India - tradition and science living in harmony

A quotation from ancient hindu text - Rigveda -on the quest to understand the cosmos by means of studying the closest heavenly body from earth - the moon.

It is remarkable that science and tradition exists so much more harmoniously in a country often ridiculed by the West as being overly traditional, religious and superstitious. While we are still arguing in USA about evolution, it is the defacto standard in all government run schools in India - and to the best of my knowledge there has never been any religious hue and cry about it. There are many other such examples - some of which too controversial for me to relate here.

Here's a great piece from NY Times that talks about it here.

Clean transportation, renewable energy and mass employment

While USA debates and argues, the rest of the world moves forward with innovations and real solutions. Here's a great example from India "Solekshaw" - the solar rickshaw. It combines the most popular transportation in Indian cities with solar power charged battery motor to solve a range of problems at the same time. Decidedly low tech in its approach, it is a clear example of the fact that the technology is out there - it's the adoption and government initiatives that are lagging behind.

And, while we still can't charge our cellphones in a taxicab in most American cities, this $500 rickshaw comes with 4 cellphone charging stations! And that brings us to the next innovation where India and China will lead the way - the adoption of mobile as the main channel for information and commerce.

 

http://dst.gov.in/whats_new/press-release08/solekshwa-launched.htm