Last month, a sunbeam reignited a debate on the role of science and religion in Indian society. The Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Abhay Karandikar, posted on X on April 17 (Ram Navami) that the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) had played a “crucial role” in the ‘surya tilak’ project in the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The ‘surya tilak’ was a beam of sunlight focused precisely on the forehead of Ram Lalla. The IIA, experts in designing mirrors and lenses to capture light from celestial bodies and galaxies in their telescopes, helped design a system of lenses and mirrors that manipulated the light into falling on the desired spot, he said. The IIA calculations will also account for the differing dates of Ram Navami every year, as the date is determined by the lunisolar calendar, and ensure a precise ‘surya tilak’, he added.
Primary objections
Some scientists were perturbed by this. Their first objection was that a college-level student could have designed this system and therefore there was no need to involve India’s leading astrophysicists and astronomers.
