Professionalisation of Science in Britain: Role of Indian Experience

• In Event: Decolonizing Science: Where Have We Gotten To? - II

Abstract

The spread of western science in India has been adequately studied in India. Historians of science have also talked about co-creation and circulation of knowledge between the metropolis and the colony. However, although few of these studies do highlight the about expatriate scientific workers but there is no focused research on it. Most of the scientific workers in India during the colonial period were government officers who returned to Britain after completion of their service. As a result, entire knowledge and experience gained during their stay in India was lost to India. However, their accumulated knowledge and experience did contribute towards institutionaisation and professionalisation of science in Britain. Therefore, the paper assesses the role of the experience gained by colonial scientific workers during their service in India in institutionalisation and professionalisation of science in Britain. The knowledge accumulated by these scientific officers contributed towards their scientific institutions, journals, academies of science, etc. The paper analyses the contribution of these expatriate scientists towards advancement of science in Britain. This gives a new understanding to circulation of knowledge between the metropolis and the colony which usually tries to project the colonies as beneficiaries of colonial rule. The paper endeavours to study this largely through archives, biographical memoirs of the British scientists who worked in India. It is equally important for the STS as it is to History of Science as it enables us to understand the complexities of transfer of knowledge and the adaptations that it has to undergo when the knowledge is being transferred.

Author

• Sneha Sinha, Jawaharlal Nehru University