Science, Humanism and the Making of Modern India: Introduction

A remarkable intellectual effervescence, which began in the early 20th century led to a series of interdisciplinary debates around genetics, cytology, botany and eugenics amongst scientists globally. These debates centred around a reassessment of the role of humans in the natural world, with positive and negative connotations. The eugenics movement had attempted to organise human reproduction along racist lines, while post-war environmentalism alerted the world to the reality of environmental threats. The outcome of these debates was a better understanding of humanity’s past and a role of humans within the natural world gradually leading to an anti-racist science movement and post-war environmentalism by the mid-20th century. 

The first two panels, as outlined below, establish the context for the scientific and political landscape that frames the movements explored in the subsequent three sections.The Exhibition also includes a commissioned film on the life of E.K. Janaki Ammal, Indian botanist and cyologist, Janaki Ammal and the Genetical Society, Directed by Susan Thomson. This exhibition was originally displayed in January 2023, at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, at which there was an inaugural conference on the same theme.

This section explores an interdisciplinary science movement in the early 20th Century, devoted to explaining evolution, called the “Modern Synthesis”. The Modern Synthesis describes the fusion (merger) of Mendelian genetics with Darwinian evolution that resulted in a unified theory of evolution. was developed by a number of evolutionary biologists in the 1930s and 1940s including Julian Huxley who coined the term. At the heart of this movement were many British research institutions, such as the John Innes Horticultural Institution which provided education to international students, many of whom came from India. Societies and international conferences such as the World Genetics Congress also provided a platform for interdisciplinary and international debates, including the Indian Science Congress which was held regularly since 1914.

This section lays out the history of the British Empire’s approach to science in colonised India beginning with the early economic exploitation of natural resources, and the formation of various Scientific Surveys. As science education in India began to rise, Indian scientists became more involved with India’s scientific institutions, including J.C. Bose, who established the Bose Institute in 1917. This heralded the golden era of Indian science with many eminent Indian scientists including Meghnad Saha and CV Raman making their name in a variety of scientific disciplines. 

This section introduces the eugenics movement, and the Eugenics Society in Britain, which was the centre of many debates around mixed-race families, sterilisation of the “unfit” and birth control. The movement was influenced by ideas of Francis Galton and Charles Darwin. Several influential geneticists were important figures in the eugenics movement, including C.D. Darlington, R.R. Gates and J.S. Huxley, although each had different ideas about eugenics. India also had a eugenics movement, which were primarily focused on improved family planning. 

This section looks at the role of humanism within scientific movements of the early 20th Century, which shifted the explanation of belief, civilisation and morality from religion to human agency. Humanist movements have typically been non-religious and aligned with secularism with a reliance on science and reason. From these humanist principles emerged UNESCO’s statement on race, which sought to create an anti-racist science in the wake of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Nehru was also a humanist in many ways, which impacted his views on the role of science and education, in building a model for a new India.

This section explores the science of ecology and its relationship to environmentalism in post-independent India. It is not surprising that some of the scientists we talked about embraced environmental activism. Janaki Ammal was an early proponent of nature conservation, providing support to the “Save Silent Valley” protest against the building of a hydroelectric dam and criticising the “Grow More Food” Campaign. At the same time the Green Revolution also found early support in India, through M.S. Swaminathan, a revolution that championed scientific advances, such as high-yielding varieties of crops, but also relied on chemical fertilisers which had negative effects on the environment.

Curators:

Professor Vinita Damodaran

Mike Rayner 

(University of Sussex)

Exhibition installation by Dr. Anindita Saha

Film by Susan Thomson

With thanks to: The Botanical Survey of India, The John Innes Centre and the British Library.

With special thanks to Dr. Ashiho Mao, Dr. Manas Bhaumik, Dr. Anindita Saha, Dr. Sarah Wilmot, Professor Paul Basu, Dr. Mick Frogley, Dr. Antonia Moon, Dr. Benedict Burbridge, Dr. Sangeeta DasGupta, Dr. Perpetua Kirby, Laharee Mitra, and the children of the Mangrove School Project.