{"title":"Imperialism in the academy: the Royal Society, C.V. Raman and the Indian Academy of Sciences (1934-1970).","authors":"George Bailey","doi":"10.1017/S0007087425101830","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 1934 C.V. Raman, Nobel Prize laureate in physics, founded the Indian Academy of Sciences in an attempt to create a single unified national scientific society for India. Instead, due to actions of Raman, the Royal Society and other British and Indian scientists, three distinct Indian science academies emerged and have persisted to the present day. Taking place against a background of British imperialism, Indian nationalism and scientific internationalism, Raman's actions provide a fascinating case study of scientific production and the shaping of scientific networks in (British) India. This paper scrutinizes this hitherto unexplored late imperial stage of the Indian scientific landscape and highlights the versatile role of British imperialism in influencing the founding and functioning of the Indian Academy of Sciences under Raman. The latter's national and international career and leadership testify to a complex relationship where the personal and the political became intertwined with science in (British) India.</p>","PeriodicalId":46655,"journal":{"name":"British Journal for the History of Science","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Journal for the History of Science","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087425101830","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In 1934 C.V. Raman, Nobel Prize laureate in physics, founded the Indian Academy of Sciences in an attempt to create a single unified national scientific society for India. Instead, due to actions of Raman, the Royal Society and other British and Indian scientists, three distinct Indian science academies emerged and have persisted to the present day. Taking place against a background of British imperialism, Indian nationalism and scientific internationalism, Raman's actions provide a fascinating case study of scientific production and the shaping of scientific networks in (British) India. This paper scrutinizes this hitherto unexplored late imperial stage of the Indian scientific landscape and highlights the versatile role of British imperialism in influencing the founding and functioning of the Indian Academy of Sciences under Raman. The latter's national and international career and leadership testify to a complex relationship where the personal and the political became intertwined with science in (British) India.
期刊介绍:
This leading international journal publishes scholarly papers and review articles on all aspects of the history of science. History of science is interpreted widely to include medicine, technology and social studies of science. BJHS papers make important and lively contributions to scholarship and the journal has been an essential library resource for more than thirty years. It is also used extensively by historians and scholars in related fields. A substantial book review section is a central feature. There are four issues a year, comprising an annual volume of over 600 pages. Published for the British Society for the History of Science