The Republic of Science: Fifty Years
A Landmark Lecture-Series Commemorating Fifty Years of the Republic of India in collaboration with India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
The golden jubilee of the Republic of India is an appropriate occasion for reflection on India's scientific estate, which is unique for its size, strength and variety in the post-colonial world. In independent India's "tryst with destiny", science was conceived to have a major role. As Jawaharlal Nehru saw it, "It is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening custom and tradition, of vast resources running to waste, of a rich country inhabited by starving people ... The future belongs to science and to those who would make friends with science." This series of lectures by key contributors to the development of science and technology in India will provide an insider's perspective, complementing historical analyses. These lectures will focus attention on the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, attainments and expectations of science and technology in the fifty years of the Republic. Dealing with individuals, institutions and initiatives, the series will evaluate the social, cultural and intellectual consequences of India's historic tryst with her scientific destiny.
Prof. Govind Swarup, FRS
- Founder Director Emeritus
- National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune
- 'The Puzzles of the Universe and the Giant Metre wave Radio Telescope'
- November 19, 1999
Prof. Jayant V. Narlikar
- Founder Director, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune
- 'From Scientific Literacy to Scientific Research: The Indian Experience'
- December 18, 1999
Prof. M.G.K. Menon, FRS
- Former Minister of State for Science & Technology, Government of India and M.P. (Rajya Sabha)
- 'Fifty Years of Science and Technology in India: A Personal Overview'
- January 25, 2000
Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, FRS
- Chairman and UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology, MSSRF, Chennai
- First Winner of the World Food Prize
- 'Realizing Mahatma Gandhi's Dream of a Hunger-Free India'
- February 28, 2000
Prof. C.S. Seshadri, FRS
- Founder-Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai
- 'Mathematics in India since Independence'
- March 24, 2000
Dr. Raja Ramanna*
- M.P. (Rajya Sabha), Former Union Defence Minister
- Founder-Director Emeritus, National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore
- 'India's Quest for Scientific Independence'
- April 24, 2000
Dr. R. Narasimhan*
- CMC National Fellow, Bangalore
- Founder-Director Emeritus of National Centre for Software Technology, Mumbai
- 'Men, Machines and Ideas'
- May 31, 2000
Dr. R. Chidambaram
- Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy &
- Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, Mumbai
- 'Nuclear Energy: Electricity and Much More'
- June 19, 2000
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Bharat Ratna
- Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
- 'A Technological Voyage'
- July 21, 2000
Prof. E.C.G. Sudarshan
- Department of Physics, University of Texas, Austin, USA
- First Winner of the TWAS Physics Prize
- 'Discovering Unity: A Physicist's Quest'
- August 4, 2000
Prof. V. Ramalingaswami, FRS*
- National Research Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi,
- 'The Health of the Nation'
- November 2, 2000 (postponed from September 22, 2000)
Dr. G.P. Talwar
- Founder-Director Emeritus, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi
- 'Vaccines for Prevention, Therapy and Eradication of Disease'
- October 13, 2000
Prof. A.S. Paintal, FRS*
- DST Centre for Visceral Mechanisms, V.P. Chest Institute, Delhi
- "Muscle Weakness : An Important Message from the Lungs", November 29, 2000
The volume based on edited transcripts corrected by the speakers has been published under the title The Republic of Science: Golden Jubilee Vignettes; with 12 out of the 13 lectures. It was launched by the Mr. Hamid Ansari, Hon'ble Vice President of India on March 25, 2008. Incidentally, this series received special mention in the India Habitat Centre's annual report at a time when the current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was President of the Centre.
*We mourn the demise of stalwarts like Profs. V. Ramalingaswami, Raja Ramanna, A.S. Paintal and R. Narasimhan.
The Republic of Science: New Perspectives at Sixty
In renewed collaboration with India Habitat Centre, a successor series has been launched to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Republic of India.