In the Marketplace of Miracles, India Must Keep Its Scientific Temper Alive

Faith may be personal, but a nation’s future is shaped by evidence, reason, research and innovation

By Dr. Priyanka Saurabh

India’s story has never been about faith alone. Alongside its rich spiritual traditions, the country has also inherited a remarkable tradition of inquiry, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and scientific exploration. The challenge before modern India is not to choose between faith and science, but to ensure that faith does not become a substitute for evidence and that extraordinary claims are not accepted without scrutiny.

Prayer, worship and personal belief belong to the private sphere of human life. The problem begins when claims of miracles, supernatural powers or unverified remedies are presented as established facts and critical thinking is discouraged.

This distinction has become increasingly important in an age when information travels instantly.

Why does the miracle economy remain attractive?

Modern India presents a striking contrast. The country is advancing in space research, digital technology, biotechnology, medicine and artificial intelligence, while at the same time astrology, palmistry, fortune-telling, occult practices and claims of supernatural intervention continue to attract large audiences.

New spiritual centres emerge, religious figures gain enormous followings and videos claiming miraculous cures or predictions can reach millions through social-media platforms.

Behind this attraction lies a basic human reality: uncertainty creates vulnerability.

Illness, unemployment, examinations, marriage, financial difficulties, family problems and anxiety about the future can make people look for immediate answers. Scientific investigation may require time, evidence and patience. A person claiming to have an instant explanation or solution can therefore appear more reassuring, particularly to someone facing a crisis.

This is one of the conditions in which an ecosystem of superstition can flourish.

A viral video is not scientific evidence

Social media has changed the scale of the problem.

A claim that was once confined to a village, neighbourhood or small group can now reach millions within hours. Dramatic visuals, emotional storytelling, testimonials and confident assertions can create the impression of authenticity.

But an individual’s experience, however sincere, is not automatically scientific evidence.

Anecdotes can raise questions. They cannot by themselves establish whether a treatment works, whether a prediction is reliable or whether an alleged supernatural phenomenon is genuine.

Scientific inquiry demands something different: observation, testing, reproducibility, evidence and the willingness to revise conclusions when new evidence emerges.

Scientific temper is not anti-religion

Scientific thinking should not be misunderstood as an attack on religion.

A person can visit a temple, pray, follow a spiritual tradition and still ask whether a particular claim has evidence behind it. Personal faith and scientific investigation operate in different domains.

The scientific temper becomes particularly important when claims concern health, medicine, natural phenomena, public safety or factual predictions. In such matters, belief alone cannot replace reliable evidence.

The habit of asking questions is therefore not disrespectful. It is an essential part of responsible citizenship.

India’s own intellectual tradition encourages questioning

India’s history provides ample evidence that curiosity and inquiry are not foreign ideas.

From Aryabhata and India’s mathematical and astronomical traditions to modern researchers working in medicine, physics, space science and technology, Indian intellectual history has repeatedly demonstrated the value of observation and investigation.

The issue, therefore, is not whether India possesses scientific talent. It clearly does.

The larger question is how deeply scientific thinking reaches into everyday social life.

A country may produce world-class scientists while sections of its population remain vulnerable to misinformation. Scientific institutions alone cannot solve that contradiction. Scientific temper must become part of everyday culture.

Schools must teach children to ask “Why?”

The most important place to develop this habit is the classroom.

If children are taught that every question has to be answered through authority or tradition, curiosity can gradually become weaker. If they are encouraged to ask why, examine evidence and test assumptions, they develop skills that can serve them throughout life.

The child who learns to investigate a simple classroom experiment can eventually become a scientist, doctor, engineer, researcher, entrepreneur or innovator.

Education should therefore move beyond memorising answers. It should create an environment where asking questions is considered a strength.

Media has a responsibility too

Television, newspapers, digital platforms and social media play a major role in determining which claims receive public attention.

Claims of miracles can attract enormous audiences, but sensational presentation without verification can blur the distinction between entertainment and fact.

Responsible journalism should examine extraordinary claims rather than automatically amplifying them. Sources should be checked, evidence should be examined and expert perspectives should be sought where appropriate.

The same principle applies to health-related information circulating online. A viral post should not become a substitute for qualified medical advice or established scientific evidence.

Superstition is not limited to religion

Another important point is that irrational thinking does not exist only in religious contexts.

Believing every social-media rumour, accepting an unverified health claim, treating someone as an expert without checking their credentials, forwarding misinformation or making important decisions based on unsupported predictions are also forms of poor evidence-based reasoning.

Scientific temper is therefore not simply a debate about religion. It is a broader habit of thinking.

Build laboratories alongside places of worship

India does not need to erase faith from public life. It needs to strengthen the culture of inquiry alongside it.

A society can have temples as well as laboratories, prayer as well as research, tradition as well as questioning, and belief alongside respect for evidence.

The real measure of progress should not be confined to the number of religious institutions or spiritual centres. It should also include the strength of schools, universities, libraries, laboratories, research institutions and innovation ecosystems.

The next generation should not merely ask, “How did this miracle happen?”

It should also have the confidence to ask:

“What is the evidence for this claim?”

That single question can become the foundation of a more informed society.

Faith can remain personal. Tradition can remain meaningful. Spirituality can continue to inspire.

But when society makes decisions about health, education, technology and the nation’s future, reason, evidence, research and human judgment must have a central place.

India’s future will not be built by the multiplication of miracle claims. It will be built by the courage to ask questions, the discipline to test answers and the imagination to create something new.

Let there be faith—but also reason.
Let there be belief—but also evidence.
Let there be tradition—but also scientific temper.

Because the future of a nation is ultimately shaped not by the promises of miracles, but by the power of knowledge, inquiry and human ingenuity.

(Dr. Priyanka Saurabh, PhD in Political Science, is a poet and social thinker.)

(SDNA)