Without history and clear perspective, even scientific sociology doesn't deliver much because petty politics and 'mean-ness' at heart and mind has taken over the secular subject of science. The social dynamics of science has been de-constructed on account of bad sociology. Blame is on culture that is a hurdle to further advancement and contributions by the best brains of India at home.
Yesterday I had a heartful five hour conversation with Prof. Satish Kumar (Sewach) of Achchhej Paharipur village in dist. Jhajjar on the above aspects with a top molecular biologist that our country has produced. The conversation dragged on and drifted towards other sides of life in India. He couldn't understand the bad side of politics in science in India and had to abort several of his world class pursuits in animal genetics. But he left his mark by saying to me that we don't complete a thing with a futuristic vision that has substantial potential for work to safeguard life of our population of animals, chiefly domestic cattle on which our health and ecological survival is dependent. He called for genetic surveillance of buffalo, sheep and goats and was remorseful of the ways and means in which milk supplier play foul with milch animals, their fodder, without ensuring the male breed that is incapable of producing fine lineage of female progeny and adulterations by will of the product. This is an era of urgency and we must feel the arrival of crisis in animal management. He was bitter about the existing mechanisms with research institutes in animal care in our country and continued to add that merely producing clones by assisted reproductive techniques, the NDRI claims would go far in agricultural and animal economics. He warned that if we didn't act now on this front, the multi-national animal breeders would take over Indian cattle wealth as they have captured the Indian food market.
We have baseline data neither about all our domestic animal species nor put a mechanism in place for sustained surveillance and improvement of the cattle breeds despite spending billions of INRs on inconsequential research.
He is the person who traced the ancestry and archaeology of the buffalo breed in India and added that we, in India, have two kinds of buffalos in India –of riverine and swamp origins. Swamp buffalo stock is in north east, particularly Assam and Brahmputra valley and what we have in Haryana was domesticated first by the Indus valley/Harappan people and then it migrated towards the west and northwest and reached Punjab regions (pre-1900s). He identified the genotypes by DNA studies and markers and published the papers in renowned journals. I was stunned to read these papers when I downloaded and read them. I could understand the significance only through a prolonged discussion with him on all points. The interpretations and application of this knowledge would certainly be able to preserve the genetic stock that is weakening everyday and putting a question mark on the future supply of milk. The adulteration of milk is only due to weak animals and low milk-yield. He brushed aside the claims of the government that Haryana is the second largest producer of milk in the country and laughed at the old adage ‘Desaan mein des Haryana, jit doodh-dahee kaa Khanaa’ i.e. देस्सां मंह में देस हरयाणा, जित दूध, दही का खाणा' . He told me that the truth was otherwise. उन्होंनें कहा कि जिन विदेशियों की हम निंदा करते हैं उन्होंनें अपने पशु धन के संरक्षण के लिए कोई कोर नहीं छोड़ी। यह तो कुदरत की कुछ मेहरबानी कहिये और हमारे किसान की पारम्परिक समझ कि देश में आज भी गाय, भैंस और बकरी-भेड़ की नस्ल अधिक खराब नहीं हुयी है. लेकिन भैंस पर खतरा मंडरा रहा है और गाय तो खतरे की पहली लहार की चपेट में आकर मरणासन्न है. हमारी पूरी फ़ूड चेन नष्ट होने वाली है
Comments
Post a Comment