8poasored by Cwmctl an Scientific a8d Idustrial Rasearch

&w Iklhi, WLa

2. BaparttDQot of Biochiatry

AI1 India Institute of Wical Sciemxts
Mew Wlhi
Dr. e. P. Talvar

rttzd h8, rec4?ntly inwestQ8t.d the uptake of

by liver cel16. He

world who are cmCQlped with the arxtmmly active ax- of' maleic acid

thLs field by Zndim workers.

]cn the cuursa of the wbek rrpprachately

35 rasrrarch pypsrs were prswntsd by foreign atrd India0 participents

-2-

(see attached 3imt).  There was ample tima for discussion of each

papar by tha participants ami same 70 observers from laboratories

all over fwfie.  The vide lrcopa of thtr papers even vtthin the lforltsd

area of aucleic acldrs, allow$ for very Inttarerrtfrrg exchanges af vtuwe

ad comaento by the participantr.  !t%e foreign participants were, by

and large, very active reacaarch workers af outstadfag international

reputation. Frcm sry ona pofnt of view, therefore, tifa Symposium ora6

sttuut1stia.g and worthdlla. In addition, the horegititlity shown by

the fadiam hosts mB the arrmpatentsi €or accdations were outtitandfag.

    *ether or not the err%sthg was 8 succeas dtb ralirrd to the

second objective xwntlsnad sbwa &e much more dflfficulg to awe1ps.

Xdaod, certain prablmar coacerntng our Indian collsagues--botk the

purtiziplats arid &iuervars--mabse oae wonder Aethe~ such a objective

i& attainable et present fn India.

Altho\lgb hat follmws represents

my @l&l C@&RiOUS and Ob8aIX8t.fOZlsPD COtlWXS&tfOUs dth tbr Other fOr%&gn

participants indicatmi that we all arxivwt at similar coacluslimer.

   The paparia prdssenttad by the Indian porticipauts did not,  la

                                         Often the

general, aeet the standard oat by the foreign visitors.

approach to ths problem in question wats uasophistfcatad.

the experiments performed -re not properly desigmd to ORP;WX the

questions asked.  In other cases the qwstfma thE?rarrolvtts ware efthaw

not properly defined or were 60 complex as to be iolpossibla to ansum

given presently available lexperianarntal pousibklities.

crieicat evaluation of the data was common. Thoacn! Indian workers

In memy cams

Lack af good

gfvinil) popera reprewutd, mainly, eanAox peqle ftho are directom

of god s.izitd laboratorieo.

actual work hsd beso done by their wra junior colleagues.

In may cas%& it appeared the$ the

The mm senior Indirra $s;icentLsts took active part in the

open dlscuardcm of the v8rioua papara. Hc?wever, their contrfbutionft

to the diiicuproion were wurlly uncritical and did not show the &me

enthudam for tba subject COPPPI(M La their visitors. Thus, while

they sewd ufllh& to consider the htclcprctatiana and raPsific8-

tiono of the particular experhats pmaented, they rarely criti-

clead the experheas tkeelvebs. Data was accepted at face valug.

The rn.wmptfaaa of the investiyetor, the rnathodr themselves, the

relatian between the actus1 experbent and the problap; peed WBB

rarely eunsidersd. Tbeee were, of fOtrrm, jurt those qualities

lsdtiag in their osrlll work.

Several factars appcar to Writrtbut% to tb puor quality of

nucleic acid remarcti in India.

caolplcnfned of their inability tu acquire the fine chrrsliaals etnd in-

~truna~~tdir required for tbir work.

sent is available, aPoaths elapse b@tween tb glscm~ut of the order

and delivery.  ToPo re88ms *re cixmunly ota€sd for this situotlon:

(1) the foreign exchange situation, and (2) gcroenwnaftt red tape

(most of: the people worked in gavctrnrncant laborstorfes),

this equipment problem my be partly reeptmsible for tho wpro-

ductivs research effort, hm#ver, several other factors appeared to

be of more basic importance.

kmt of the Indian hvrutiayerors

En tho!#@ cases where auch equip-

Certainly

Some of n;y earlier c-ntb coacernlag specific problems Ath

the approach to reemarch may perbps be rrurpnarlzad by stating that

the authority of infomation or data produced by others is not

$#merally questioned.

problm of the %totus ad authority boLh wit'dn ad without thr

scientific camunitp. Thus, €or aaarple, it wus rere indeed for on&

of the y-er or lese preatigioue oboarvrrts to participate in the

discussion at all; they beamed quite inhibited by the preaernce of

both the visitora (same of whoat were ttvtm wore youthful) arrd their

OUR superiors.

of ywn& American 8chntIsts.

authority mil hardly foater hginatfve scientific lmsetiyatlons.

As parr of thckasalllab picture, the visitor definitely sot tbe imprcw-

slon that the gvailability of jobs ltnd pramotione within the acientffic

eorrm~unfty ware dependent, to a siwificant: degree on "propar~Ibehwiar,

OX good scientific politicking, 01: proper paper crecitsntkale.  Little

independence is offered to ywagler people 60 that the rrtlmulatlon oi

petrams1 achimeurent is ImAdng.

And this mums to fit vieh a geaQroP cultural

This wuo in marked contrast to the custmmry behavior

         Furthemore, tho inclination to accept

If all of thls ewndsr dlscouragin$ vPtb regard tu the poaai-

bility of eood basic research cming out of India,  then L have re-

ported my owa hprcsesfoa accurately.

as the 1ndirn government appears ta be adopted a policy oE pxauiding

for basic resertrcb.

elmaentli in Indian culture, rell+a, and society as, for awmipls,

the role of authority within the family.  Aaother factor which rney

Thio seems eiapsciallp unfortunate

The suicaatific probleazrs seexi to arise frm barilc

alllo be imrslvsd is the nation, quite apposite to our uwn purftenical
brlaage, tbt PJork itself is oumehov degrading.
prclsSi@n that people, in &an?kra]l, don't vark very hrrrd-at leest by

6ur 8tandurds.

&e ha. the h-

It should be pointed out that trainlmg abroad doe6 not

nacessarlly help matters.

poor papers had had earlier trainlng in good laboratories in the mot,

and had turned out creditablar wrk In the process.

to me that if the Indimts really want to cuntfnue their tmresb,m%

in basic biological rerrmrch and make It Harthwbile, it would be more

umful to haws Vesternerr yo to India to work for periods of several

ysara thon to keep sending Indim abroad.  The visitors could offer

K%gOrWs formal iaotructian, they could atteapt Co rd8& the yowrger

people ad stirarulater them to gucastiun   laaat scientific authority,

they could be M axample to whole laboratories, that re8pectable aod

respected individuals roll lap their sleeves and put in lo%, hard

hours in the laborrrtory.

hierarchy within the laboratories so that yq, independent in-

VeStig8tOrS Cam develop.

Several of those Indime wtw praaanted

Thus, it seemed

They might also betgfn to shake the strict

Befare clssixkg I rmrst Idd a bit 0l11 Cks oaer lab I visited which

appeared to ruffer least fraa such consideration& a8 1 mentioned.

This 'as tbrt Bosa Xnstitute in Calcutta,

at the Sympoeium by repreaantatives of this inlrtitution Yere, in my

opinion, e& fiarast of those presentad by Indian workers and indeed

compared favorably with papers presented by the vfeftors. Leter, -&en

'wer three puporti delivered

I visited the Biucbdrtry Ikrpartolsnt of Bow Iartitote, It md

to be a relatively busy place; tb tqdpmmt, theugh modest, ma all

director og the laboratory, Dr. Bose, Chough en elderly ma,  seemed

interestad aui well tnfonnsd OII the scientific pureuF~e of bfo etaff.

It aay or ;upy not be pcarctinent that this institution was orlgFnrfly

stitution albaft with atme iiaenctal ersistmce frara tiae &overrP;wuat.

Maxine F. Singer
Section an Enzpm and Cellular

MatiioMIl Institutes of Health
IJetionsl Institute of Arthritie and

Laboratory of biochemistry and Rgetabolim

Biochemistry

Het8bolic Meeases