SCIENCE and history tell us that marrying within the family, instead of purifying the race, can even lead to genetically compromised, even mentally challenged offspring. This is precisely why there is a cultural taboo against marrying relatives.

In the academic setting, and particularly seen in universities abroad, it is rare to see any particular department with faculty members being dominated solely by graduates of the same university. There is a healthy mix of experts who obtained their doctorates not only from several other universities.