Why Research Papers should not be Anonymous?

I read with interest the opinion piece in Current Science entitled 'Would scientists be willing to write anonymous papers?. Here I provide my contra opinion to this view. A vital reference not cited in ref. 1 is that of Kronick, who had provided a historical background to anonymity among 18th century scientists, including that of Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles Darwin), Edward Jenner and Benjamin Franklin, as well as the motivations for such anonymity.