Note: I wrote this on my earlier blog hosted as http://parallelspirals.blogspot.com. I recovered the text from the WayBack Machine. This post appeared on February 6, 2011 as per the time stamp. I’m trying to collect here again all my old writings spread on various blogs.
The Times of India had a report today morning that a public interest litigation (PIL) had been dismissed in the Bombay High Court on the grounds that Astrology is considered a science in India. This is based on a 2004 Supreme Court order which declared Astrology to be a science and allowed it to be taught in Indian universities.
Raghu Kalra of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Delhi has started an online petition requesting the Supreme Court to reconsider its order.
I wanted to say this: “Science is an enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world. Astrology’s predictions are not verifiable, reproducible or testable and hence not Science.”
To teach, Astrology in a University, I do not think it is necessary to establish that it is a science. It can be taught as is.
Parallel Spirals 