Science, Education, and Research: Problems and Prospects

1
Ramakrishna Ramaswamy
University of Hyderabad,
Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500 046
One of the few scientists in modern India who was qite ha!!y to wear his !olitical
beliefs on his sleeve was the mathematician and historian, " " #osambi $1,%&'
(olymath and !oly)lot, #osambi was a towerin) intellect and a lifelon) iconoclast
who was often at lo))erheads with all sorts of establishments *incldin) the
+ommnist (arty,-' "rin) his wor.in) life which was from 1/00 to mid 1/66 he
held !ositions at the 1anaras Hind University, the 2li)arh 3slim University,
4er)sson +olle)e in (ne, the newly fonded 5ata Institte of 4ndamental 6esearch
in 3mbai, and finally an emerits !rofessorshi! at the 3aharashtra 7idnyanvardhini
in (ne' He ths had a view of varios as!ects of Indian academics from the inside,
and this often reslted in an neasy relationshi! with his collea)es at many of the
instittions he wor.ed in'
2mon) his n!blished essays $0& is one that is titled 82 +ha!ter in the History of
Indian 9cience: which is a fairly stron)ly worded critiqe of the Indian scientific
establishment' 2ltho)h not dated, it was !robably written in the late 1/50;s , and it
be)ins<
8"evelo!ment of !hiloso!hy, mysticism, or lin)istics cold easily have been
e=!ected in India, seein) the history and strctre of the contry' >evertheless, in the
ra!id chan)es that mar. both the intellectal and the economic !ro)ress of India, it
will be seen that these sb?ects are very !oorly develo!ed and often stdied abroad by
the Indians themselves' @ven the remar.able !olitical !hiloso!hy and method of
ahimsa *nonAviolence- may be traced bac. from 3ahatma Gandhi to 5olstoy and to
9ilvio (ellico;s Le mie prigioni' On the other hand, Indian scientists have already
made sbstantial contribtions to the worldBs cltre' 5he science is not s!ecifically
Indian e=ce!t in its e=!onents' In the stdy of its develo!ments it may be seen that at
least two factors have each acted first as a stimlant and then with a )rowth of
qantity as hindrances' 5he first of these is the forei)n ty!e and lan)a)e $@n)lish& of
instrction, the second is the chan)e from an economy of colonial e=!loitation to one
dominated by a new indi)enos bor)eoisie' 4or the illstration of these two trends it
is necessary to )ive e=am!les which do not always ma.e !leasant readin)':
3ch of the article is hi)hly critical of the science establishment in )eneral, and
s!ecific scientists in !articlar, bt he attem!ts a class analysis as he ends<
1
1ased on a tal. )iven at the conference India Today: Looking Back,
Looking Forward, on May 6, 2013. I than. the 9ndarayya 7i)nana
#endram for the invitation to s!ea. at this meetin), and my collea)e (rof' @
Haribab for hel!fl comments on this essay'
85he same facile character which enabled them to !lease Government officials hel!s
them !lacate anyone in !ower, and then there is the claim to have !t India !on the
ma! of world science' 1esides, the !ainflly achieved news!a!er !blicity im!resses
not only the 1ritish bt the Indian readers' Cess obvios has been the chan)e in class
character' 5he Indian !rofessor belon)ed to the class that loo.ed forward to retirement
as a small !ensioner' Only one of or scientists named above was born to shareA
ca!ital, which !aid for his edcation and )ave him the ca!italist friends who created
an institte for him' 5he rest, however, have become shareholders on a considerable
scale merely becase of the ra!id ca!italist e=!ansion of India drin) Dorld Dar II'
$E& 5he same class for which modern science was a necessity has assimilated the to!
scientists' >either the science nor for that matter the idea of ca!italist !rodction are
in any way Indian':
6e)rettably, mch of what he says in this somewhat bitter and acerbic essay remains
essentially tre even to this day'
5here have been many analyses of the state of science, edcation, and research in
India $4& both in absolte as well as relative terms' 5he sitation is not satisfactory on
either cont< benefits that have accred to society at lar)e do not seem to have been
commensrate with the scale of investments made, and frther, com!arison with other
nations *+hina, mainly- can be very nfavorable'
5he strctre of the science establishment in India today had its roots in the !ostA
inde!endence decision of Fawaharlal >ehr to effectively se!arate teachin) and
research when bodies sch as the "efense 6esearch Or)aniGation and the "e!artment
of 2tomic @ner)y *"2@- were established in the late 1/40;s and early 1/50;s $5&'
*5he +oncil of 9cientific and Indstrial 6esearch *+9I6- which was established in
1/40, !rior to Indian inde!endence, also saw a si)nificant e=!ansion in the nmber of
laboratories in the early 1/50;s'- 3ch has been written abot the natre of this
choice that seems to have been motivated lar)ely by a need to accelerate the !ace of
research in the contry, es!ecially in strate)ic sectors sch as atomic ener)y as well as
in a host of other areas in both the fndamental and the a!!lied sciences' 5he
commitment to ma.in) inde!endent India a scientific society was stron), bt the
manner of its im!lementation has had lon)Alastin) re!ercssions'
5he necessity for establishments where hi)hAqality research is carried ot in a
!ro?ectAmode is one thin), bt the conseqent se!aration between teachin) and
research has not served the academic body of the contry well' 2s a reslt of this
dichotomy, teachin) has )radally become the res!onsibility of colle)es, niversities
and other similar establishments, and research is lar)ely seen as the !reserve of
s!ecialiGed instittes' 4rther, since the system has the inbilt tendency to !er!etate
itself, there has been a )radal !roliferation of these hi)hly s!ecialiGed 8botiqe:
instittes, all of which are characteriGed by a focs on a limited ran)e of academic
sb?ects, a small and hi)hly !rivile)ed faclty, stdents at the (h' "' level if at all, and
very lar)e barriers to entry' 5he ma?ority of the scientists in sch instittions train
very few !eo!le< there is essentially no mlti!lier effect, and ths they do not
contribte to man!ower )eneration or hman resorce develo!ment to any si)nificant
e=tent' 4rthermore, the hi)h !rivile)e also ma.es the or)aniGation lar)ely selfA
referential, and the overall develo!mental needs of science and teachin) in the
contry are i)nored'
GlobaliGation, the wides!read availability of the Internet, and the access to hi)h
qality ?ornals has also reslted in or academic )oals and academic tar)ets
becomin) more international' 5hs mch of wor. done in instittesAAAwhere the bl.
of the national research fndin) is investedAAAtends to be sed to address !roblems of
a )lobal natre in !reference to isses that are local and own concerns and isses that
relate to the environment arond s' One can be more e=!licit< in all disci!lines the
leadin) ?ornals tend to be !blished in the west, and both for reasons of !resti)e as
well as of e=!osre, the r)e to !blish in these ?ornals in hi)h' It becomes
necessary, therefore, to wor. in those areas that wold enhance the !robability of
sccess in this ob?ective, often accom!anied by the ne)lect of more !ressin) bt less
fashionable areas'
5here have been notable e=ce!tions' 2mlya 6eddy set ! the +entre for 2!!lication
of 9cience and 5echnolo)y to 6ral 2reas *29562- at the II9c, 1an)alore, with the
e=!licit mandate that 9H5 mst focs on local develo!mental needs' + 7 9eshadri at
the 3+6+ *3r)a!!a +hettiar 6esearch +entre- or 3 9 9waminathan at the
39964 *3 9 9waminathan 6esearch 4ondation- have all develo!ed some
!ro)rammes that are relevant to the local conte=t' However, these efforts remain to be
mainstreamed into or 9H5 edcation and research a)enda $6&'
Given the natre of scientific !ro)ress, it may be inevitable that areas of wider )lobal
interest and broader !artici!ation are also intellectally more challen)in), bt it is
stri.in) that most of the betterA.nown instittions in India have more in common with
similar entities across the )lobe and draw few references from within the contry' In
a sense, this is a !er!etation of the wellA.nown ideolo)ical divide between 1habha
and 9aha $I&< the former was nabashed in his !romotion of 8bi) science: and the
or)aniGation that that wold entail, whereas the latter was more s!!ortive of a
science !olicy that wold chan)e rral conditions' 5he an=iety to .ee! ! has also
reslted in there bein) low investment in research infrastrctre in the sense that very
few instrments that are sed to carry ot this research are bilt in India' "r'
Go!ala.rishnan $J& tal.ed of the 1/60;s and KI0;s when an elite cor!s of scientists and
en)ineers was trained to bild nclear reactors' 5here is hardly a set of !eo!le who
can reliably ma.e even commonly sed so!histicated machines sch as 36I
eqi!ment or any nmber of similar machines in the contry today'
One of the reasons for this can be attribted to the chan)e to the 10L% !attern of
secondary edcation' Dhile this bro)ht a niform standard to schoolin) in the
contry, it also had the nfortnate conseqence of effectively devalin) trade
learnin)' 5he intended trac. of 10 years of schoolin) followed by trainin) at I5Is has
not fond many ta.ers, and today the trainin) !rovided by !olytechnics and I5Is is
fairly limited and dated' 2r)ably, it is more difficlt to find a wellAtrained technician
than it is to find an en)ineer'
Over the years the )ood intentions of im!rovin) the qality of or science has had the
nfortnate effect of redcin) the qality of teachin) in the niversities' On balance it
has to be admitted that the avera)e level of instrction in most colle)es and
niversities is indeed qite !oor, and !ossibly !oorer than the level of secondary
edcation' 2nd there are !lans to 8reform: this sector too' 2s it ha!!ens, we are
crrently on the threshold of another chan)e in the strctre of tertiary edcation, as
"elhi University that is both lar)e and very inflential has annonced a chan)e from a
threeAyear to a forAyear nder)radate de)ree' 6estrctrin) nder)radate
edcation is in itself not sch a bad thin) if done with seriosness and done niformly
across the contry, bt it a!!ears that there is no real crriclm chan)e, merely one
in dration' "elhi University, bein) the siGe that it is, the rest of contry will have to
confront this chan)e, if not follow' 5o )ive a sense of scale, the University of
Hyderabad has 5000 stdents while "U has 4'5 la.h stdents' It is not clear that these
soAcalled reforms will !rodce )radates that are any better trained or more
em!loyable since there are many isses at sta.e hereA the !oorly conceived
crriclm, the increased cost to stdents, the lac. of infrastrctre bein) !rimary
amon) them'
5he entire niversity system is in r)ent need of reform in many ways' 4or a contry
of or siGe, there are far too few instittions of hi)her edcation' 5he University
Grants +ommission lists some 600 or so, the ma?ority bein) fnded either thro)h the
UG+ or thro)h the different states' Other than +entral and 9tate Universities *and
the few instittions that are deemed to be Universities-, there have been, in recent
years, a nmber of new niversities that are !rivately !romoted and fnded' Dhile it
may be necessary for entities otside the )overnment to enter the hi)her edcation
scenario $/&, it is also a fact that few instances of interventions have been sccessfl'
>either, for that matter, have !blic !rivate !artnershi!s' (hilanthro!y, !articlarly in
the area of hi)her edcation, has also not been forthcomin)' Indian indstries, by and
lar)e, do not collaborate in the creation of .nowled)e, and in the few instances of
when there is an attem!ted !artnershi! with niversities, the main motivation of
indstry seems to ori)inate from the !oint of view of cost cttin)' 5here seems to be
no sstainable model of nonA)overnmental s!!ort of science, edcation, and
research'
It is also not as if the )overnment does not realiGe that as a nation we are fallin) short,
o!eratin) as it does in a !olicy bac.)rond' 9tartin) with the 9cience (olicy
6esoltion in 1/5J, there has been increasin) so!histication in the )overnmental
stand, evolvin) to the 5echnolo)y (olicy 9tatement of 1/J0, the 9H5 (olicy of %000,
and eventally to the 9cience, 5echnolo)y and Innovation (olicy of %010 $10&' Other
a)encies sch as the >+2@6 and the >ational #nowled)e +ommission have also
!rodced very res!ectable and detailed re!orts $/&' 1t it really does not reqire very
dee! research to realiGe that in most fields, Indian investment is inadeqate, and there
are fewer Indians in any list of !eo!le who are contribtin) at the front' 5he fact that
contries li.e +hina that were si)nificantly behind in .ey indicators a co!le of
decades earlier are so si)nificantly ahead at this !oint in time only indicate a chronic
shortsi)htedness of !olicy' 1oth nations faced several decades of relative isolation,
bt we seem not to have addressed isses sch as !rimary edcation, !blic health,
and essential infrastrctre as effectively as mi)ht have been !ossible, and indeed as
effectively as was necessary'
5he sitation that obtains in India today of the state of science, edcation, and
research may seem sbo!timal, bt there is some area of ho!e' 3any of the !roblems
that !la)e s as a nationAAA!oor !blic health, the hi)h cost of ener)y, or the !oor
flow of information for instanceAAAare now becomin) of wider interest, and as the rest
of the world trns its )aGe to these !roblems, they also become more solvable'
5echnolo)ies that are bein) develo!ed today can hel! to solve lon)Astandin)
!roblems, a )ood illstration of which is !rovided by the recent initiatives of the
)overnment as well as !rivate !layers in the area of solar !ower'
#osambi, with whose qote I started my essay, famosly fell ot with the atomic
ener)y establishment de to his advocacy of solar over atomic !ower' However, he
was fran. in his assessment $11&, that 89olar ener)y is not somethin) that any villa)er
can convert for se with his own naided efforts, at a ne)li)ible !ersonal e=!enditre,
charkha style' It means )ood science and firstArate technolo)y whose reslts mst be
made available to the individal ser': 5he differences that #osambi had with the
"2@ were focsed on the relative merits of nclear and solar ener)y, and #osambi
failed to convince his collea)es then' It is ironic that fifty years later what he had
envisa)ed has come to !ass, altho)h mch of the necessary research has been done
otside India, and we have, re)rettably, not learned to develo! the necessary 8firstA
rate technolo)y: at home'
5here is a lesson in this, and one that is sim!le eno)h' If we are to brin) abot
lastin) chan)e there really is no alternative to slow and sstained effort' 5he race,
sch as it is, is not always to the swift'
References:
1' 3' #osambi *@d'-, Unsettling the Past: Unknown Aspects and Scholarly
Assessments of D. D. Kosambi, *(ermanent 1lac., >ew "elhi, %01%-'
%' 6 6amaswamy, 8ntegrating !athematics and "istory: #he scholarship of D D
Kosambi$ , @conomic H (olitical Dee.ly *%01%- 4I< 5JM6% ' 2lso re!rinted in $1&,
!!, 0IIM0J/'
0' "' "' #osambi, 8A %hapter in the "istory of ndian Science$, n!blished'
@=cer!ts qoted here with the .ind !ermission of 3' #osambi'
4' 9ee, e' )' G' 6' "esira?, 8Science &d'cation and Research in ndia$, @conomic H
(olitical Dee.ly *%00J- 4I< 0IN40' 5here is an e=tensive *and )rowin)- biblio)ra!hy
on this sb?ect, and )iven my limited focs in this essay, the citation of references is
selective, and indicative rather than e=hastive'
5' 6' 9' 2nderson, 8('cle's and (ation: Scientists) nternational (etworks and
Power in ndia$) *University of +hica)o (ress, +hica)o, %010-'
6' @=am!les can be drawn from other fields of enqiry as well, bt it does not serve
any !r!ose to sin)le ot more s!ecific instances' 5his remains a !oint of concern at
the !resent time, both in India as well as in other nations, as a recent editorial in
>atre *497, 506 *00 3ay %010-- !oints ot< 8Increasin) scientific )lobaliGation is
welcome, bt $it& cold com!romise national efforts':
I' 6' 9' 2nderson, 8*'ilding scientific instit'tions in ndia: Saha and *habha$)
*Occasional !a!ers, +entre for "evelo!in)A2rea 9tdies, 3cGill University,
3ontreal, 1/I5-'
J' "r' 2' Go!ala.rishnan, this conference'
/' ndia Science Report, >ational +oncil of 2!!lied @conomic 6esearch, %005O
Report to the (ation +,,-.+,,/, >ational #nowled)e +ommission, %010'
10' Science) #echnology) and nno0ation Policy, 3inistry of 9cience and 5echnolo)y
%010O Science and #echnology Policy, 3inistry of 9cience and 5echnolo)y %000O
#echnology Policy Statement, 3inistry of 9cience and 5echnolo)y 1/J0O Science
Policy resol'tion, 1/5J'
11' "' "' #osambi, 8Atomic &nergy for ndia:, re!rinted in Science) Society and
Peace:) *5he 2cademy of (olitical and 9ocial 9tdies, (ne, 1/J6-'