Essays on Disadv of Science, Students & Politics & Brain Drain
To view other Essays Click Here.
Disadvantages of Science
Science is the God of the 20th century. It has provided all the material comforts and physical and mental powers to man. It has shortened time and distance and revolutionized the means of communication.
It has invented a number of machines which have relieved man of much of his drudgery (dull difficult work and physical exertion). Electricity has become a mode of all work. Science has given food to the hungry, clothes to the naked and home to the homeless.
Science has carried man into the outer space Man has already toured the Moon; he may soon set foot on the Mars and the Venus any day.
Medical science has done wonders. It has given relief to the suffering human race. It has prevented and cured many fatal diseases. In many other ways science has increased human comfort, safety and happiness.
It has helped us to cultivate an objective dispassionate outlook of life. It has dispelled ignorance and superstitions. The faiths of yesterday have become the superstitions of today. Science has made us methodical, logical and clear-headed.
Science today is like an Aladdin’s Lamp performing wonder after wonder and making conquest after conquest. Atomic energy has brought about a complete revolution in our control over the vast forces of Nature.
But if science is a blessing, it is not an unmixed blessing. It has its destructive side, too. The destruction was done by modern weapons, i.e. A and H Bombs shows the miraculous but Satanic power that science wields today.
Science has made modern war very destructive and painful. War today is a naked dance of Death, a cruel carnage (killing) of mankind and a period of national and international travail (pain and suffering).
Even peaceful citizen women, children, old men, animals, etc. are exposed to bombing from the air and economic blockade from the sea. Inventions like Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs are the fatal gifts of science to mankind. It is feared that if recourse is taken to an Atomic war it would wipe out the entire humanity in no time.
The greater the forces of Nature, which man has conquered, the narrower has grown his heart. If you have a thunderbolt like an Atomic Bomb in your hand, you require the strength of an angel or a god to control yourself. Science has dethroned God and signed the death warrants of humanity. It has enslaved man and made him a machine without a heart to feel.
Another evil effect of science is that it has made people irreligious and skeptical. Their belief in God and spiritualism is shaken. Science lays stress on the matter and not on the spirit. “Vain is your science” is not the foolish cry of men.
From the above, it is easy to conclude that science is not enough. Science has, no doubt, given us material comforts but it has denied us spiritual joy. It has not afforded us any knowledge of the ultimate aim of life – the chain of birth and death and the salvation of the human soul.
The method of science is no longer applicable to our inner spirit to the realization of truth and appreciation of beauty, to our emotions and inner recognition of goodness and to over sensitiveness to art and literature.
Much that is vital in life is beyond the scope of science. It may not be possible for science to reveal the ultimate mysteries of life and the universe around us.
There are two sides to man’s life: the material and the spiritual. Science rules over the domain of matter but it has no sway over the kingdom of spirit where religion alone is the supreme ruler.
There are problems like man’s relation with God and nature, the question of birth and death, the immorality and migration of the soul, the idea of sin and virtue.
These problems science has been unable to explain so far, although they form an integral part of our life. In view of all this, science shall have to be supplemented by religion and philosophy in order to have a full and complete picture of the universe and human life.
Students and Politics
With the growing student unrest in the country, everybody has started asking a question about whether students and politics can and should go together. Students were made to take part in politics long before the independence of the country.
They were the vanguard (front leader) of the national struggle for independence.
The student life is very precious and students have to devote themselves heart and soul to their studies. True education means the harmonious development of body, mind and soul.
Students have to be physically strong, mentally alert and morally upright. If the dirty game of politics is played by the students inside or outside the campus, much of their valuable time will be wasted and their studies would remain incomplete and their careers would be ruined.
Students are generally too immature to understand the ins and outs of politics. They have not yet gained that worldly wisdom and tact which are so essential for a politician.
Another reason why students should not take part in politics is that they are more emotional than rational with the result that they have not as yet acquired that stable and balanced mind that the game of politics requires. It is a well-known fact that politics is a dirty and dangerous game. Without a balanced and rational mind, it is very risky for students to jump into politics.
During the pre-independence days students took an active part in politics because there was an urgency. Our motherland was groaning under the iron heels of the Britishers. Naturally our first and foremost duty was to free her from the foreign domination.
Education was a secondary consideration then. Now that Pakistan has won freedom, the first and foremost duty of students is to acquire knowledge. Politics should not be their chief concern. They might indulge in politics after completing their studies.
Now let us look at the other side of the picture. Students are the cream of society, the pillars of their nation and the future hope of their country The students of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Political consciousness is, therefore, very necessary for the future citizens of the nation.
There is no harm if the students go on acquainting themselves with the political affairs of their country. But having knowledge about politics is quite different from indulging in politics.
The syllabus of various subjects taught in schools and colleges demands such knowledge from the students. For this purpose, the students must devote some time daily in studying newspapers and understanding the current political developments in the country and abroad.
Today, our country is facing a crisis of character. The crisis of rising prices and consequent misery and distress for the lower sections of society and the crisis born of corruption and inefficiency in administration, especially at the higher level, have attained serious proportions. It is high time that our students should come forward to rid the country of corruption and inefficiency and pull her safely out of the crises.
In the prevailing circumstances, it is useless to prevent students from taking part in politics. Moreover, in a democratic set up every citizen must be aware of the political conditions prevailing in the country. The students form a vital part of society.
Our conclusion is that students cannot remain separate from politics. They should take theoretical but intelligent interest in politics so long as their studies are not complete. Afterwards they can take an active part in the political affairs of their country. It is not proper for them to join politics at the cost of their academic interests.
Brain Drain
“East or West, home is the best,” is a well-known proverb. As a rule, do people stick to the land of their birth? They do not want to emigrate to other countries Notwithstanding this some people immigrate and settle in such advanced countries as the U.S.A., UK and Arab countries.
They are generally attracted by better wages, more modern amenities of life, greater facilities and chances to prosper and more glamour of a luxurious foreign environment. Some young men are also lured by easy access to the opposite sex in the advanced countries of the West.
Sometimes the term is wrongly used for the migration of all the educated persons. But strictly speaking, it is applied to the emigration of those geniuses or intellectual giants whose services are also needed by their motherland. Their migration certainly depletes (exhausts) the brain power of the land of their birth.
It may be noted that Brain Drain is not a new phenomenon. In the olden days, great conquerors carried away with them not only the looted things but also the intellectuals of the country which was invaded and conquered.
Some short-sighted leaders like Hitler would compel the intellectuals like Einstein and space-research scholars to migrate to other countries simply because they were Jews and hence non-Christians.
They migrated to the USA which got form them the secret of the Atom Bomb and Rockets. As a result of this, the U.S. became much stronger and more prosperous, and Germany received a setback because it lost its brain power.
But most of our young men go abroad and settle there willingly because of the greater facilities for work, better remuneration and superior standards of living there. Most of the brain people of Pakistan have migrated to the USA and other advanced countries of the West for this very reason.
Some of the Pakistani nationals have earned name and fame abroad.
Such talented persons and intellectual giants might not have achieved much, had they remained on the land of their birth for want of adequate facilities for research.
Those who settle in advanced countries go there first as students to pursue courses of scientific, technological or academic nature not available in their own countries.
Most of the advanced courses that they take up there are designed to meet the demands of the country of their adoption but have little market value in their own country.
So they prefer to settle abroad where their work is recognized instead of coming back to their motherland and rotting for ever. Only a few returns who have the ability to apply their skill learnt abroad, to the conditions at home.
Under-developed countries like Pakistan which are at the transitional stage only, are worst sufferers from the brain-drain. They badly need the rare talents and intellectual achievements of their sons and daughters. No doubt, these brainy people have a much brighter future in advanced foreign countries. But should they forget their duty to their motherland?
Our intellectuals may not go abroad to seek a satisfying professional career if their homeland can afford to provide them with a career suited to their genius. After all, mental satisfaction is a great thing.
Sad though it may be, it is nevertheless a fact that the conditions prevailing in Pakistan for higher research and technology are uncongenial for men of genius. So they prefer to migrate to other countries where they can work freely in a congenial atmosphere and have professional satisfaction and where their merits are fully recognized and duly rewarded. Pakistan should try to attract back her intellectuals and geniuses by offering them greater facilities and better emoluments.
Essays on Disadvantages of Science, Students and Politics & Brain Drain