THE SAGA OF OUR EVOLUTION: HOW WE CAME INTO BEING

  WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HUMAN EVOLUTION?     Who does not want to know about how we evolved, where we came from, how are we related to other living beings in the world, and many such things? Evolution explains all these for us. But there are cynics among us who do not believe in the scientific explanation of   evolution, or ignore it by saying, “why bother to know about evolution? It does not affect our daily life! Etc.,"   Before proceeding further, it is imperative that we address these cynics and reiterate why it is beneficial for us to know about evolution as a whole, and human evolution in particular.   From an early age we start wondering where we come from. The amazing array of fossils that have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe tell us   about our evolutionary lineage from  Australopithecus  to early  Homo sapiens  and also the different species that branched off in between. The fossil record reveals the ...

    VIEWS ON THE DARWINIAN THEORY OF EVOLUTION Key words: Darwinism, views of Indian minister and public, world view, misconceptions.  INDIAN VIEW A few years ago, a   junior minister of Human Resource Development   in the then Government of India claimed that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution of man was “scientifically wrong”, and it needed to be changed in school and college curriculum. He said, “Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man,”…. further adding “No books we have read, or the tales told to us by our grandparents had such a mention” (The Hindu, January 20, 2018). About two years later, the same Member of Parliament again questioned Darwin's theory of evolution   saying human beings are descendants of sages and not monkeys as propounded by the British scientist (Times of India, Jul 19, 2019).   It is an altogether different matter that Charles Darwin never claimed that “man was...