Weeklong National Science Festival Concludes at CUK Ganderbal

Ganderbal : The week-long science festival organized by the Central University of Kashmir (CUK), University of Kashmir (KU), in collaboration with Delhi based Vigyan Prasar, concluded Monday at Gandhi Bhawan, University of Kashmir.
Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir, former Vice-Chancellor, CUK, who presided over the function, said, “The need of the hour is to popularise scientific temperament among the young students. We have to take the questions posed by our kids seriously. Velocity and variety are the need of the hour, and I hope the people associated with ScoPE will carry out similar future endeavors.” He congratulated the organizers, especially, Prof. Shahid Rasool, for bearing the flag of propagating science in regional languages. “Although the objective of this event was to propagate science in Urdu and Kashmiri language, I hope that other regional languages are included as well in future events.”
Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, congratulated both the varsities for organizing such an enlightening and relevant event. He talked about the miracles that are encapsulated in a single biological cell. “It has been estimated that it would take 50000 books to write down the code that Almighty Allah has written in a cell.” He further said that man has used his intellectual prowess to unravel these secrets and manifestations of God.
In his address, Prof. Farooq Ahmad Shah, Vice-Chancellor, CUK, stressed the need for promoting inquisitiveness among the youth towards science. “We must try to encourage inquisitiveness. Science is a subject of reason and rationale. It demands questioning and seeking answers.” He further said that our society has put science on a very high pedestal. “There is inhibition in taking up science as one’s specialization. It is only seen as suitable for students with higher IQ. These personal biases hinder the growth and adoption of science in our lives. We need to eradicate these taboos,” he added.
In his speech, Dr. Nisar Ahmad Mir, Registrar, KU, talked about the misinformation that has plagued society, mainly because of the popularisation of social media platforms. “While disseminating information of any kind, we need to be aware of the authenticity of the information.” Further, he urged the Vice-Chancellors of the varsities to collaborate and undertake an interdisciplinary and inter-university exchange of programs.
Prof. M. Afzal Zargar, Registrar, CUK, congratulated the scholars for making this festival a success. He said, “Many presentations were made that dealt with the history and development of science. “We understand that we cannot think about the future if we don’t know about the past. It is on the foundations of the past that we build a future.” He lauded the speakers who elucidated the future scope of science.
In his remarks, Prof. Shahid Rasool, Dean School of Media Studies, thanked all the participants, speakers, and dignitaries for attending the event and making it a success. “For the past seven days, the interest that you’ve shown is a source of encouragement for us. For the past six months, CUK and KU have undertaken a project sponsored by Vigyan Prasar: SCoPE for Urdu and SCoPE for Kashmiri. Under this project, we have initiated efforts to propagate science in Urdu and Kashmiri so that people come to know about scientific information,” he said. He further said that we are also organizing a Translation workshop in March this year. “We have invited regional scientists and experts to the workshop. The aim is to guide researchers, scholars, and scientists in translating their work in regional languages to propagate science and increase the works’ reach.”
Dr. M. Shafi Khan’s book, “An Introduction to Cosmology”, was launched at the festival. “The book deals with scientific interpretation of the creation of the universe and its possible end,” he said. “I have studied the Holy Qur’an for three and a half years. I have analyzed the cosmological events recorded in the Holy Qur’an and also consulted various religious scholars within and outside the country in drafting this book.” He added. Dr. Irfan Alam, proposed the vote of thanks and expressed gratitude to the participants and artists who showcased their work.