Science fiction

Have you ever wondered why we Indians do not have a culture of science fictions in literature or movies in our country. In contrast, Jules Verne started writing his futuristic novels way back in 1870. Mary Shelley, a female writer, wrote the novel Frankenstein in 1818 , which can be called the first tale in the proper sci-fi realm.

Whatever passes of for science fiction in our country is copied and pasted from the foreign source. There are of course some notable exceptions,particularly in regional languages. I personally can talk about Bengali language where some good science fiction literature has been created. The first name to come in mind in this regard is Satyajit Ray who of course was a genius. But then exceptions always prove the rule.

Even in the body of work that we have in the sci-fi domain, none are audaciously ahead of time or invoke an awesome flight of fantasy to germinate the seeds of endless possibilities. It must be admitted that the mainstream literature and movies in our country have avoided sci-fi fantasies probably because the creators themselves do not have a scientific temper in the first place. Original stories and novels in the realms of space travel, time travel, genetics, medicine, sea exploration geological explorations and inter galactic adventures are hard to find . And even if they are written then the target audience is juvenile , not mature adults.

Even if you watch the movies and TV serials you will find that very lame and hackneyed adaptations of ideas rule the roost . For example think about the Shaktimaan TV serial or the Krish series of movies. There is nothing new in the stories or the concepts which any body exposed to the world movies have not seen before.

On the other hand, we have a plethora of tales on Ichchhadhari Nagins, Jadoo Tona, Jhad Phoonk, Tantrik Babas, Supernatural Chamatkars and plain superstitions. What does this signify ? To me it seems that primarily we shun a culture of science and this restricts us from thinking ahead of time or the use of futuristic technology.

Right from the childhood, we are brought up with generous doses of myths, miracles and unconditional acceptance of what is being handed over to us, by our parents, teachers, elders and leaders. This prohibits us from thinking beyond a certain ceiling. And, that's the reason we have Doctors wearing amulets and tabeezs , Nuclear scientists visiting Babas to seek blessings for promotion or even funds for some research projrct. 

In addition, we also have the deeply entrenched caste system and feudalism is dein the psyche of Indians as a national obsession. Just imagine how can a author brought up on a bramhinical thought process even think of a Star Trek with a crew comprising of a Dalit commander under whom a Rajput engineer will work with a Naga astronaut. This is unimaginable to a mind which has been brought up to consider that intelligence is and privilege synonymous upper castes and Aryan origin.

Most young people , I meet nowadays take so many things for granted in this digital age without even giving it a thought how things happen. I feel that there is a dangerous vaccum that's being created between education and knowledge . And people are getting more and more aligned to the use of things rather than the fundamentals. I am of course writing this as a general observation because there are plenty of inquisitive minds too. 

Like it or not try to make a thousand justifications but one cannot avoid the fact that in spite of the continuous harping of a glorious past and traditional heritage of knowledge, we are a country definitely poor in thought leadership. What we celebrate as the Jugaad brand of innovation is actually nothing but plagiarism with common sense in the face of necessity.