BHADRALOK PHYSICS and the MAKING of MODERN SCIENCE in COLONIAL INDIA by Somaditya Banerjee B.Sc
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BHADRALOK PHYSICS AND THE MAKING OF MODERN SCIENCE IN COLONIAL INDIA by Somaditya Banerjee B.Sc. (Hons) Physics, St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, 1999 M.Sc. (Physics) University of Pune, 2002 M.S. (Physics) University of Arkansas, 2005 M.A. (History of Science) University of Minnesota, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) July 2018 © Somaditya Banerjee, 2018 Explanatory Note This PhD dissertation, dated July 2018, is a revised version of one initially submitted in October 2013. Although the initial version of the dissertation entailed original scholarship, it was subsequently found to also contain multiple passages that were plagiarized from the published works of multiple authors, and it has been permanently withdrawn. The current version of the dissertation has been thoroughly revised to remove all aspects of plagiarism and has been reexamined, defended, and approved in this light. The 2018 version of the dissertation supersedes the previous version for all citation purposes. ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Bhadralok Physics and the Making of Modern Science in Colonial India submitted by Somaditya Banerjee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Examining Committee: Alexei Kojevnikov Supervisor Robert Brain Member of Supervisory Committee Robert Anderson (SFU) Member of Supervisory Committee John Roosa University Examiner M. V. Ramana University Examiner iii Abstract This study offers a cultural history of the development of quantum physics in India during the first half of the twentieth century, prior to Indian independence. The investigation focuses on the case studies of Indian physicists Satyendranath Bose (1894-1974), Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970) and Meghnad Saha (1893-1956). The analytical category “bhadralok physics” is introduced to explore how it became possible for a highly successful brand of modern science to develop in a country that was still under the conditions of colonial domination. The term Bhadralok refers to the then emerging group of native intelligentsia, who were identified by academic pursuits and manners and effectively transcended the existing class and caste barriers of the colonial society. Exploring the forms of life of this social group allows a better understanding of the specific character of Indian modernity that, as exemplified by the work of bhadralok physicists, combined modern science with indigenous knowledge into an original program of scientific research. Unlike the most prominent Indian scientists of the preceding generation, Bose, Saha and Raman received their academic education in India proper, rather than Europe, and can be considered the “first indigenously trained generation” of modern scientists. They achieved most significant scientific successes in the new revolutionary field of quantum physics with such internationally recognized accomplishments as the Saha ionization equation (1921), the famous Bose-Einstein statistics (1924), and the Raman Effect (1928), with the latter discovery leading to the first ever Nobel Prize awarded to a scientist from Asia. The study analyzes the responses by Indian scientists to the radical concept of the light quantum and their further development of this approach outside the purview of European authorities. The outlook of bhadralok physicists is characterized here as “cosmopolitan nationalism,” which allows us to analyze how the group pursued modern science in conjunction with, and as an instrument of Indian national liberation, and explore the role played by modern science for and within the Indian nationalist movement. iv Lay Summary Focusing on three physicists of India—Satyendranath Bose (1894-1974), Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970) and Meghnad Saha (1893-1956)—this research examines how a very successful brand of modern science developed in a country still under British rule. This research finds that Bose, Raman and Saha were part of the cohort of emergent Indian intellectuals early in the twentieth century who were identified by their academic pursuits in science and society. All three of them combined modern science with the local Indian context to produce a unique program of research in physics. They achieved their most significant success in the revolutionary physics of quantum physics with internationally recognized achievements which bear their names. Finally, the outlook of Bose, Raman and Saha are characterized here as a synthesis of global and national. This approach is new as it displays the crucial role of a modern science in the nationalist movement of India. v Preface A version of chapter 2 has been published in Physics in Perspective. Banerjee, Somaditya. “Transnational Quantum: Quantum Physics in India through the lens of Satyendranath Bose.” Physics in Perspective 18, no. 2 (2016): 157-181. A version of chapter 4 has been published in Physics in Perspective. Banerjee, Somaditya. “C.V. Raman and Colonial Physics: Acoustics and the Quantum.” Physics in Perspective 16, no. 2 (2014): 146-178. A version of chapter 5 has been published in Physics Today. Banerjee, Somaditya. “Meghnad Saha: Physicist and Nationalist.” Physics Today 69, no. 8 (2016): 38-44. Portions of my review of Robert Anderson’s Nucleus and Nation have appeared in this dissertation. Banerjee, Somaditya. “Review of Robert Anderson, Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India.” Annals of Science 71, (2011): 107-110. vi Table of Contents Explanatory Note .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Lay Summary .................................................................................................................................v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations .....................................................................................................................x List of Bengali and Sanskrit Words ........................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction: Writing a History of Modern Science in South Asia .......................1 Chapter 2: Local Visvajaneenata Cosmopolitanism, Bhadralok Culture and the Making of Satyendranath Bose .....................................................................................................................41 Chapter 3: Satyendranath Bose and the Concept of Light Quantum.....................................71 Chapter 4: Colonial Modernity and Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman: Verifying the Light Quantum .....................................................................................................................................108 Chapter 5: Meghnad Saha: Applying the Light Quantum ....................................................167 Chapter 6: Final Reflections on Bhadralok physics ................................................................231 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................244 Appendices ..................................................................................................................................268 Appendix A: Satyendranath Bose’s letter from Berlin to Jacqueline Eisenmann in 1926 ......................................................................................................................................................268 Appendix B: Indian chemist Jnan Ghosh’s letter in Bengali to Saha and Satyendranath Bose’s letter in Bengali to Saha ................................................................................................270 Appendix C: Satyendranath Bose’s letter to Albert Einstein, June 4, 1924 .........................272 Appendix D: Einstein’s postcard to Satyendranath Bose July 2, 1924 .................................273 Appendix E: Einstein’s postcard to Satyendranath Bose July 2, 1924 translated in English ......................................................................................................................................................274 Appendix F: Satyendranath Bose’s third letter to Einstein January 27, 1925 .....................275 Appendix G: Hermann Mark letter of reference for Bose, May 9, 1926 ..............................277 Appendix H: Paul Langevin letter of reference for Bose, April 26, 1926 .............................278 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Raman’s spectograph .....................................................................................................39