Oh ok, I understand your point now - you view the scientific establishment as an institution too, similar to the other independent democratic institutions like

Oh ok, I understand your point now - you view the scientific establishment as an institution too, similar to the other independent democratic institutions like the legislature, executive, judiciary etc. I agree that as long as the institution is strong, it will prevail. But I don't agree with you that they can prevail independent of the political leaders in charge. Perhaps our differing preception is because even though Trump seems to have a similiar retrogade and dictatorial mentality like Modi, western institutions - both democratic and scientific - seem to have withstood an attack on it by the Trump administration. But in India they have been nearly subjugated in the last 20 years or so. In fact, it was the University Grants Commission - one of the highest body in India that decides on education - then filled with religious fundamentalists, that proposed the funding of BSc and MSc courses in Astrology and treating is as Science, on the urging of the right-wing government in power in 2001.