Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has emphasised on the role of education in ridding the society of superstitions and regressive customs. He also called for a positive mindset among young scholars.
Inaugurating the Young Scholars Congress (YSC) organised by the AKG Centre for Research and Studies and various organisations here on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan warned against research activities that threatened to drive a wedge into the unity of various sections of the society.
He held the view that various agencies, which were influenced by capital and political interests, attempted to disrupt the unity that prevailed in third-world countries and thereby, promote inequality.
Worried
Mr. Vijayan also expressed worry about the lack of research in traditional sectors. “While much focus has gone into ensuring tie-ups with large-scale industrial units, the traditional industries including coir and handloom have been largely neglected. Likewise, while a certain extent of machinery has improved productivity in agriculture to some extent, there has been no significant change in agricultural practices on par with the advancement in other fields over the years,” he said.
Netherlands varsity
He added that the State government had commenced efforts to rope in the services of a university in Netherlands that had developed the technology to effectively utilise coir pith, often discarded as waste.
Such interventions were necessary to improve the productivity of traditional sectors, he said.
Delivering the keynote address, C.P. Chandrasekhar, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, raised caution against efforts to convert research into a process of generating intellectual property for gaining profit and not for transforming society.
Pointing out that the country was in the midst of challenging times, Prof. Chandrasekhar said that attempts were being made to disrupt and destroy critical thinking.
Accessing info
He also alleged that efforts were made to prevent access to information that could facilitate decent research.
The Centre has strived to hold back information that could prove to become uncomfortable, thereby impeding deep analysis and democratic debate.
AKG Centre for Research and Studies director A. Vijayaraghavan presided over the inaugural function. Former Education Minister M.A. Baby, Kerala State Higher Education Council vice chairman P.M. Rajan Gurukkal, Vice-Chancellors of the Kerala University, Kannur University, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, V.P. Mahadevan Pillai, Gopinath Ravindran, Rajasree M.S. and Dharmajan Adat, and programme working chairman V. Sivadasan were also present on the occasion.