History, Science and Society in the Indian Context

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The Asiatic Society, Calcutta. has been conducting, every year. intensive short courses in the area of history of science. The present monograph HISTORY, SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT is a compilation of some of the lectures delivered by experts on various facets of the broad theme.

23 articles contributed by 20 authors have been classified in this book under six sections: general observations, science in the ancient world, S & T in pre-modern India, salient features in modern science, S & T in post-independence India and lastly, social factors in the promotion of S&T. An attempt has been made to resuscitate the subject of history of science and broaden it to include philosophy, sociology and planning of S & T in India. It has been emphasized that the studies on history of science should never ignore other aspects of civilization and cultural values, the principle of causality and integration of the history of the past with the planning for future. We hope that the scholars may appreciate this special pedagogic endeavour.

Frontispiece shows Acharyya Jagadis Chandra Bose demonstrating his micro-wave experiments at the Royal Institution, London in 1897 and sixty years later, Calcutta University celebrating its centenary: a spray drier in operation and a zoology laboratory.

PROFESSOR ARUN KUMAR BISWAS, who has edited this book based on an intensive course, had also conceived of the thematic structure of the course and conducted it. He taught mineral engineering and metallurgy at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (1963-1995).

Professor Biswas is a renowned scholar in the areas of mineral engineering, archaeo-metallurgy, Ramakrishna- Vivekananda literature and history of science. Author of more than hundred original papers and twelve books, his writings on history of science cover the range from ancient through medieval to the modem period in India. His books such as Science in India (1969), two volumes Minerals and Metals in Ancient India (1996), Gleanings of the Past and the Science Movement in the Diaries of Drs. Mahendralal and Amritalal Sircar (2000) etc. have been highly acclaimed by critics.

The Asiatic Society is pleased to publish History, Science and Society in the Indian Context, a multi-authored monograph, as its first contribution of its kind in the 21st century. The Society's forays in the area of Indian science started in the 18th century with the serial publication of Asiatick Researches since 1788. After the pioneering works of Joseph Tieffenthaler, W. H. Hunter, H. T. Colebrooke etc., our Society was firmly put on the intellectual map of the world by James Prinsep who not only deciphered the Brahmi script but also established, as documented by Professor Arun Kumar Biswas (Indian Museum Bulletin, Vol. 32, 1997, pp. 104-124 and pp. 217-220), the first tradition of multi-scholar collaborative scientific research in India. Pramathanath Bose not only wrote a centennial review on the scientific contributions of our Society (1764-1884), but was also the first Indian to attempt a comprehensive review of Indian history with special emphasis on science and technology.

This volume projects a wide-spectrum theme as given in the title, the diverse aspects of which are articulated by a number of competent authors. An attempt has been made to resuscitate the subject of history of science in India from its narrow confines and broaden it to include philosophy and sociology of science as well as planning of science and technology (S&T) in contemporary India.