An opinion piece by evolutionary biologist Amitabh Joshi, titled “We the Living: India badly needs more, not less, evolutionary biology” in the Deccan Chronicle (2018), raised concerns about the state of evolutionary biology in India’s academic and educational landscape. The article argued that evolutionary biology remains underrepresented in both teaching and research, despite being central to understanding biological systems.
Key ideas from the article
The piece was written in response to a public debate following a ministerial comment questioning Darwinian evolution in school curricula. While the controversy was short-lived, Joshi used it to highlight deeper systemic issues in science education.
According to the article:
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Evolutionary biology is taught only superficially in many Indian schools and universities, often treated as a minor topic compared to molecular biology, genetics, or biotechnology.
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Evolution serves as a conceptual framework connecting different areas of biology, rather than being just another branch of it — “biology without evolution would be like chemistry without the periodic table.”
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Understanding evolution has wide applications, including in epidemiology, agriculture, drug resistance, and conservation.
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There are few institutions in India that offer specialized training in evolutionary biology. The Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit at JNCASR was one of the few dedicated programmes, but its integrated PhD track was discontinued in 2016.
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Evolutionary biology research, the article noted, is not necessarily expensive, meaning that state universities could build capacity with modest resources.
The author concluded that India needs both curriculum reform and institutional support — including the creation of at least one national centre devoted to postgraduate training and research in evolutionary biology.
Broader context in the Global South
The challenges described in the article are not unique to India. Studies from other countries in the Global South point to similar trends. For instance, a study in Brazil found that only about 44% of biology students accepted a fully naturalistic view of evolution, while others favored a creationist or mixed framework (Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2017). Common features across many Global South countries include: Limited integration of evolution in school and university curricula. Cultural or religious factors influencing how evolution is taught or perceived. Concentration of funding in molecular or applied life sciences, leaving fewer resources for conceptual or field-based evolutionary studies. India shares some of these structural issues but also has distinctive advantages — a rich biodiversity, varied ecological systems, and opportunities for field-based evolutionary research. Strengthening this field could therefore have both national and global relevance.
Comparison with the West
In contrast, universities in North America, Europe, and Australia generally treat evolutionary biology as a core part of life sciences. Many have dedicated departments or interdisciplinary programs linking evolution with medicine, psychology, and genomics. For example, most major U.S. universities host departments or graduate schools of “Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,” which facilitate both teaching and research in this area.
There are also efforts to embed evolutionary principles into diverse fields — from public health to sustainability — supported by data showing that interdisciplinary teaching improves understanding and acceptance of evolution (Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2023). Even so, debates about evolution and public understanding persist in parts of the Western world, showing that education and communication around evolutionary science remain ongoing global challenges.Emerging directions
The discussion around India’s position in evolutionary biology connects to wider conversations in science policy and education reform. Some recurring ideas include:
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Integrating evolutionary concepts into all levels of biology curricula.
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Expanding postgraduate programmes and research centres dedicated to evolutionary science.
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Encouraging interdisciplinary research linking evolution with medicine, agriculture, and conservation.
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Building international collaborations to leverage India’s biodiversity for globally relevant evolutionary research.
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