ThinkHer

In the decades following independence, science was a necessity for nation-building. It was seen as a strategic tool—science for defence, to secure sovereignty in a fragile geopolitical landscape; science for progress, to modernise agriculture, industry, and infrastructure; science for social well-being, to combat disease, hunger, and poverty; and science for economic growth, to reduce dependence on imports and build indigenous capability. But, at the same time, science was still nascent. The Department of Science and Technology under the Government was yet to come, and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) was in the formative stage. Laboratories were few, resources were scarce, and institutional support for scientific inquiry was limited.  Science also occupied a complicated moral and political space. It was expected to be modern yet rooted, universal yet national, progressive yet attentive to indigenous traditions. Scientists stood at the intersection of...

Who is a scientist? I know we have already lingered on this question before, and we did find out that 'Scientist' (a gender neutral term) was first coined to describe a woman (Mary Somerville). But here's my question: Who do you think qualifies as a scientist? If your answer is anyone who studies science, well then, even a 6-year-old studies science. Would they qualify as a scientist? If your answer is anybody with a doctorate in science, then you're in for a surprise. Michael Faraday, renowned for his contributions to electromagnetism and electrochemistry, never had a formal PhD. There is more. A P J Abdul Kalam became a scientist first, and then, only later, received numerous honorary doctorates from various universities. So again, who is a scientist? Although being a scientist is a widely recognised profession today, there is no formal process to determine who is a scientist and who is not. Anyone can be a scientist in some sense; anyone who systematically investigat...