There is a fad for eating salads and uncooked food, in the belief that it is healthier. I once annoyed my then teenage daughter by asking in a Subway if he had any cooked filling for the sandwich. Most of my erstwhile colleagues would look askance at me since at any college party, I prefer to eat the hot samosa rather than the mayo laden veg sandwich  (I have seen the kitchens of the sandwich supplier when I have been in charge of ordering the food). In India in particular, we do not even clean raw eggs. They are often contaminated with chicken droppings. Secondly, vegetables are stored in unhygienic conditions. Another aspect is that the organic vegetables are grown using dung as fertiliser. So vegetables eggs are all definitely contaminated. People think I am weird because I never eat salads or drink juices outside my own house. I am happy to see this post.

ancient hindu science

I am waiting for the references from ancient hindu scriptures where it was said that gravitation was manifest as waves. I am sure it will come soon enough!

On the other side of this, some studies, still in infancy, but nevertheless science. 

Schools

"Schooling without learning" is the opinion page article by Dr Geeta Gandhi Kingdon.
It deals with the lack of learning outcomes and the fact that the application of the RTE criteria is leading to the closure of many small private schools which were serving some purpose. They may not be good, but are better than many government schools. These are schools that charge about a few hundred rupees/month.  She also mentions that the UP govt for example, is closing down many govt schools in addition to closing private schools for not meeting the RTE requirements.  So the net result is that more and more children are coming into the school-going age group, but there are less and less schools they can afford.
Governmental logic is the same. Cars are polluting so prevent people from using cars-that's good, but then are they to fly to their workplaces? Should we not improve and increase the capacity of our public transport before we ban cars?
Similarly, should we not strengthen our govt schools and THEN crack down on defaulters in the private sector?
The same day news in Deccan Chronicle says that teachers in govt schools are opposed to the system introduced this year whereby an SMS is sent to the DEO giving a daily report on teacher attendance student attendance and about the mid day meals. The teachers feel that the SMS system is a violation of their rights....rights to what? right to bunk school?