A conference on ‘Emerging Trends and Innovation in School Sciences’ at the NCERT-run Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal, held on Wednesday has ran into controversy after some speakers presented pseudo-scientific papers.

According to Times of India, some speakers said that sindoor helps in balancing blood pressure, saying ‘namaste’ keeps a doctor away and going around a Tulsi plant has a cooling effect. Many of these questionable claims were made at a session: ancient scientific knowledge in recent perspectives. An outraged science fraternity is protesting at the venue today.

“We had sent e-mails to the principal of RIE, N Pradhan, saying that submission of such pseudoscientific papers should not be allowed. Shockingly, instead of stopping such papers, the organisers discussed several topics that have no scientific base,” TOI quoted professor Soumitro Banerjee of Indian Institute Science Education & Research (Kolkata).

The report also quoted RIE principal N Pradhan as: “I am not a scientist and I can’t comment on the papers presented in the conference.”