Science and technology have profoundly influenced the course of human civilization. Science has provided us remarkable insights into the world we live in. The scientific revolutions of the 20th century have led to many technologies, which promise to herald wholly new eras in many fields. As we stand today at the beginning of a new century, we have to ensure fullest use of these developments for the well being of our people.
Science and technology have had unprecedented impact on economic growth and social development. Knowledge has become a source of economic might and power. This has led to increased restrictions on sharing of knowledge, to new norms of intellectual property rights, and to global trade and technology control regimes. Scientific and technological developments today also have deep ethical, legal and social implications. There are deep concerns in society about these. The ongoing globalization and the intensely competitive environment have a significant impact on the production and services sectors.
By the early twentieth century, the Indian society had started witnessing the first stirrings for freedom from colonial rule. While their political aspirations led to a demand for self-rule, the frustration resulting from economic stranglehold found expression in their insistence on using only goods made in India. Swadeshi Movement provided further impetus for: promotion of education along national lines and under national control with special reference to science and technology, industrialization of the country. In 1904, an Association for the Advancement of Scientific and Industrial Education of Indians was formed. The object was to send qualified students to Europe, America and Japan for studying science-based industries.
As mentioned earlier, in colonial India the environment was not conducive to higher studies, much less to research. Indians were allowed only. subordinate posts and even those who had distinguished themselves abroad were given less salary than the Europeans of the same grade and rank. This ‘apartheid’ in science made the Indians react strongly. J.C. Bose, the first noted Indian physicist, refused to accept this reduced salary for three years. Not only this, till the Royal Society recognized Bose, the college authorities refused him any research facility and considered his work as purely private. J.C. Bose was unorthodox in one more sense. He was one of the first among the modem scientists to take to interdisciplinary research. He started as a physicist but his interest in electrical responses took him to plant physiology.” Whether it be education, agriculture or mining, the Congress touched several problems under its wide sweep.
Science and technology have profoundly influenced the course of human civilization. Science has provided us remarkable insights into the world we live in. The scientific revolutions of the 20th century have led to many technologies, which promise to herald wholly new eras in many fields. As we stand today at the beginning of a new century, we have to ensure fullest use of these developments for the well being of our people.
Science and technology have had unprecedented impact on economic growth and social development. Knowledge has become a source of economic might and power. This has led to increased restrictions on sharing of knowledge, to new norms of intellectual property rights, and to global trade and technology control regimes. Scientific and technological developments today also have deep ethical, legal and social implications. There are deep concerns in society about these. The ongoing globalization and the intensely competitive environment have a significant impact on the production and services sectors.
By the early twentieth century, the Indian society had started witnessing the first stirrings for freedom from colonial rule. While their political aspirations led to a demand for self-rule, the frustration resulting from economic stranglehold found expression in their insistence on using only goods made in India. Swadeshi Movement provided further impetus for: promotion of education along national lines and under national control with special reference to science and technology, industrialization of the country. In 1904, an Association for the Advancement of Scientific and Industrial Education of Indians was formed. The object was to send qualified students to Europe, America and Japan for studying science-based industries.
As mentioned earlier, in colonial India the environment was not conducive to higher studies, much less to research. Indians were allowed only. subordinate posts and even those who had distinguished themselves abroad were given less salary than the Europeans of the same grade and rank. This ‘apartheid’ in science made the Indians react strongly. J.C. Bose, the first noted Indian physicist, refused to accept this reduced salary for three years. Not only this, till the Royal Society recognized Bose, the college authorities refused him any research facility and considered his work as purely private. J.C. Bose was unorthodox in one more sense. He was one of the first among the modem scientists to take to interdisciplinary research. He started as a physicist but his interest in electrical responses took him to plant physiology.” Whether it be education, agriculture or mining, the Congress touched several problems under its wide sweep.