Controversy over my views on Darwinism unnecessary: Minister

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh on Monday defended his comment on Darwin's theory of evolution and termed the controversy around his statement as "unnecessary".

"It is not a matter of controversy...it should be debated even at international level. Let there be an international conference and a debate on the issue," said Singh while talking to newsmen at the IIT-Guwahati near here on the sidelines of an official function.

The Minister even offered to arrange the international conference to debate the theory of Darwin.

"Scientists like Einstein and many other scientists of repute have refused to accept Darwin's theory of evolution. Evidence has surfaced against the theory and hardly anybody is in its support," Singh said.

"The evolutionists and Darwinists and others should come forward and have a debate to prove what is factually correct," he said, adding that only facts should be taught in classrooms.

Singh on January 20 had said that nowhere did our ancestors mention they saw an ape turning into a man.

"Darwin's theory of evolution is wrong. It has already been rejected by scientists some 30-35 years back. It is wrong to say that humans evolved from monkeys and such references should be removed from the science and history school textbooks," Singh had said at the All India Vaidik Sammelan in Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

The statement, however, led to protests from several sections and renowned science bodies such as the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Science Academy. On Sunday they issued a combined statement saying there was no scientific basis for the Minister's statement.

"Evolutionary theory, to which Darwin made seminal contributions, is well established. There is no scientific dispute about the basic facts of evolution. This is a scientific theory, and one that has made many predictions that have been repeatedly confirmed by experiments and observations," the combined statement said.

--IANS

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