Nehruvian Science in Nation Building | Soma Marla

On the 135th birth anniversary of first Prime Minister the nation fondly remembers Jawaharlal Nehru as builder of democratic modern India. Pandit Nehru built scientific foundation by establishing iconic national scientific institutions and attempted to use science to change the prevalent mind set to bring socio cultural transformation in the newly liberated backward nation. Remembering his contribution to nation building is necessary especially in current times when active attempts are made to defame Nehru’s legacy and destroy the very foundations laid by him and subverting the mindset back in to dark medieval times.

Nehruvian vision of science was intended to replace the imperial colonial ideology with science the modern nation could free itself from poverty and backwardness. Nehru declared in 1937: “It was science alone that could solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and the deadening custom and tradition, of vast resources running to waste, of a rich country inhabited by starving people.”

Pandit Nehru laid the brick and mortar of science in newly independent India. It was Nehru’s sustained and active political support that translated the idea into a reality. Over 45 Central laboratories in different fields of science were established during his time. He was also responsible for initiating the first steps to launch India into the electronics and space era Nehru’s enormous contributions to the establishment of the IITs, large network of research laboratories of the CSIR and DRDO, strengthening Indian Agricultural Research Council and the atomic energy establishment are all well known. He was not a trained scientist, thogh he possessed an undergraduate degree in science from Trinity college, Cambridge. But to accomplish his dream of using science in building modern India, he consulted and sought advice to make these institutions world class centres of research and learning, Pandit Nehru invited and encouraged a number of renowned scientists and academicians like Meghanand Saha, Homi Bhaba, J.B.S. Haldane, Sir C.V. Raman, Satish Dhavan, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, J.C. Ghosh, Humayun Kabir. Nehru consulted several reputed scientists and academicians from across the world like J.B. S. Haldane (a reknown Geneticist and a statistician), J. D. Bernal (for his Social Function of Science), P. M. S. Blackett and Laurence Hogben.

Nehru was passionate to employ science for building modern India. But he equally took pride of ancient India’s attainments in science, technology, mathematics, astronomy and medicine while strongly believing in secular nature of science. In his iconic book ‘Glimpses of India”, Nehru strongly contested the Western monopoly of modern science and emphasised it’s two sides- universality and localisation. On the transnational foundations of modern science, Nehru understood universal and local nature of science to primarily apply it for solving India’s national needs as ill health and poverty.
Apart from employing science for building modern India, there are five principal pillars of Nehru’s legacy to India - Democratic institution-building, Secularism, public sector supported economy, Scientific tempor, and a Novel foreign policy (Non-alignment, Panchsheel).

However, in recent years, a noticeable change in the interpretation of History and attempts to erase his legacy. Especially disturbing are attacks on science and scientific temper. Today many national institutes and IITs have lost their valour due to lack of research funding and scientific vision, except a few national laboratories. Basic research is vastly neglected, research on pressing problems relevant to common man such as clean and safe drinking water, malnutrition, new drugs and vaccines for Tuberculosis or dengue, pollution, clean energy, climate change problems are given priority. Even basic indigenous research on development of green hydrogen storage or electronic chips or efficient aero jet engines, military hardware are no more priorities. Only a handful of laboratories are conducting research in these areas. The exception being space technology among them. Research funding for core areas of science and technology is gradually shrinking in subsequent union budgets. Available funding for national scientific institutions and central laboratories is hardly sufficient for payment of salaries and pensions with very little funds left to take up research. Of late various research funding agencies are scrapped and a newly established National Research Foundation has come up. Research funding has been down sized to 50,000 crores of rupees for a period of 5 years and government paying only 28 percent and the rest by private sector. The scheme was introduced in 2020 and during these four and half years private sector contributed hardly 3 thousand crores to research. On the other hand even institutes like IITs and CSIR and ICAR are asked to generate their funds to conduct research. Union ministry of science and technology is recommending these institutions to prioritize research on virtues of ancient vaimonic science (aviation) and Gomutra. Though we boast of being the global software hub, hardly research is conducted in IITs on algorithm development or computer hardware architecture. Thus our role is reduced to a software service provider. Although the number of scientific publications increased during the last decade, the rise is quantitative rather qualitative with minimal global scientific citations and impact. Not surprisingly, with shrinking role of public research, manufacturing now is dependent heavily on imported technology, making MAKE IN INDIA an assembly of imported components.

What has gone wrong? Why have we strayed so far and lag behind several countries? How is it that till a few decades back we are recognised as a major power in some knowledge-based industries. Yet when it comes to scientific temper is lacking among ordinary citizens but scientists and engineers as well? How is it that a number of national institutions, set up with a grand vision, have now turned un-scientific (in outlook)? How is it that we cannot have a cool and composed public debate on any issue without abuse and vitriol being hurled by religious fundamentalists?

The spirit of inquiry and acceptance of the right to question and be questioned are fundamental in scientific temper. It considers know-ledge as open-ended and ever-evolving. Scientific temper is incompatible with theological and metaphysical beliefs. Common people should be made aware of significance of science in solving various problems faced in daily life. Attainment of Scientific outlook enable people to seek change in direction of scientific research from corporate profit seeking to solving nation’s needs. Course correction in application of science to nation’s interests is the need of the hour and a true tribute to Nehruvian legacy of science.

(Author: Dr. Soma Marla, Pricipal Scientist, Genomics, retd, Indian Council for gricultueral research, New Delhi)