Nucleus and nation : scientists, international networks, and power in India / Robert S. Anderson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anderson, Robert S., 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Saha, Meghnad, 1893-1956.

Saha, Meghnad.

Bhatnagar, Shanti Swarupa, Sir, 1894-1955.

Bhatnagar, Shanti Swarupa.

Bhabha, Homi Jehangir, 1909-1966.

Bhabha, Homi Jehangir.

Science--India--History--20th century.

Science.

Nuclear industry--India--History--20th century.

Nuclear industry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (728 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Note on Spelling, Photographs, and Currencies

Map of Atomic Energy, Space, and Defense Research Centers in 1974

Atomic Energy, Space, and Defense Research Centers in 1974

List of Abbreviations

ONE. Introduction

TWO. Building Scientific Careers in the 1920's: Saha and Bhatnagar, from London to Allahabad and Lahore

THREE. The Bangalore Affair, 1935-38: Scientists and Conflict around C. V. Raman

FOUR. Imagining a Scientific State: Nehru, Scientists, and Political Planning, 1938-42

FIVE. Homi Bhabha Confronts Science in India, 1939-44

SIX. Indian Scientists Engage the Empire: The CSIR and the Idea of Atomic and Industrial Power

SEVEN. Saha, Bhatnagar, and Bhabha in Contrast, 1944-45

EIGHT. Restless in Calcutta: Meghnad Saha's Institution-Building

NINE. Bhatnagar Builds a Chain of National Laboratories and Steps Upward

TEN. Bhabha Builds His Institute in Bombay

ELEVEN. The Politics of the Early Indian Atomic Energy Committee and Commission

TWELVE. Scientists' Networks, Nehru, and India's Defense Research and Development

THIRTEEN. A Scientist in the Political System: Professor Saha Goes to Parliament, 1952-56

FOURTEEN. The Indian Cabinet and Scientific Advice in the 1950's and 1960's: Bhabha, Atomic Energy, and Reforming Scientific and Industrial Research

FIFTEEN. A New Scientific Elite: Sarabhai Builds Another Atomic Energy Network, 1966-71

SIXTEEN. A Day in the Life of Two Research Institutes in Bombay and Calcutta

SEVENTEEN. Governance, Management, and Working Conditions in Research Institutes Founded by Saha and Bhabha

EIGHTEEN. Governance and Influence in the Research Institutes Bhatnagar Built

NINETEEN. Articulating Science and Technology Policy for Indira Gandhi's Cabinet

TWENTY. Building a High-Technology Economy through Atomic Energy, Space, and Electronics

TWENTY-ONE. Nuclear Expectations and Resistance in India's Political Economy

TWENTY-TWO. Scientists in India's War over Self-Reliance

TWENTY-THREE. The First Bomb Test: Its Context, Reception, and Consequences in India

TWENTY-FOUR. The Scientific Community, the State of Emergency, and After, 1975-80

TWENTY-FIVE. Conclusions

Chronology of Events

Biographical Notes

Notes

Index of Names

Index of Names

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612607219

9781282607217

1282607219

9780226019772

0226019772

OCLC:

638861555