Publisher's Synopsis
The discourse on the state of science in India often starts with eulogising the ancient Vedic science and ends with berating modern Indian science without introspection into the causes for this dissonance. The book examines various factors, by exploring the history of western science, religion and history, that have allowed it to establish its place in their societies. In the context of Indian science it offers a critique of the actions of individual scientists like C.V. Raman, H.J. Bhabha, S.S. Bhatnagar, M N Saha, who were themselves at the forefront of modern science before independence and yet failed to bequeath an ecosystem conducive for post -independence Indian science. Centralisation of science and technology by the government led to accumulation of power in the hands of few individual scientists who embarked on promoting technology in the guise of scientific research resulting in strategically important massive enterprises in atomic energy, space and industrial research. The universities which traditionally were the backbone of innovation and industrialisation of western societies were given short thrift with disastrous consequences for Indian science. It is pertinent to ask why the institutions that Bhabha created with enormous funds and political patronage at his command failed to produce even a single scientist of Bhabha's calibre leave alone surpass him? It is time to pause and think soberly why we are the way we are. A paradigm shift, it appears, is the only solution to our sagging morals.
