Science, Technology and the Shifting Imperatives of National Politics

Science, Technology and the shifting imperatives of national politics-Gandhi , Bose and Nehru • were significant debates on the question of linkages between science and technology, on one hand, and, Indian society, on the other, among the national political leadership even before India attained independence

• The discussion on the economic, historical and cultural dimensions of science and technology that figured in Science and Culture, on one hand, and, of various collected works of political leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC), viz., Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose

• The question of modern science and technology elicited a variety of responses, that ranged from questioning the potential of modern science and technology in the process of nation-building, to acknowledging the transformative potential of modern science and technology

Mohandas Karamchand Ganidhi’s Perceptions of Science • During and after the World War I, the programme of the Indian National Congress (INC) of reviving and restoring traditional industries and crafts was not only going on but also parallel developments favourable to the advancement of modern science and technology were also set in motion

• On a global scale, the aftermath of the World War I and the achievements of Socialist experiments in the erstwhile USSR unveiled the immense potentialities of science for mankind in terms of the economy and material progress

• Moreover, the global economic crisis in the form of the Great Depression 1933 and the subsequent crisis of the bi-polar world compelled the leadership to have a fresh look at each aspect of society - be it social, economic political.

• In the process, the earlier INC policy, as a whole, and the 'Gandhian philosophy', to a great extent, gave way to new • The term, 'Gandhian philosophy' needs to be explained here. Under the leadership of Gandhi, the INC accorded prime importance to cottage industries and Khaddar during 1920-35. As Gandhi (quoted in Tendulkar 1960: 20) put "Khadi, to me, is the symbol of unity of Indian humanity, of its economic freedom and equality and, therefore, ultimately, in the poetic expression Jawaharlal Nehru, 'the livery of India's freedom'." It involved technology based on animate sources of energy

• Health, hygiene and sanitation together with indigenous systems of ? medicine - Ayurveda and Unani - were given a high place in the Gandhian scheme, in particular, and, Congress programmes, in general.

• The world was then gasping after being ravaged by the horrendous crimes and casualties perpetrated during World War 1 • The national economies of most countries were in shatters.

• International trade touched the lowest ebb.

• Probably, the repercussions of World War I forced the INC to go for these indigenous systems of medicine.

• Gandhi also practised naturopathy.

• Meanwhile, Gandhi maintained a hostile indifference to modern science, attacked modern civilization and looked upon machines as an evil • Traditional industries and Khaddar formed the basic content of the Congress policy.

• As late as 1938, the party remained preoccupied with evolving a system of National Education, which was then envisaged in a system called Basic Education.

• None of these exercises, however, offered any prospect for the advancement of science and technology.

• As a practical tool, the INC succeeded in wielding national unity and patriotism, but it utterly failed to cope with the changed material conditions.

• In this context, Gandhi had reservations in opposing science in the first two decades of the twentieth century, but he tried to relocate modern science and technology in a new fashion during the 1920s and 1930s.

• The time and context, of course, are of supreme importance, which reflect a deep-rooted 'Gandhian philosophy'.

• In this regard, Gandhi maybe quoted -  "If India copies England, it is my firm conviction that she will be ruined.... Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at present afflicted by it (Gandhi 1938: 34, 38)." • Before the mid-1930s, opting for modern science and technology was definitely a progressive step.

• But, being possessed of it was far away from reality.

• During this period, people were illiterate, superstitious and were rooted in tradition.

• In such a situation, traditional industries promised wider acceptance, feasibility and self-reliance whereas modern industries implied immediate dependence on the West.

• A sudden shift from technology based on animate sources of energy to technology based on inanimate sources of energy was L perhaps not possible.

• That was why both INC leaders and eminent Indian o scientists of the time, emphasized general material progress as well as education at the lower level, for creating a more favourable condition for the growth of modern science • began to express his reservations about science and modern machines as early as 1909, in Hind Swaraj, but it was only around 1920 that Z launched the attack with full vigour.

• Thereafter, he attacked them both in and action.

• However, he started reconsidering the whole question almost at the same time.

• He compromised on the question progressively and eventually found machines not entirely useless Jawaharlal Nehru: "Future Belongs to Science and to those who Make Friends with Science..." • A new generation of the Congress leadership, led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, articulated a position that was in contrast to that of Gandhi.

• Nehru stood for modern science, heavy industrialisation and socialism.

• Both industrialisation and socialism stood on the foundation of modern science and technology.

• In his presidential address at the annual INC session in 1936, Nehru declared:

"I am convinced that the only key to the solution of the world problems lies in Socialism, and when I use this word I do so not in a vague humanitarian way but in the scientific, economic sense.... I believe in the rapid industrialisation of the country and only thus I think will the standard of the people rise substantially and poverty be combated " • In his message on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the Indian Science Congress he proclaimed: "... Congress represents science, and science is the spirit of the age and the dominating factor of the modern world. Even more than the present, the future belongs to science and to those who make friends with science and seek its help for the advancement of humanity"

• The above celebratory proclamation reflects an unflinching penchant on the part of Nehru for science as a means for advancement of humanity, in general, and, of India, in particular, and becomes a conscious invitation to science as a defining feature of the INC - of both the present and the future.

• That apart, the above epigraph involves within it an explicit reference to the inevitable success to be achieved by science as a means of development through the INC as a political weapon, if employed.

• Hence, the INC would strongly advocate both the , acquisition of scientific knowledge and its application in all productive domains • This faith is based on the advancements already made and the future e promises in science and technology ahead.

• Here, both nationalism and modernity can be realized, as one finds the causal linkages between modern - science and technology, and socio-economic transformation being articulated.

• Science was an essential, indeed, basic cultural element of the India which Nehru m sought and worked so hard to build.

• Nehru fully realized that modern science and technology were as necessary for a highly developed agriculture as for industry.

• He argued that the cause of the growth of agriculture in many other countries was because of the application of science and technoloy • In Nehru's vision, modern life depended so much on science and technology, that we must seize hold of them, understand them, and apply them.

• He saw the essential role ? of science in its historical perspective, not only in transforming the material environment, but also in transforming man

• Not only Nehru, but erudite scholars and engineers, and the best planners of the country, like Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, shared Nehru's vision and perspective, and D exercised their influence in shaping the science policy in post- colonial India Subhas Chandra Bose:"No Escape from the Industrial Revolution“

• Subhas Chandra Bose's (1897-1945) ideas had a very important Indian nationalism.

• He saw himself as a student of Swami Vivekananda.

• He was Gandhi's rival within the INC.

• He was anti-British and very militant in his ideas.

• He was opposed to Gandhi's inclination towards indigenous technology, and, of course, Gandhi's method of non-violence.

• He supported an aggressive o revolt against the British.

• He was also opposed to the liberal democratic ideas of Z Europe, but rather supported the Communist ideas of the erstwhile USSR.

• The historic October Revolution of 1917, the emergence of anti-colonial nationalist - struggles in India, and the rise of Nazism in Germany under Adolph Hitler were the broad circumstances that influenced Bose to wage war against the imperialist British. • Bose was interested in the application of science to the reconstruction.

• Bose's understanding of national reconstruction, India's industrialisation and introduction of modern science and technology to the Indian soil, have to be placed in the ideological context of anti-colonial nationalism.

• The movement for Indian emancipation had reached a stage when Swaraj was no longer a dream - no longer an ideal to be attained in the distant future.

• On the contrary, independence was within sight of the country. Seven out of eleven provinces of British India were under INC Ministries during the 1930s.

• Though the powers of those governments were limited, they had yet to handle the problems of reconstruction within their respective domain

• Bose urged the Congressmen not only to strive for liberty but also to devote their thought and energy to problems of national reconstruction. He was of the opinion that national reconstruction would be possible only with the aid of science and the scientists of India • He was of the view that the country was not facing the problem of industrial recovery, but industrialisation itself.

• India at that time was in the pre-industrial stage of evolution.

• No advancement was possible until the country passed through the throes of an industrial revolution.

• To quote Bose: "Whether we like it or not, we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that the present epoch is the industrial epoch in modern history. There is no escape from the industrial revolution. We can at best determine whether this revolution, which is industrialisation, will be a comparatively gradual one, as in Great Britain, or a forced march as in Soviet Russia. I am afraid that it has to be a forced march in this country (Address on the occasion of the Anniversary Meeting of the Indian Science News Association in the year 1938). • Bose marked a shift within the larger trajectory of this very debate, for he went beyond the fundamental engagement being set with terms of justification/ rejection, with which other key players were primarily engaged with, for he viewed industrialization as an inescapable inevitability.

• Bose, rather, pushed the debate into a different terrain of setting the very pace of industrialization based on the need to choose one of the two options: a comparatively gradual one as in case of Great Britain or the forced inauguration of a fast-growing, large-scale ' industrialization, as in Soviet Russ • He explicitly stood for the latter.

• Bose's suggestions for a forced march for industrialisation in India should be n understood in relation to the context in which he was articulating his views.

• Bose had an international exposure, which enabled him to see what industries could do to generate wealth in Western countries including Japan.

• It also meant that gradual approach to industrialisation would take a relatively longer time, and would continue to put India in a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis the industrialised countries.

• He urged that it was this situation that the political leadership should take into account in evolving strategies for economic development, in general, and, industrial development • Some principles of national planning outlined by Bose need to be discussed here.

• Though from the industrial perspective, the world was one unit, India should nevertheless aim at national autarchy, especially in the field of our principal needs and requirements.

• India should adopt a policy, aiming at the growth and development of the mother industries, viz., power supply, metal production, machines and tools manufacture, manufacture of essential chemicals, transport and communication industries, and others • India, as a nation, should tackle the problem of technical education and technical research.

• Bose was of the opinion that so far as technical education is concerned, as in the case of Japanese students, Indian students should be sent abroad for training in accordance with a clear and definite plan, so that as soon as they returned home, they would proceed straightway to build new industries.

• That apart, Bose felt, technical research should be freed from governmental control of every kind. He was not in favour of the idea that government servants should be entrusted with scientific research on reccipt of princely salaries, as the results that had been obtained therefrom were not satisfactory.

• In pursuance of this, he proposed that there should be a permanent National Research Council.

• And, eventually, as a preliminary step towards national planning, there should be an economic survey of the present industrial position with a view to securing the necessary data for the National Planning Committee (NPC).

• The NPC was truly a reflection of an alliance between the political elite and the scientific elite. What was desired was far-reaching cooperation between Science and Politics • He urged that it was this situation that the political leadership should take into account in evolving strategies for economic development, in general and industrial development

• Some principles of national planning outlined by Bose need to be discussed here.

• Though from the industrial perspective, the world was one unit, India should nevertheless aim at national autarchy, especially in the field of our principal needs and requirements.

• India, as a nation, should tackle the problem of technical education and technical research.

• He was not in favour of the idea that government servants should be entrusted with scientific research on receipt of princely salaries, as the results that had been obtained therefrom were not satisfactory.

• In pursuance of this, he proposed that there should be a permanent National Research Council.

• The NPC was truly a reflection of an alliance between the political elite and the scientific elite. What was desired was far-reaching cooperation between Science and Politics • The National Planning Committee: Formation and Proceedings The Government of India Act of 1935 placed the INC in a new role.

• According to the provisions of the Act, elections were to be held in the provinces, and by August 1937, Congress ministries were formed in seven out of eleven provinces.

• A limited autonomy was introduced, which foreshadowed Independence.

• As the party in power, the INC was faced with greater responsibilities.

• An appropriate strategy for economic recovery and full-fledged a, national reconstruction was urgently needed.

• This required large-scale national planning.

• Soon a conference of the ministers of industries of the provinces was o called at Delhi in 1937.

• It voiced the need for a comprehensive scheme of national planning.

• Needless to say, planned reconstruction and development of the country, as a strategy, was influenced by the success of planning in the erstwhile USSR. • Accordingly, the then Congress President, appointed the NPC in October 1938. The was assigned to it.

• Nehru was made its chairman and distinguished scientists like Meghnad Saha, Jnan Chandra Ghosh, industrialists like Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Walchand Hirachand, Ambalal Sarabhai, economists like K. T. Shah and others joined it in different capacities.

• Thus, the committee served as a common platform where intelligentsia and captains of industry collaborated to evolve a plan for national reconstruction • However, there was no consensus in the INC towards the problem of industrialisation.

• All Congressmen did not hold the same view on this question.

• But, Bose was of the opinion that the young generation was in favour of industrialisation and for several reasons.

• Firstly, industrialisation was necessary for solving the problem of unemployment.

• Though scientific agriculture would increase the production of the land, if food were to be given to every man and woman, a good proportion of the population would have to be transferred from land to industry.

• Secondly, the rising generation was then thinking in terms of socialism as the basis of national reconstruction and socialism presupposed industrialisation.

• Thirdly, industrialisation was necessary, if the domestic economy had to compete with foreign industries.

• Eventually, industrialisation was necessary for improving the standard of living of the people • The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) was established in 1914 with the twin goal of knowing science and doing technology.

• The ISCA owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British chemists, viz., Prof. J. L. Simonsen and Prof. P. S. MacMahon.

• The main activities of the ISCA were to: (a) advance and promote the cause of science in India, (b) hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India, (c) publish proceedings, journals, transactions, etc., and (d) popularise science.

• The first meeting of the ISCA was held during January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, with the Honourable Justice Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, the then Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, as the President.

• One hundred and five scientists from different parts of India and abroad 64 attended the meeting, and thrity-five research papers divided into six sections Botany, Chemistry, Ethnography, Geology, Physics and Zoology under six Sectional Presidents - were presented.

• The ISCA was formed in the style British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Institute of ' London • Eminent scientists and Presidents of the ISCA also joined hands with the political elite of Congress to itroduce modern science at verious levels to Indians.

• During Homi Jehangir Bhabha figur most prominently among the Presidents of the ISCA

• While the political elite made use of the public meeting and their writings to articulate their perspectives, the scientific elite made use of the ISCA to carticulate their perspectives on the linkages between science and technology, on one hand, and Indian society, on the other.