At a time when fundamentalists of various hues are running amok and serious attempts are being made to distort academic disciplines, someone who is totally engrossed in a pure intellectual pursuit seems like a breath of fresh air. One would like to think that it is admiration for this uninhibited quest for knowledge embodying Prof Hawking that made so many people queue up for his lecture in New Delhi on Wednesday. True the specialist on black holes has acquired a superstar status in recent years as much because of his inquiries into an exotic field as because of his phenomenal mental achievements despite a crippling physical condition.

Besides, his impish sense of humour makes him seem like someone who is approachable notwithstanding the daunting nature of his specialisation. It may have been the urge, therefore, to say that "I saw Stephen Hawking" which made many people turn up at Siri Fort although they knew they will understand very little of what he will say.

Even then, it is reassuring to note that there is so much interest and enthusiasm about a man who is as far from medievalism than anyone can be. It is not only Prof Hawking's gentle debunking of astrology, a remnant of the medieval age, which is of value. It is the aura of pure knowledge based on intense concentration uninfluenced by faith or dogma, painstaking experiments and an unquenchable thirst for 'truth', which provide hope about dispelling the miasma of unreason and blind prejudice prevalent today. The cleansing is necessary not only in the social and political fields but also in the groves of academia where ideas based not on facts but on biased doctrines are being blatantly encouraged.

If the Hawking visit is to achieve anything positive, therefore, it is to put not only the scientific community but also the uncomprehending members of his lay audience in renewed touch with the meaning of education, entailing a search by a diligent student with an uncluttered mind. Nothing can be a bigger antidote to the kind of bigotry and obscurantism which have their champions in positions of power today. If the medicine works, India can truly enter the 21st century which may finally see science understand the 'mind of God', as Prof Hawking hopes it will.

Editorial from The Hindustan Times