In this column last week, I wrote an appreciation of the President’s address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day. Among other things, it raised some mega-concerns that our leaders rarely articulate. (Example: What kind of education is needed to effect ‘‘a profound change in the consciousness of mankind’’?) In the same speech, he had referred to another mega-concern, voiced by the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking: With so many natural and man-made disasters facing planet Earth, ‘‘how can the human race survive the next hundred years?’’. After the scientist delivered a speech on this theme in Hong Kong in June, it’s become one of the most hotly debated questions on the Internet. Let’s hear Dr Kalam’s response: ‘‘When Hawking received well over 20,000 mixed responses on e-mail, he admitted that he does not have an answer. You have heard me today on the eve of the 60th Independence Day. I am sure that you share my strong belief that with the strength of our youth and our civilisational heritage we can together find an answer.’’

Notice not only the faith he has reposed in our youth, but also the responsibility he has cast on them. For this very reason, the issue of ‘The Future of Mankind’ deserves to be debated in our country on various forums. According to Hawking, the survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there’s an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth. The potential disasters: ‘‘Sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.’’ He added that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.

... contd.