Charles Darwin is a name Pakistanis are taught to hate. School teachers and university professors tasked with teaching his evolutionary theory usually skip the subject or, if they go ahead, first soften it with a ton of scorn. A commonly used biology school textbook rubbishes the theory, claiming that evolution of species is tantamount to assuming that “a motor car is evolved” when two rickshaws collide. Imran Khan, in his 2002 article, blamed the West’s follies upon, “Philosophers like Darwin, who with his half-baked theory of evolution had supposedly disproved the creation of men and hence religion, were read and revered”.
With the corona apocalypse looming ahead, it doesn’t matter that Darwin was a naturalist, biologist and geologist rather than philosopher. It also doesn’t matter that Darwin gets lashed regularly by Christian, Jewish and Hindu fundamentalists as well. Yet every hope for dealing with today’s rogue virus rests squarely upon Darwin’s 200-year-old discovery of the principle of natural selection.
In a nutshell: natural selection says that life on Earth didn’t come pre-purposed and pre-formed, as tradition insists. Instead, it holds that, whether for man or microbe, only those forms of life best adapted to a specific environment survive while all others die away. Most crucially, evolution maintains that new kinds of life and new molecules randomly appear. A few — like coronavirus — will chance upon some suitable animal or human cell and thrive.
Not convinced? Then get yourself some slides and a powerful microscope — actually, a million-dollar electron microscope would work best. Then wait and watch as cells reproduce. You will soon see some that are imperfect copies. While most bad ones die away, a few survive and then proliferate.
This, for example, is how cancerous cells form. Experiments at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre show exactly how certain common species of bacteria respond when their environment is changed. This led distinguished molecular biologist, Harmit Malik, to remark that natural evolution is “the world’s definitive game of cat and mouse. Viruses evolve, the host adapts, proteins change, viruses evade them. It never ends”.
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Darwinian selection is as fundamental to biology as Newton’s Law is to physics. Denying the theory of gravity will not cause gravity to disappear. However, it will certainly destroy our ability to do physics. Similarly, not teaching evolutionary theory won’t stop brand new forms of viruses from emerging. But then forget about any scientific approach to diseases and epidemics.
Without Darwinian selection one can’t even begin to understand microbial-host interaction, the evolution of pathogens, or start developing drug and vaccines. So go ahead and blame Darwin for inventing the notion that only the fittest survive. But then also punish Newton because apples insist on falling downward rather than rising upward.
Now the good news: most educated people are beginning to understand why scientific approaches work and unscientific ones don’t. Better still, even ultra-conservative and science-rejecting world leaders are now begging scientists to speed up the rescue work. For all their talks about faith and calls to bang utensils or clap from balconies, they end up pleading for anti-coronavirus vaccines and drugs. Bluff, bluster and bombast have limits.
Take Narendra Modi and his claims of ancient India’s vast medical expertise. For years he and his Hindutva crew have dwelt upon the therapeutic powers of gaumutra (cow urine) while also extolling ayurveda and yoga. But India is not calling for emergency dispatches of ‘Cow-ka-Cola’ and dung to India’s most affected areas.
Also read: Charles Darwin, the British scientist conservatives love to hate
On our side of the border we have yet to order a shipload of Ajwa-Khajoor (dates from Ajwa in Saudi Arabia) touted as cure for all diseases by Maulana Tariq Jameel, Pakistan’s most popular preacher and a staunch Imran Khan ally. Nor is the government arranging sacrifices of a million kala bakras or mass importing olive oil and kalonji.
Instead, the mood is sober and reflective in all power centres. Last Saturday, Pope Francis held a dramatic, solitary prayer service at the Vatican. Speaking to an eerily empty square, he urged the world to see the Covid-19 pandemic as a test of solidarity. Three hundred years ago, the Church finally gave up attributing plagues and natural catastrophes to divine punishment.
Iran has learned a bitter lesson as well. Last month, its religious authorities recognised they had made a colossal blunder by initially allowing pilgrims to visit shrines in Qom and Mashhad. This permission was later rescinded but Iran has reported over 3,000 dead and the disease has spilled over into Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The shocker, however, was Saudi Arabia’s suspension of umrah, followed by an announcement that a decision on Haj will be taken soon. This is very wise. Getting millions together — who would subsequently spread the virus in their home countries — could be just as serious as dropping an atomic bomb on each Muslim capital. Consider, for example, that in the middle of the 14th century more than half the population of England died, and that 25m perished in various parts of Europe.
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What if this year’s Haj was under Imran Khan rather than Mohammad bin Salman? Would he have waffled there as indeed he has in Pakistan? The PTI government has seriously downplayed the seriousness of the situation. Although Tablighi Jamaat congregations have finally been banned, the damage has already been done. Shrine visits still continue.
Fortunately, the Sindh and Balochistan governments have shown more resolve. Moreover, the military seems to be taking orders from somewhere other than the government and is forcibly shutting down possible infection hotspots. Checkpoints now dot cities across Pakistan, somewhat inhibiting the free flow of people and the viruses they carry. Whether this will suffice remains to be seen.
Thanks to biological science — the foundation of which was laid by Charles Darwin — the coronavirus will eventually turn out to be a deadly but controllable affair. Its final worldwide death toll may run into many tens, or perhaps hundreds, of thousands. Still, compared to the toll exacted by pre-scientific era plagues, this will be small. Your life may well be saved by some yet to be invented drug or vaccine. All beneficiaries of modern medicine should surely forgive Darwin for his supposed transgressions.
The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad. Views are personal.
This article was first published in Dawn.
I started to read your article amd lost it with the opening facts. “Taught to hate Charles Darwin”. Realistically most wont know who Charles is. Coming from Pak I have read Darwins theory. However, I did spare time to read the article and couldnt clearly understand the point you are trying to make. All i got was that you are using Darwins name along with some twisted facts to conclude that Imran and Pakistan doesnt understand what Corona is and your side or border is very well aware of how to manage it. I see some defense points using cow muttar analogies as well. Would have be clearer if you instead of presenting some anecdotal and unverifiable arguments could have pointed to real information. It seems more like your opinion instead of analysis. The truth that both Pakistanis and Indians know that we have a long way to go to call our selves as sucessful countries. We could be better people if we actually work for progress our own country instead of creating the perception that others are lagging
As a science geek, I applaud your sentiments towards the”Survival of the fittest theory”
At the same time I request you to not mock at other channels of medications (even if you consider them as age old myths)
Reasons:-
1) We do not have any idea about the age old practices as most of them are unknown to us today.
2) “Bodhidharma” a name that factually proves our incapacity to understand ancient medical techniques(like Ayurveda, Siddha, Yunani, Yoga, etc)
3) The reason for the world to depend on the current system of medication and giving less focus to the ancient ones does in no way portraits the weakness of those systems.
While many factors can be attributed to the lack of support for ancient medical therapy, the core reason lies behind the growing westernization of the people instead of getting modernized.
Very rightly said 👍👍👍
100%
Sadly these people are authorities in our education system
As an advocate of Science, the least one expects from the writer is not to be so judgemental,while expressing his opinion. Your ‘Ode to Darwin’ is not only full of misconceptions, but also seems like one of your other failed attempts to belittle religion, and a few select people.
After all Paki bigot failed to hide behind his MIT degree.
Candles/Light flashing for showing solidarity not for killing virus even uneducated person got it but not this Paki scholar.
Likewise for clapping and Thali bangs to appreciate the health workers not to scare away virus as Paki mental level failed to comprehend.
Gau mutra or camel urine of Islamic cult is not main stream which is common sense but not so common in Paki Scholar!
Hinduism is more than 8-10,000 years old and lots of thing proved truth and being from science fraternity he might have known them but personal enimity to Indian PM Modi clouded his wisdom if have some.
Uni degree or govt rank does not mean GENIUS or SCHOLAR definitely not a WRITER!!
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Clanging utensils and clapping from balconies was NEVER meant to be a cure for the virus. The idea was to cheer our health workers. Neither Modi nor did the govt ever say cow urine is a cure for the virus. Anybody who disagrees should offer proof that they did. That said, it is proven beyond doubt that gau mutra has some anti microbial properties. Still nobody of any consequence said it’s a coronavirus cure. It’s certainly not the govt’s stand. As far Darwin, his theory is perhaps the ‘best fit’ answer but not proof beyond doubt. Anyway, it doesn’t explain aspects such as evolution of consciousness, love, feelings etc. As the theory could be right, wrong or half-right.
This is just for the record.
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Go mutra is not Darwin theory- just like 99% of terrorists Of the world don’t represent Islam in general , few BJP people actually the numbers are tens , not even hundreds , don’t represent Hinduism. Hinduism is actually supports and in line with Darwin theory – the ten Avatars (Dashavatara) of the Hindu scriptures the order of avatars is strangely similar if not same as Darwin theory, like Starting with Fish , Turtle , then mammal of boar, then man-lion being , followed by Dwarfs and not to mention Ape like humans like Hanumans.
So true. It’s such a beautiful concept. I wish Muslims could appreciate the idea behind Dashavatara as they were all originally Hindus. It’s a stylized, poetic version of evolution.
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I hold Prof Hoodbhoy in high regards. In one of his talks he has himself admitted that in general Indians have better scientific temper than Pakistanis. He credits this to early secularists like Nehru. I don’t think so. I think it’s simply because today’s India has a larger and much more thriving middle class while Pakistan has largely remained feudal. In this article there seems to be a balancing act of shaming Hindus which might be because the author hates Modi or he generally assumes most people who vote for Modi are hardliner Hindus which is hardly true or maybe he is doing it simply to please his domestic audience. In any case sir, we Indians won’t mind, after all there’s always room to improve.
Just one thing, sir, maybe just maybe consider that if you don’t do the balancing act, your article might actually change the mindsets of many people specially young Pakistanis, while such an article would offend bigots of both sides but will have no impact at all. The choice is yours.
We keep inviting you to our universities. Why don’t you criticise our bigots there. Anyway those are the real future of India.
Much love.
Fully agree with you
A typical article by an author who has wandering thoughts. Doesn’t know where he is heading to.
100%
Sadly these people are authorities in our education system