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The Nair Service Society (NSS) has decided to stop its public protests against Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer’s ‘science vs myth’ remark. The NSS has instead proposed to move legally if the government continues to refuse to act on the issue. The decision was made at the organisation’s board meeting held on Sunday, August 6.
G Sukumaran Nair, the general secretary of NSS, had earlier strongly objected to the Speaker’s statement, saying, “Faith is more important than science.” The organisation had also observed a ‘faith protection day’ on August 2, with special services at Ganapathy shrines in the state. One of its ‘nama japa yatras’ organised in the state capital, was allegedly held without the required permissions, resulting in the Cantonment Police booking 1,000 identifiable persons for unlawful assembly and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. M Sangeeth Kumar, NSS vice president and taluk union president, was named the first accused in the case.
Sukumaran Nair, who refused to address the media after Sunday’s directors’ board meeting, handed out notices that contained the meeting’s decisions. It said, “The Speaker should withdraw his statement. As part of its initiatives to protect faith, the NSS peacefully organised a faith protection day on August 2. However, a case has been filed against the organisation for the same.”
Stating that the organisation will move against the Speaker legally, the NSS said, “There has been no response whatsoever from the government regarding the Speaker’s controversial remarks. The NSS strongly objects to this. The government should act on the issue at the earliest, without allowing it to worsen. If the government fails to act, the NSS has decided to take legal recourse in order to protect the faith of the believers.”
The allegedly controversial statement was made by Speaker Shamseer at an event for school children in Kunnathunad in Ernakulam on July 21. Speaking on the need to promote a scientific temper in curricula, he said, “We should promote science in our education system.” The controversy revolves around his statement that the Hindu god Ganapathy is being used as the first example of plastic surgery in education. “Sometimes when people get injuries and there are marks on the body, they are told they need plastic surgery. It is a big discovery of medical science. But it is being taught that plastic surgery was there much earlier – that the first plastic surgery baby had the body of a human and the head of an elephant. In this way, they promote myths in place of science,” he had said.
