Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/27

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(Ref: Chapter 8) and "Developing scientific temper" (Ref: Chapter 13). He starts from skill deficiencies and finishes with the need for development of scientific temper. He says that the process of rational thinking is natural to all human beings and is based on the experiences of the individual. He further calls scientific temper as refinement of this process which can be brought about by catering adequate experiences to the students through education based on the principle of learning by doing. As far as utilisation of energies of research in science and technology for the betterment of rural life is concerned, Dr. Kalbag's thoughts were very positive, full of conviction and ahead of his time. He says, "When we say rural development, there is a connotation about lowlevel technology, voluntary agencies and "sacrifice". The term rural development connotes many things but not science or modern technology." (Ref: Chapter 14, Rural areas: Goldmine of opportunities for creative scientists") He was of the firm opinion that rural development in the true sense has been a largely unexplored field for scientists and technologists where they can apply simplest of science and get good results. He further identifies the attitude due to which such feelings are not shared by scientists and technologists when he says, "We commonly start with techniques invented by others and then look for a problem to apply them. There must be an equal thrill in taking up a problem from real life and then inventing a technique to tackle it. But we do not do much of this in our laboratories." (Ref: Chapter 14, Rural areas: Goldmine of opportunities for creative scientists") He had identified various fields such as energy and transport, workshop services, animal husbandry, agriculture, home and health, food preservation, water and construction in rural areas. He thought there is ample scope for adventurous and creative mind to apply Rural Development Through Education System 22