrology

The head of all science departments of Bangalore University voted and unanimously rejected the BJP lead state governments efforts to introduce Astrology (Jyotish Shastra) as a course in both the undergraduate and post graduate levels.  The faculty’s approval is required under the Karnataka State Universities Act 2000.  The faculty

called the governments move “obscurantist and unscientific”.  The faculty claimed that astrology was “non-science”.

This reminds me of the numerous “separation of Church and State” battles that are fought all across the United States frequently.  Thomas Jefferson (principal author of the American “Declaration of Independence”, the third president of the United States and one of the most influential founding fathers of the United States) was one of the first people in modern era to discuss separation of Church and State.

In a letter written in 1802 to a church group Jefferson said the following: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State”.  This is a powerful and visionary statement written well before Charles Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” and written at a time when the United States was an overwhelmingly Christian nation.

Jefferson’s vision is now almost an accepted norm in all liberal democracies including India.  There are however differences in interpretation and implementation of the concept.  In the United States the government not only cannot promote religion but institutions like schools, universities or hospitals that receive any government funding cannot promote a religion as well.  This is not the case in India.

I am not for teaching astrology in schools and universities if it is provided as an alternative to established science.  Recently in America there was an attempt by a Pennsylvania school board to introduce “Creation Science” as a course in schools to compete with “Evolutionary Science” which are taught in schools.  This decision was challenged and finally rejected by the Supreme Courts because they interpreted “Creation Science” as nothing but religion.

Astrology clearly is religion and cannot compete with science.  But what are the objections of the Bangalore University science faculty to Astrology being taught as a course in the university?  Bangalore University, as the name says is a university and not just an institution of scientific learning alone.

In addition to the department of science it has departments of Economics, English, Hindi, History, Kannada Studies, Performing Arts, Political Science, Rural Development, Social Work, Visual Arts etc.  Many of these fields are not strictly based on science either.

Is there a double standards being applied here?  I think so.  Instead of rejecting the proposal outright the faculty should refer the course to other departments.  Astrology whether we believe in it or not is a big business in India.  There are more people working in this industry than the whole of the Information Technology industry.

How come Bangalore University offers M.Phil and Ph.D programs in dance, drama and music but cannot issue a bachelors degree in astrology?  Astrology is a study of ancient and outdated science.  There is nothing wrong in studying that if you are interested.

I also think that building a wall between state and religion like the Americans have done has failed to achieve the desired goals to a great extent.  Vast majority of Americans still believe in gods, demons, ghosts, angels, psychic powers, heaven and earth and so on.  In addition Americans by and large are very ignorant when it comes to other religions and their gods and their philosophies.  Americans are no more scientific in their approach to life and problem solving than people who live in more religious societies that do not have such a strong wall between Church and State.

I am in favor of teaching religion in educational institutions as long as it is not presented as an alternative to science or theory of evolution.  Looking back I was fortunate to study in Christian schools where I had to study Bible as a course and pass exams at the end of the year.  Studying these courses opened my eyes to the vast contradictions that exists in the Bible, the various styles of writing within each Gospels, the numerous occasions the Bible was edited for content, the books that were added to the Bible and those that were excluded and why and so on.  Did you know that there are at least 3 different sets of “Ten Commandments” in the Bible and at least two different narratives for “Creation” in the book of Genesis alone?  Your pastor or Bible study group is unlikely to talk about all this.

These Bible courses had a different impact on me than what the teachers had hoped for.  I became very informed about Christianity and the Bible but at the same time became very skeptical of religion and religious claims in general.  So offering astrology as a course and then comparing it to what modern science has to offer will open the eyes of millions of Indians who are still stuck in their own unscientific ways.

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Tags: Astrology, Bangalore, Christianity, Church, India, Jefferson, religion, state

Category: Culture & Religion