Updated August 21st, 2018 at 17:34 IST

Remember HRD Minister of State Satyapal Singh's dismissal of Darwinian Evolution? It's been turned into a 2-mark question in an exam

"Nobody, including our ancestors, in writing or orally, have said they saw an ape turning into a man", the MoS had said. Can you earn two marks?

Reported by: Digital Desk
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On January 21, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh challenged Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, calling it scientifically wrong.

"Our ancestors nowhere mentioned that they saw ape turning into a man. Darwin's theory is scientifically wrong and needs to be changed in schools and colleges. Since the time, a man was seen on earth, he has been a man and will remain a man," Singh reportedly said. 

The remark went completely viral on social media, and now, it has picked up again as a question based on it has appeared in an examination paper, reportedly at higher education and research institute IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) at Pune.

The question reads as follows:

"The minister of state for Human Resource Development in India recently claimed that the Darwinian theory of evolution is wrong because "Nobody, including our ancestors, in writing or orally, have said they saw an ape turning into a man". What is wrong with this argument? NOTE: This question is NOT asking why biologists believe evolution to be correct. It is asking why the quoted argument cannot be correct in terms of disproving the Darwinian theory of evolution."

The question had a 2-marks weight, meaning it was less important than the 3-mark-question about 'clutch size' that followed.

While there was plenty of kudos for the person who set the paper and a lot of other chatter, and the question was shared a lot, this was the only logical and direct answer to it that we were able to find:

"If humans came from monkeys, there would be no one to see it happen. As they would all be monkeys at that point of time", wrote Shayanrc on Reddit.

Do you think this would deserve two marks? Do you have a better explanation? Fire in your answers in the comment section below!

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Published February 22nd, 2018 at 14:59 IST