Why Indian scientists need to come out of the closet

Last week Stephen Hawking, renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, declared flat-out that he is an atheist. In an interview to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Hawking said, "Before we understood science, it was natural to believe that God created the universe, but now science offers a more convincing explanation… What I meant by 'we would know the mind of God' is we would know everything that God would know if there was a God, but there isn't. I'm an atheist."

Hawking is the latest in a long line of scientists who have declared themselves atheist. In a survey done by National Academy of Sciences, over 93% of the members surveyed confirmed that they did not believe in God. 

The west is currently undergoing a major atheist movement lead by eminent personalities. The four horsemen of atheism as they are called are Richard Dawkins (evolutionary biologist), Sam Harris (neuro scientist), Daniel Dennet (cognitive scientist) and the erstwhile journalist Christopher Hitchens. Recently a campaign called "Openly Secular" was launched in the US calling out for people to declare themselves secular. The Openly Secular movement, a first of its kind initiative aimed at raising awareness about the numbers of non-religious people in the country, couldn't be timed right.  

Clash between religion and science is inevitable. Most of the big religions are at least 2,000 years old. They try to answer questions that human beings have pondered over since time immemorial. From simple questions like "Why does it rain? Why does the sun shine? Why does the night sky have stars? To philosophical questions like Who are we? Where did life come from? Why is there life only on earth?" 
Religion has attempted to answer most of these questions through the knowledge they had in ancient times. At a time when they did not even know that Australia and New Zealand existed they could not have possibly known about the microscopic world, evolution, genes, x- rays, the number of stars and galaxies, supernovas and black holes, among others.

Yet it is absurd that the religions insist on not absorbing this knowledge. They see science as a threat, not an ally. They have changed the definition from keepers of knowledge to keepers of the past. And they feel threatened that the knowledge of the past will be proven wrong.  It is this fear that prevents rational discussions between religion and science. It is this perceived threat that leads to the religions not tolerating questioning. 

We are accepting science partly. We are using Facebook and Twitter on cutting edge networks and phones which are made possible by science and still get offended over a picture or post made about something in antiquity. We are applauding Mangalyaan and at the same time checking mangal dosh before marriage. 
It is this contradiction that the atheists are fighting. The main objective of these scientists who have taken up the cause of atheism is not to be anti-religion. It is to educate the people to behave as if they live in the 21st century and not in 1 AD.

India needs its scientists to come out into the open too. Currently they fear religious, cultural and social persecution and hence are quiet. As a society, we need these keepers of knowledge to lead public discourse. We need to hear from them about modern knowledge and encourage dialogue to help us imbibe and upgrade our culture. It is important to include the voice of science and the voice of reason in public discussions.   

There is an urgent need for science to shine its light on the darkness of ignorance. Without that, we will stagnate and rot. We will not be able to fight the tendency of looking behind and walking ahead. 
Where are the scientists of India? India needs your voice of reason. I implore them to come out and talk.

The writer is the author of The God in the Middle, a novel that explores Atheism, for the first time in fiction, through the heroic story of two men who start Ergoism, a modern religion based on science.