Can astrology be called a science?

The conflict between rationals and adherents of astrology has been going on for hundreds of years. While the first group considers it as a mere superstition and a nice ploy of deceiving people, the later group has wide regards for it. India is no different and the same tussle persists in this soil too. However, the contribution of Indian astrology has not been less than any and its attraction in the world (especially after the introduction of internet or other sophisticated technology) knows no bounds. The foundation of Indian astrology or Jyotisha is found in the Vedas, ancient Hindu scriptures.

Well, there is a acute difference between the Indian and western astrology The practice of Jyotisha primarily relies on the sidereal zodiac, which is different from the tropical zodiac used in Western astrology in that an ayanamsa adjustment is made for the gradual precession of the vernal equinox. Besides the major aspects of Indian astrology include several nuanced sub-systems of interpretation and prediction. Do you also consider this as a science? It may be but the rational prefer to hurl scathing attacks against this always.

This attitude came into light once again when Prof. Dr Jayant Narlikar, the famed Astrophysicist, launched a vigorous attack recently. He was found to paint the whole discipline of astrology in the color of superstition while speaking on the topic “Astrology-Pseudo Science” for a packed audience in Rourkela. He also cited several investigations that proved the fallacies of astrology and the pertinent gurus to a great extent.

Speaking on an investigation in the recent past he stated, “We took the horoscope of 100 mentally retarded and 100 bright children and jumbled them up. Finally, we tried to find out from the astrologers whether they can spot them rightly in which 50 persons participated. We gave 40 horoscopes to each individual. Surprisingly many did not return their findings to us and of those who did the highest was 22 correct answers and 17 was the average. And it was like the chances one takes with coins where the chances of heads and tails always come.”
However, the number of convinced people among audience is still unknown.