Download or read book Science and National Consciousness in Bengal written by J. Lourdusamy and published by Orient Blackswan. This book was released on 2004 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gives a flavour of the Indian response to modern science by analysing the lives and careers of four scientifically influential personalities in Bengal. His analysis of the careers of two scientists, J. C. Bose and P. C. Ray, and two institution builders, Mahendralal Sircar and Asutosh Mookerjee, brings to light the issues related to science at a time of colonialism and nationalism. Scientists often had to depend on British institutions for legitimation and funding, while also supporting the nationalist cause for greater autonomy. One of the central claims of this book is that the protagonists aimed to contribute to a modern world science, one based on a strong sense of universalism. They did not aim to construct any alternative sciences, though they did express and apply their work by drawing on their cultural heritage. This makes Science and National Consciousness a work of particular relevance today, when a homogenous, instrumentalist and totally Western conception of science is being globally accepted.
Download or read book Science and Nationalism in Bengal 1876 1947 written by Chittabrata Palit and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Articles with reference to Bengal, India, and erstwhile East Bengal (Pakistan), now Bangladesh.
Download or read book Futures of Artificial Intelligence written by Robert M Geraci and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-12 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-first century life is increasingly governed by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning, big data analysis, facial recognition, and robotics. For decades, an ideology of apocalyptic progress and cosmic transformation has accompanied the advancement of AI in the United States; that vision is intimately connected to transhumanism, the idea that humanity can transcend its limits, even mortality, using technology. Based on contributions from science and science fiction, advocates of such apocalyptic AI suggest that the world will soon see godlike machine intelligence and that human beings will upload their minds into immortal machine bodies. The arrival of this ideology in India raises questions about how global cultures can contribute to AI technology and our beliefs about AI. These beliefs have gained a foothold in Indian visions of AI, but they have not been accepted uncritically; rather, Indian scientists and futurists revise the transhumanist vision and illustrate how traditional Hindu values can add to the global perspective. By describing the arrival and reconfiguration of transhumanist ideas in India, this book reveals how the nexus of religion and technology contributes to public life and our modern self-understanding while suggesting that the apocalyptic approach to AI should be tempered by other visions. By tracing the movement of apocalyptic AI into India and exploring Indian efforts to redefine those transhumanist aspirations, Futures of Artificial Intelligence opens the door for rethinking our global approach to AI and advocates for technologies and visions of technology that advance human flourishing.
Download or read book Islamic Radicalisation In India Origin And Challenges written by Arun Anand and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2023-10-10 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Islamic Radicalisation In India: Origin And Challenges Book in English by Arun Anand Two sets of developments have become quite visible over the last fewyears. While scores of activists belonging to Hindu organisations havebeen killed by radical Islamists; there Is also a growing clamour within a sectionof Indian Muslims to assert their religious identity aggressively and display itexplicitly. There are some crucial aspects of radicalisation of Muslims in India thatneed to be understood. First, unlike the western world, radicalisation in India ishappening not only in urban areas but also in far flung as well as remote ruralareas. The population in rural India needs to be watched and monitored moreclosely in this regard. Second, radicalisation in India has been ‘legitimised’ in thename of ‘protecting minority rights’ by many political parties for garneringMuslim votes. Their regressive stand on issues like hijab and silence on thekilling of Hindu activists by radical Islamists further perpetuates radicalisation.Third, as a society we are refusing to learn lessons from the past. Radicalisationof Muslims led to partition of India in 1947. It is time not to be like that pigeonwho closes eyes thinking the cat doesn't exist and ends getting eaten up.
Download or read book The Making of Modern Physics in Colonial India written by Somaditya Banerjee and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-14 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph offers a cultural history of the development of physics in India during the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on Indian physicists Satyendranath Bose (1894-1974), Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970) and Meghnad Saha (1893-1956). The analytical category "bhadralok physics" is introduced to explore how it became possible for a highly successful brand of modern science to develop in a country that was still under colonial domination. The term Bhadralok refers to the then emerging group of native intelligentsia, who were identified by academic pursuits and manners. Exploring the forms of life of this social group allows a better understanding of the specific character of Indian modernity that, as exemplified by the work of bhadralok physicists, combined modern science with indigenous knowledge in an original program of scientific research. The three scientists achieved the most significant scientific successes in the new revolutionary field of quantum physics, with such internationally recognized accomplishments as the Saha ionization equation (1921), the famous Bose-Einstein statistics (1924), and the Raman Effect (1928), the latter discovery having led to the first ever Nobel Prize awarded to a scientist from Asia. This book analyzes the responses by Indian scientists to the radical concept of the light quantum, and their further development of this approach outside the purview of European authorities. The outlook of bhadralok physicists is characterized here as "cosmopolitan nationalism," which allows us to analyze how the group pursued modern science in conjunction with, and as an instrument of Indian national liberation.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Science Volume 8 Modern Science in National Transnational and Global Context written by Hugh Richard Slotten and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 1046 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to exploring the history of modern science using national, transnational, and global frames of reference. Organized by topic and culture, its essays by distinguished scholars offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date nondisciplinary history of modern science currently available. Essays are grouped together in separate sections that represent larger regions: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, and Latin America. Each of these regional groupings ends with a separate essay reflecting on the analysis in the preceding chapters. Intended to provide a balanced and inclusive treatment of the modern world, contributors analyze the history of science not only in local, national, and regional contexts but also with respect to the circulation of knowledge, tools, methods, people, and artifacts across national borders.
Download or read book The Rays before Satyajit written by Chandak Sengoopta and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-04 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the history of Indian cinema, the name of Satyajit Ray needs no introduction. However, what remains unvoiced is the contribution of his forebears and their tryst with Indian modernity. Be it in art, advertising, and printing technology or in nationalism, feminism, and cultural reform, the earlier Rays attempted to create forms of the modern that were uniquely Indian and cosmopolitan at the same time. Some of the Rays, especially Upendrakishore and his son, Sukumar, are iconic figures in Bengal. But even Bengali historiography is almost exclusively concerned with the family’s contributions to children’s literature. However, as this study highlights, the family also played an important role in engaging with new forms of cultural modernity. Apart from producing literary works of enduring significance, they engaged in diverse reformist endeavours. The first comprehensive work in English on the pre-Satyajit generations, The Rays before Satyajit is more than a collective biography of an extraordinary family. It interweaves the Ray saga with the larger history of Indian modernity.
Download or read book Scientific Bengal written by Chittabrata Palit and published by Gyan Books. This book was released on 2006 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Social history of science, it comprises essays in the history of science, technology, Medicine and environment in colonial Bengal, which was the first conquered colony of British India, bridgehead of all British projects in the rest of India and the Seconding board of all British theories and practices of science. The issues discussed in this volume can be easily generalized and applied in other case studies in India at both Macro and Micro levels.
Download or read book History of Science Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization pt 1 Science technology imperialism and war written by Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya and published by Pearson Education India. This book was released on 1999 with total page 1240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Let There Be Light Engineering Entrepreneurship and Electricity in Colonial Bengal 1880 1945 written by Suvobrata Sarkar and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-03 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies the correlation between technological knowledge and industrial performance, with the focus on electricity, an emerging technology during 1880 and 1945.
Download or read book Science and Modern India An Institutional History c 1784 1947 Project of History of Science Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization Volume XV Part 4 written by Das Gupta and published by Pearson Education India. This book was released on 1900 with total page 1230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, c.1784-1947: Project of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 4 comprises chapters contributed by eminent scholars. It discusses the historical background of the establishment of science institutes that were established in pre-Independence India, and still exist, their functions and their present status. This volume discusses Indian science institutes that specialize in a particular field. It also delves into the area of engineering sciences.
Download or read book Travels to Europe written by Simonti Sen and published by Orient Blackswan. This book was released on 2005 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work examines in detail the world of travelogues of a highly interesting culture-universe: the Bengali bhadralok. A travelogue is usually a crucial political/aesthetic text. Its very fabric is structured in space and power - it creates, relates, compares and contrasts spaces and powers. Bengalis travelling to Europe in the colonial period felt compelled to produce such texts. An analysis of these works from a historian's angle provides crucial windows to the colonised mind striving for self-definition. Trailokyanath Mukherjee, Romesh Chandra Dutt, Krishnabhabini Das, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and other travellers aimed to demystify the myth of Europe by establishing physical contact. Their depictions of the reality of the colonial metropolis served as acts of self-assertion, dislocating England from its position of centrality. Simonti Sen studies in detail the conflicted narratives of minds that aimed to reconcile a Western education with an incipient sense of national self. In doing so, she raises issues regarding national definition which are as relevant today as they were a century ago. This work would appeal to readers interested in the history of India and, in particular, of Bengal; it would also appeal to those involved in literature and cultural studies.
Download or read book Health Policy in Britain s Model Colony written by Margaret Jones and published by Orient Blackswan. This book was released on 2004 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was Western medicine a positive benefit of colonialism or one of its agents of oppression? This question has prompted a vigorous historical and political debate and is explored here in the context of the 'model' British colony of Ceylon. In this study, Margaret Jones emphasises the need for both a broad perspective and a more complex analysis. Colonial medicine is critiqued not merelyu in the political and economic context of imperialism but also against the background of human needs and rights. Her research is underscored by a detailed analysis of public health measures and services in Ceylon. One of its key findings is the accommodation achieved between Western and indigenous medicine. Throughout this work, Jones provides nuanced readings of the categories of colonised and coloniser, as well as the concept of colonial medicine. Health Policy in Britain's Model Colony provides an understanding of historical trends while simultaneously avoiding generalisations that subsume events and actions. Written in a compelling and lucid style, it is a path-breaking contribution to the history of medicine.
Download or read book Nationalizing the Body written by Projit Bihari Mukharji and published by Anthem Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book seeks to move emphasis away from the over-riding importance given to the state in existing studies of 'western' medicine in India, and locates medical practice within its cultural, social and professional milieus. Based on Bengali doctors writings this book examines how various medical problems, challenges and debates were understood and interpreted within overlapping contexts of social identities and politics on the one hand, and their function within a largely unregulated medical market on the other.
Download or read book Nucleus and Nation written by Robert S. Anderson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-05-15 with total page 728 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1974 India joined the elite roster of nuclear world powers when it exploded its first nuclear bomb. But the technological progress that facilitated that feat was set in motion many decades before, as India sought both independence from the British and respect from the larger world. Over the course of the twentieth century, India metamorphosed from a marginal place to a serious hub of technological and scientific innovation. It is this tale of transformation that Robert S. Anderson recounts in Nucleus and Nation. Tracing the long institutional and individual preparations for India’s first nuclear test and its consequences, Anderson begins with the careers of India’s renowned scientists—Meghnad Saha, Shanti Bhatnagar, Homi Bhabha, and their patron Jawaharlal Nehru—in the first half of the twentieth century before focusing on the evolution of the large and complex scientific community—especially Vikram Sarabhi—in the later part of the era. By contextualizing Indian debates over nuclear power within the larger conversation about modernization and industrialization, Anderson hones in on the thorny issue of the integration of science into the framework and self-reliant ideals of Indian nationalism. In this way, Nucleus and Nation is more than a history of nuclear science and engineering and the Indian Atomic Energy Commission; it is a unique perspective on the history of Indian nationhood and the politics of its scientific community.
Download or read book Science and Society in Modern India written by Deepak Kumar and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-06-30 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book delineates the role and place of the Western scientific discourse which occupied an important place in the colonization of India. During the colonial period, science became one of the foundations of Indian modernity and the nation-state. Gradually, the educated Indians sought to locate modern scientific ideas and principles within Indian culture and adopted those for the economic regeneration of the country. The discursive terrain of the history of science, especially in the context of a society with a very long and complex past, is bound to be replete with numerous debates on its nature and evolution, its changing contours, its complex civilizational journey, and finally, the enormous impact it has on our own life and time. The book offers a useful introduction to science, society, and government interface in the Indian context.
Download or read book Science and Religion written by Yiftach Fehige and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume situates itself within the context of the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field that is dedicated to the study of the complex interactions between science and religion. It presents an innovative approach insofar as it addresses the Eurocentrism that is still prevalent in this field. At the same time it reveals how science develops in the space that emerges between the ‘local’ and the ‘global’. The volume examines a range of themes central to the interaction between science and religion: ‘Eastern’ thought within ‘Western’ science and religion and vice versa, and revisits thinkers who sought to integrate ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ thinking. It studies Zen Buddhism and its relation to psychotherapy, Islamic science, Vedantic science, atheism in India, and Darwinism, offering in turn new perspectives on a variety of approaches to nature. Part of the Science and Technology Studies series, this volume brings together original perspectives from major scholars from across disciplines and will be of great interest to scholars and students of science and technology studies, history of science, philosophy of science, religious studies, and sociology.
