Indian Parliament passed a Scientific Policy Resolution (SPR) in 1958 with a sole object of making India self-reliant on its own Science and Technology. Realizing the connection between Science, Technology and problems of poverty, hunger, disease, etc and the liberating power of science, the parliament assigned primary role to science and scientists for making Democratic Republic of India a truly democratic, prosperous,modern nation having no trace of colonial poverty, hunger, ignorance, disease, discrimination,exploitation, rich and poor divide, etc. New Universities, Institutes and Laboratories were established. Managers of Science and Technology declared India having third largest manpower in Science and Technology in the world in 1970s. It was, then, said that India was far ahead of China in Science and Technology. How is science and Technology today? Managers of Science and Technology no longer speak about it.
In 1983, the Government of India instead of Parliament issued Technology Policy Statement in lieu of Technology policy. In early 2000 the Government of India started creating new science education institutes naming Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, National Institute of Science Education and Research in different parts of India. Department of Science and Technology launched new programmes of incentivisation of science education and research between 2006-10. These were designed to attract young scientists. DST also offered fellowships to those who had migrated to USA and had done well in science there.
Democratic Republic of India converted Imperial Council of Industrial Research into Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Imperial Council of Agricultural Research into Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It also setup Indian Council of Medical Research and several research institutes within it. Later in late 1960s and early 1970s Indian Council of Social Science Research, Indian Council of Philosophical Research and Indian Council of Historical Research were established.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was established as the premier referral and research institute. Later on Post Graduate Medical Institutes (PGI) were established in Chandigarh, Pondicherry and Lucknow. Since then several AIIMS and PGI’s have been established all over India.
Indian Institute of Technology was setup at Kharagpur, Kanpur, Madras (now Chennai) and Bombay (now Mumbai) and later on several IITs have been set up all over India.
Three Science Academies, namely, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), National Academy of Science India (NASI) and Indian Science Academy(ISA) were established during British rule, Fourth Science Academy, Indian Academy of Social Sciences (now Indian Social Science Academy ,(ISSA) was established on August 15, 1974 in order to bring all subjects of Nature-Human-Society under one umbrella and give a new direction to Science and Technology in consonance with the democratic needs, aspirations and creative urges of people of India. Also, Agricultural Science Academy, Engineering Science Academy and Medical Science Academy were established in 1980’s.
Democratic Republic of India setup several educational commissions (Mudaliar Commission, , Kothari Commission, etc.) with a view to replacing British colonial education system by a new democratic education system in tune with new democratic aspirations of peoples of India. “Education for all”, “Free Universal Education” and “Health for All” became the new slogans.
Indian Science Congress Association was established in 1914 by the Indian scientists in British India who also established Association for Cultivation of Science. Indian Academy of Social Science, (now Indian Social Science Academy) began organizing Indian Social Science Congress in 1976. It was a new milestone in the ream of science as it brought all subjects of science of Nature-Human society together and termed science as social and indivisible.It was a unique endeavour to break the current divisions in science and promote the true social nature of scientific knowledge called science of Nature-Human society. Also, there are national, regional and local subject associations of all subjects including languages. Hindi Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Academy too were established.
Jamshedji Tata setup Indian Institiute of Science at Banglore (now Bengaluru). Later on he also setup Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Tata Institute of Social Science at Bombay (now Mumbai). Government of India established Atomic Research Centre (now Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) after independence. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) too was established.
NCERT was established for improving education in Schools. Later each state established State Council of Education, Research and Training (SCERT).
A new Commission called University Grants Commission (UGC) was established by the Parliament.UGC was set up to coordinate and maintain standards in higher education. Later on the government of India also set up All India Council of Technical Education, National Council of Teachers Education, Council of Architecture, Pharmacy Council, Bar Council and so on. These attempted to coordinate,promote and regulate education in their respective areas.
Government of India established Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla. UGC started establishing Advanced or special Study Centres in good University departments in late 1970s. It also established special institutes for interdisciplinary research in selected universities and inter-university centers in Astrophysicsand Astronomy, Nuclear Science Centre, Consortium of education Communication, Information and library network, and National Assessment and Accreditation Council. All these attempted to promote research in their respective areas.
A process of creating elite science education and Research Institutes began in late 1980’s under the overall leadership of Prof. C.N.R Rao, who has been later on confrerred ‘Bharat Ratna’ award for it. The new institutes were named ‘ National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) or Institute of Science Education Research (ISER). Science Olmpiyad was added to it. Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education emerged under TFIR in 1980’s.
Later teacherless education,namely, Open education, Distance Education, Open University, Adult Education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, etc., were added. A programme called “Operation Black Board” was launched on war footing. Parliament made education the fundamental rights through an Act, though till date it has not been implemented. The World Bank entered Indian Education in early 1980s, although secretely.
With the launching of Structural AdjustmentProgrammes(SAP) called Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation (LPG) in 1991, scene in education changed. Birla-Ambani (the top Indian Industrialists) Report appeared as the new guideline to education in India. Doors of education were wide opened for private players and the corporate world. “Policy of Contract Teaching” on the pattern of “Policy of Contract Labour” in industries and government and Contract Farming in Agriculture was introduced. Thus, began the process of teacherless education and research in Indian Universities, schools, Colleges and Institutions. Coaching Institutions and Online institutions mushroomed all over India, rendering Schools, Colleges and Universities thus redundant.
A process of a making education a saleable commodity, was set into motion by opening the floodgates of privatization. Now corporate capital regulates education.According to Higher Education Survey Report 2017, India has 864 Universities and 40,026 Colleges. Out of 864 universities,330 are Private Universities. Standalone institutions of national importance including number of IITs and AIIMS has multiplied and reached to 100.
It ought to be noted that several patriotic Indians had set up new Universities and Schools in British India. Nanabhai Bhatt Established LokShiksha (Peoples Education) in Amla village in Bhavnagar District of Gujarat. Later he established Lok Gram BharatiVidyapith at Sanosora. Rabindranath Tagore had created wonderful university called Visva -Bharati at Santiniketan in West Bengal. PanditMadan Mohan Malaviya established Kashi Hindu University at Banaras. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan established Aligarh Muslim University at Aligarh. JamiaMilliaIslamia in Delhi came later. Mahatma Gandhi had established GujaratVidyapith in 1918 at Ahmadabad. All these symbolized quest for new democratic education system in opposition to the colonial British Education System.
Question arises: What is status of Science and Technology (S&T) in India today? Is India now self-reliant in S &T? Is Indian S&T superior to European, American and Chinese Science? What is the quality of science Of Nature Human-society in India today? Is science education and research good in India? Is Indian S &T superior or equal to China, USA and Europe? If not, what is wrong with it? What about generation and utilization of scientific manpower? Is the environment for teaching and research in Universities/College/Research Institutes more congenial as compared to 1965-1970. All these and many more questions demand a dispassionate critical and objective appraisal of current science and technology in Democratic Republic of India.-
Did India choose a right path just to follow what is happening in western part of world? What about millions of people who are still working hard to meet two meals, shelter, cloth, education, health and dignity of self. Has our scientific endeavor attempted to solve the problems poverty? Has our science and technology transformed the means of production and distribution in rural areas,? Has our social science addressed the problems through democratic governance? Has our body politics ensured dignified life to women and downtrodden? Is law and order protecting life of weaker sections?
Indian Social Science Academy and Bengaluru Central University , therefore, propose to initiate a process of critical appraisal of current science of Nature-Human-Society in India during its 43rd Indian Social Science Congress.