by Gurbir Singh
Today, the reconfigured and renovated Bhavnagar telescope is better known for the time it has spent in boxes travelling or in storage than the astronomical observations made using it. During its lifetime, it was returned to Dublin twice for repair and reconfiguration. To mark its centenary in 1984, the Bhavnagar telescope was renovated and relocated to Leh in Ladakh. After four years of operation, it was packed into boxes and returned to Kodaikanal, where it remains in storage once again. Although only a few in number, these and other observatories helped to foster a tradition of observational astronomy rooted in the scientific method in India for over 200 years. This culture of scientific enquiry is what Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909–1966) and Vikram Sarabhai drew upon when they initiated the space programme in India in 1962.
Modern Astronomy
In the 21st century, India has a network of observatories working on a variety of international research programmes. Today, most large cities in India promote scientific investigation of the cosmos through planetarium shows, formal and informal educational courses and amateur astronomical societies. For example, the Bangalore Astronomical Society in Bengaluru has one of the largest memberships amongst the many astronomical societies in India with an active programme of observational astronomy and outreach.[115]
In the 21st century, India has a network of observatories in India and participates in international scientific research programmes. It has deepened its commitment to the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), which operates the Large Hadron Collider where the Higgs Boson was discovered in 2013, by replacing its current Observer status with that of an Associate Member. The ground-breaking detection of gravitational waves was made in February 2016. The work of several Indian institutions on gravitational waves has been recognised, and it is most likely that India will be confirmed as the third Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory site.[116] In September 2015, ISRO launched Astrosat. Despite being frequently dubbed as the Indian version of the Hubble Space Telescope, Astrosat is not primarily an optical telescope. It carries six sensors that are designed to look away from the Earth. Its primary target is the Sun and deep sky objects that emit high energy radiation in the ultraviolet and X-ray part of the spectrum. At an equatorial orbit of 403.89 miles (650 km), it orbits the Earth 14 times daily. Ten of these 14 orbits pass over India and are used daily to transmit up to 420 gigabits of data to the ground stations below.
Figure 2‑10 Devasthal Optical Telescope. September 2015. Credit Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences
India is also committed to the international 30-m telescope project currently in the design phase. It will participate by providing 100 of the 492 smaller mirrors and 3,444 edge sensors that will be used to construct the 30-m telescope. In return, astronomers from India will be allocated time for their experiments on the largest telescope ever built.[117] The largest optical telescope on Indian soil was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India remotely from Belgium on 30 March 2016. The 3.6-m diameter Devasthal Optical Telescope is located at Manora Peak near Nainital in the foothills of the Himalayas. The telescope is managed by the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES) and is referred to as the ARIES telescope. Its 3.6-m diameter mirror makes it the largest optical telescope in Asia. It is an international resource that astronomers will use to conduct research on galaxies, stars and magnetic field structures around stars.
Chapter Three
Emergence of Scientific Institutions
T echnology in the service of humankind - read the vision statement on ISRO’s website www.isro.gov.in until the end of 2014.[118], [119] A similar motivation drove Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai in founding India’s space programme, developing the economy of the nation on the anvil of science and technology. This is the vision that has been driving the economies of Western countries and is the epitome of a developed nation. The British Labour Party leader Harold Wilson (1916–1995) in a speech on 1 October 1963 called for a new Britain to be forged in the “‘white heat’ of a technological and scientific revolution.”[120] The European nations and North America developed their economies firmly on engineering, science and technology before, during and especially after the Industrial Revolution. The wealth generated by international trade facilitated by the Industrial Revolution gave rise to a blossoming middle class. Rich, bright men with enquiring minds spent their money and time in the pursuit of their scientific curiosities. The growth of human civilisation throughout history has been made possible by science and the technology it underpins. It is science and the technology it enables that provides infrastructure for civilisation to support ever larger populations to live longer productive and healthy lives.
Innovations based on science and technology in various fields, including medicine, surgical procedures, metallurgy and weaving, can be traced through Indian history. During the colonial period, however, scientific thinking and innovation were not encouraged. European nations had to suppress development within the countries they colonised; to do anything else would undermine the idea of colonisation itself. A nation consumed with superstition and ancient traditions was far easier to rule and administer than one based on rational, informed discourse. It was in the UK’s interest to keep millions of Indians scientifically illiterate and let them remain unskilled producers of raw materials and consumers of British exports. Speaking during his 1953 tour of four Australian cities, Patrick Blackett (1897–1974), a Nobel laureate with left-of-centre political views, concluded “The chief economic interest of England [and other colonial powers] in their respective colonies was to develop them both for markets for the European manufactured goods and as a source of primary products, oil, rubber, tea, coffee and so forth. In general, the industrialisation of the colonial countries was not encouraged, so that they would not compete with the home countries.”[121] Blackett was an advisor to the British government during World War II and became Nehru’s advisor on science policy following India’s independence in 1947.
As the first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru irrevocably intertwined India’s future development directly with science and technology. Though he had no formal scientific training (he had studied law in Cambridge), Nehru was convinced of the transformational potential of science for developing nations, unlike Gandhi. While in Ahmednagar Fort prison for five months, from April to September 1944, Nehru wrote his book The Discovery of India. Although still under colonial rule at the time, an independent India that he had pursued for most of his lifetime was finally becoming imminent. In this book, Nehru put on paper his thoughts and motivations that would in time crystallise his vision of a modern industrialised first-world India.
Despite almost 200 years of colonial rule, the traditions and ideals of India that had developed over the millennia were still present in 1947 and would be the foundation for Nehru’s vision of independent, self-sustaining India. He was mindful that the ancient Indian culture and its traditions would need to be adapted where possible, or replaced, to meet the challenges of the 20th century. The India that the British left in 1947 was large and democratic and could not simply return to pre-colonial conditions.
Soon after independence, the Indian government launched Five Year Plans (FYP) to implement its policies for economic development. The vision for the first FYP (1951) was to achieve a “Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth”. The latest is the 12th FYP published in 2011 to cover the period of 2012–2017.[122] FYPs define the national targets for the various government departments (for example, the Department of Space (DOS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST)). The DST’s 12th FYP envisages that “within the next 20 years, Indian economy would have emerged as a major global economy.”[123] This plan is predicated on science being at the heart of strategies driving national development.
Economically prosperous societies owe their prosperity to science, and for that pros
perity to persist, investment in science is crucial. Further, a large-scale societal transformation could be accomplished only through scientific institutions. Emerging from two centuries of colonial rule, India was steered by its first independent first government onto the road to economic development through the establishment of scientific institutions. This was not a dramatic shift in direction, but an opportunity for institutions that had existed for many decades to emerge and flourish. While many institutions that could collectively deliver scientific innovations were established around the time of independence, largely at the behest of Nehru, some institutions had much earlier beginnings. Even though many of them ceased to exist long before independence, their collective spirit persisted to inspire future generations. Today, India has institutions for optical and radio astronomy, particle physics, astrophysics and space conducting leading-edge research. It is, however, possible to detect the roots of present Indian institutions in India's past. Even India’s burgeoning space programme owes its success to a wide range of scientific capabilities with deep roots that can be traced back into India’s history.
A comprehensive assessment of all the scientific institutions that have driven societal development in India is beyond the scope here. However, a sample of Indian scientific institutions founded before and after independence can help illustrate the central role of science as an agent for national economic and social development.
Aligarh Scientific Society
One of the earliest organisations in India established around the Western traditions of science was the Aligarh Scientific Society (ASS). It was set up in 1864 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898), who had visited Oxford and Cambridge and recognised the fundamental role of science in facilitating the Industrial Revolution and in shaping the British and European societies. Driven by this European vision, the primary objective of the ASS was “not only an attempt in imparting scientific knowledge but also an attempt at social reform through science in India.”[124]
The ASS attempted to realise its vision by translating and publishing scientific papers and books, especially rare and valuable oriental works. Communication and discourse is at the heart of the scientific process. At that time, it was almost entirely facilitated by paper-based communication. As Abdus Salam noted almost a century later, isolation from other scientist is the major concern in cultivating scientific knowledge, especially in a developing country.[125] The ASS established a dedicated library with a reading room and subscribed to 44 journals and magazines by 1866. Less than half were in English; the rest were in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Sanskrit.
Figure 3‑1‑Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Credit Unknown
The ASS also communicated through newspapers, magazines and formal presentations at public meetings with the intention of engaging the Indian public. Although it was the vision of a Muslim intellectual and most of its initial members were Muslims, the ASS was an openly secular society from the outset. To emphasise the central role of science and technology, works of religious nature were explicitly prohibited.
At the time that the ASS was founded, India was largely an agricultural society with very high illiteracy, and familiarity with science among the general population was all but absent.
The ASS had four key objectives:[126]
Translating Western literature into local Indian languages
Popularising and democratising mechanised farming
Delivering lectures on topics of common interest
Highlighting the socio-political problems of the country
As the first of its kind, the ASS regarded the role of modern science as more significant for India’s future than ancient Indian traditions of ritual and mysticism. Khan was motivated by his first-hand experience of the higher quality of life enjoyed by the inhabitants of the major cities in the West with planned housing, transport infrastructure and mass employment in the manufacturing industry. He was ambitious and wanted Indian societies to be on par with those in the west and understood the critical role of science in that process.
A decade after establishing the ASS, Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Despite his emphasis on Western science, Khan took his Muslim identity seriously and saw science as a way of securing political power for the Muslim community in India. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 and is one of the most prominent educational institutions in India today.
Despite 109 members attending its first meeting, the ASS experienced a severe decline in membership. It was never patronised by a sufficient number of distinguished individuals. By 1887, its founder had turned 70, and in the absence of an enthusiastic membership, wealthy benefactors, and especially a committed, passionate new leader to take it forward the ASS ceased to exist in1887.[127]
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
A decade after the ASS was founded, another ultimately more successful organisation was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata). IACS founded in 1876 eventually attracted the patronage of brilliant Indian scientists of international repute. Today, it is India’s oldest research institute and is actively engaged in pure scientific research. Mahendralal Sircar (1833–1904), the founder of IACS, recognised the potential of science to advance India as a nation. Initially, IACS was financed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Sircar's private funds and through public subscription. With additional donations, IACS expanded over time. A laboratory was added in 1892 with the help of the payment received from the Maharaja of Vizianagaram after Sircar had successfully treated him for a rare disease.[128]
Figure 3‑2 Original Building of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Calcutta. Credit IISc Archives
In addition to Sircar, the cumulative efforts of at least three other individuals have been integral in the success of IACS during its initial phase; they were Jagadish Chandra Bose, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861–1944) and Asutosh Mookerjee (1864–1924).[129] The scientific achievements of international standard by Bose and C.V. Raman, another early member, also contributed profoundly to the success of IACS. Another key promoter of the IACS during the initial stage was Father Eugène Lafont, the Jesuit priest from Belgium who founded St. Xavier’s College Observatory, Calcutta. Lafont was an established scientist of high repute based in Calcutta for over a decade before the IACS was founded.
Although Sircar wanted IACS to promote Indian scientists, he understood that political and financial support from the ruling British authorities was essential. Any Indian institution with hopes of international recognition depended upon British approval. He became a life member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1864. IACS was slow in getting started. It had research facilities and a library, but in its early days, it was more a gentleman's club for social gathering than an active research institute.
Nobel laureate C.V. Raman was one of the first scientists to make active use of IACS’s facilities for scientific research. Raman, like Bose, was an experimentalist. Unlike other Indian scientists who had achieved international success in science, Raman was entirely the product of the Indian educational system. He had not studied in the West. Raman was employed in the finance department of the Indian Civil Service and used the laboratory for his scientific research before and after work for a decade (1907–1917) before leaving to join the University of Calcutta. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, long after he had left the IACS.
For many decades, the IACS has been and remains today one of India’s premier institutes for scientific research. Its broad sweep of subjects has attracted many individuals, including Suri Bhagavantam (1909–1989), Kedareswar Banerjee (1900–1995), L. Srivastava, N. K. Sethi, C. Prosad and Meghnad Saha. Saha served as its leader from 1946. At present, IACS is funded jointly by the DST and the government of West Bengal. With over 200 staff members and 400 research students across 15 different science departments, the IACS conducts fundamental research in chemistry, biology, physics and material sciences, inclu
ding nano-particles and graphene. It also hosts a supercomputer (CRAY) facility on site to support its research. During the academic year 2013-14, IACS produced almost two dozen doctorates, registered national and international patents and engaged in international collaborative projects.
Astronomical Society of India
The present Astronomical Society of India (ASI) was established at Osmania University in Hyderabad in 1972. It has around 1,000 members, all of whom are professional astronomers or associated with similar disciplines and regularly publish technical work of high scholarly calibre. Although completely unconnected and now almost entirely forgotten, another ASI functioned in India between 1910 and 1920. It was the spectacular display of comet Halley that triggered the creation of this original ASI in 1910.[130]
During its brief existence, the original ASI attracted the patronage of several high-profile astronomers. A leading observer of the Moon and Fellow of the Royal Society, H.G. Tomkins was the main force behind the creation of the ASI. He was also its first president. Charles Michie Smith, Director of the Kodaikanal Observatory (and later John Evershed who replaced him) led the society’s solar section. The vice presidents included the Maharaja Rana Bahadur Bhawani Singh, and C.V. Raman (then just 23 years old) served as its secretary.
The ASI held monthly meetings at the Imperial Secretariat, Treasury Buildings in Calcutta; it was then the capital of British India. It conducted much of its work through specialist sections, such as the lunar, meteor and variable star sections. Although membership was restricted initially to the subjects of the Empire, nationals of other countries were later encouraged to join. The ASI also set up a library and exchanged journals with other organisations in India and beyond. They included local astronomical societies in Leeds in the UK, Barcelona in Spain and Turin in Italy; national astronomical societies of Italy and Canada; the Royal Observatory of Scotland; the Vatican Observatory; the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Astronomical Association.[131]