Connecting With France

[Ulhas Joglekar]

25 November 1999
Interview
Connecting With France
Claude Allegre, France's Minister for Science, Education and Technology,
commands huge respect for his dynamism and pragmatic outlook. A scientist by
profession, he is one of the leading figures of the ruling Socialist Party.
It is widely acknowledged that he will be called upon to shoulder higher
responsibilities in public life in the years to come. During a brief visit
to India last week , Allegre took time off to speak to Dileep Padgaonkar
about Indo-French cooperation in his areas of competence.
Why have European, and especially French, philosophers neglected Indian
philosophy for close to a century? The exception is Romain Rolland. But it
only proves the rule. And the rule is indifference, neglect, ignorance. Will
this change now?
Yes, it will if only because I, as a minister, take a keen interest in the
subject. I've read and re-read the Mahabharata and I've studied the works of
the great scholar of comparative mythology, Georges Dumezil. I'm
particularly interested in the way the narrative is structured in your myths
or, more precisely, in the deep philosophical roots of this structure. Peter
Brook's film on the Mahabharata drew large audiences in France. My personal
interest apart, there is a general awakening to India in our country.
The neglect seems to extend to the entire spectrum of the social sciences...
Two sectors in the social sciences are of special interest to us. One is the
sector of history. The French believe that there is no history beyond
Europe. We want to dismantle that belief. We want them to be aware of the
history of the world. India and France have now decided that their
specialists will meet every year to examine the developments that took place
simultaneously in India and Europe during a specific period of history. The
other sector of interest to us is the history of science. India's
contribution to world science -- from mathematics to biology -- is less well
known than China's. We want Indian experts on this subject to come and
lecture to our scientists. We would like to translate books on Indian
science into French. We shall deploy the necessary means, including
financial ones, to achieve this goal.
France has proven experience in the field of water management. How do the
two countries propose to cooperate in this area?
We have just held a truly historic France-India symposium on water
management. It dealt with every conceivable aspect of water -- from the
origins of rivers to how water is distributed, filtered, priced and so on.
We examined the cultural attitude to water as well. We expect this symposium
to crystallise into a world-wide water community. It would be akin to the
world-wide petrol community. We will take into full account water reserves
meant for drinking purposes, to be sure, but also for use in agriculture and
industry. We would also like to focus on floods and generally on
catastrophes caused by water. We believe that that such situations can be
foreseen and indeed that their adverse consequences can be minimised through
appropriate precautionary measures. We propose to set up two Franco-Indian
laboratories for this purpose. The IIT in Delhi will be involved in the
training of water management experts.
I understand that something along the same lines is in the offing in the
area of bio-technology.
Indeed. Here again we propose to set up two mixed laboratories where experts
from the two countries can deal with a whole range of subjects -- infectious
diseases, crops, production of medicines etc. They will develop major
programmes related to AIDS, tuberculosis etc And while I'm on the subject,
let me also inform you that both countries will strengthen their cooperation
in the field of mathematics and in informatics where India is carving out a
fine niche for herself world-wide. Joint laboratories will be created for
this purpose too.
You created Edufrance, an organisation which seeks to attract foreign
students to study in France. What success has Edufrance achieved in India?
A year ago there were 50 Indian students in France -- as against 4000
Chinese students. Edufrance will shortly hold its second fair in India. The
number of Indian students has gone up to 200 since the first fair took place
last year. This number is bound to increase in the near future. French
institutions of higher learning are keen to have more and more Indian
students. And governments of both countries are actively encouraging this
trend.
Isn't language a handicap for Indian students?
Not at all. Indian pick up languages fast. Once you live in France you can
master French quickly. I know this from personal experience.
What are the career prospects of Indian students who obtain French degrees
and diplomas?
I don't suppose that they would want to work in France. But they are bound
to get job offers from French firms now operating in India. Many more firms
are going to come here. Obviously those with degrees or diplomas in, say,
computer soft-ware, are certain to get employment quickly. It might be
somewhat slower for someone who has specialised in, say, archaeology.
Does cultural cooperation figure high on your list of priorities?
Of course it does. Both countries are committed to cultural diversity.
France is doing all it can to resist the American juggernaut of mass
culture, especially films and television. We shall take up this issue at the
forthcoming WTO meeting in Seattle. We hope India does the same. Right now
you are in a strong position given the volume of your film production. But
don't forget what happened in Brazil. It was the fourth largest producer of
films in the world. Now the Americans have cleaned up the country.
In my youth, Indian films were an integral part of our culture. So were
films from many other countries of the world. This included America. But
American films were superb then. That is no longer the case. What distresses
me is that we watch fewer and fewer Indian films in France nowadays. This
has to change.
How would you characterise the political relationship between the two
countries?
President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin attach a much
greater degree of importance to relations with India than previous
governments. There is also a convergence of views between our two countries
on the need to promote a multi-polar world. We are planning to get ministers
of science and technology from Europe and Asia to meet soon to discuss a
whole range of issues of common interest and concern. For instance, laser
technology. India will of course be invited together with Japan and China.
Minister, you have quite pertinently played on two of the three obsessions
of young India -- films and IT. What about the third one -- cricket?
We can't compete with you in cricket. We'll leave that to the British.
The French believe that there is no history beyond Europe. We want to
dismantle that belief. We want them to be aware of the history of the world.
India and France have now decided that their specialists will meet every
year to examine the developments that took place simultaneously in India and
Europe during a specific period of history
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