Book Review

Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International

Networks, and Power in India; Author: Robert
S Anderson; Published by The University of
Chicago Press (2010), Pages: 669. Price: US$
60.00

development in more recent times are also touched upon

in the concluding section. International networks here
means alliance and friendship between scientists,
publication of research works in widely circulated
internationally reputed journal like Nature, with the
concomitant effect on influence and reputation.

Nucleus and Nation is a fascinating cultural history

of science and scientific institutions in India. It offers an
innovative framework to aid understanding the social and
cultural implications of scientific and technological
developments in India in the last eighty years or so. The
book reveals a drama of social interactions between
scientists in India and abroad in which the main
protagonists are Meghnad Saha, Santi Swarup Bhatnagar
and Homi J Bhabha from the Indian side and P.M.S.
Blackette from the United Kingdom, with the occasional
appearance of many secondary characters. The real-life
competition among individual scientists and their pursuit
for power to fulfill their ambitions makes the story more
gripping. The author of the book, Robert S Anderson,
did a marvellous job in unravelling the political and social
conflicts between Indian scientists, helping us appreciate
how cultural differences shape destiny and how
networking between scientists (both national and
international) influences proximity to the power-centre that
controls and shapes Indian science and technology.

The book tells a story of scientific movements in

the backdrop of nuclear tests in India, with its maze of
twists and turns in personal and political goals, its
conflicts and reproaches in decisions and policies,
resulting in the India we see today: know in turn as
nuclear India, hi-tech India and high-economy India.
As far as nuclear power in India is concerned, it can be
said that Meghnad Saha furnished its spirit and motive
while Homi Bhabha established the methodology to
achieve it. Indias first nuclear test explosion in 1974 was
a result of serious debates, conflict of powerful lobbies,
clash of cultural differences and power struggles, all in
the context of existing geo-political scenarios. After Indias
successful mission in procuring freedom for East Pakistan
in 1971 and the subsequent role in getting recognition
for Bangladesh as a new country, in the opinion of the
present reviewer, it was the hubris of both scientists and
politicians to demonstrate Indias capability of nuclear
weapon and indigenous delivery system that triumphed
over all other adversaries. Interestingly, 1974-75 emerged
an opportune time to attempt two big projectsthe first
nuclear test at Pokhran as well as the launch of the first
Indian satellite, Aryabhatta.

The meaning of the title Nucleus and Nation:

Scientists, International Networks and Power in India has
been explained by the author himself. Nucleus in the
book refers to a small group of individual scientists who
were at the core of shaping the countrys scientific and
technological base towards the establishment of nuclear
India, rather than the commonly understood meaning of
nucleus as the core of an atom, a source of enormous
nuclear power. This book essentially covers the period
between the late 1920s until 1980, and therefore the
nationstate in this book represents India in her preindependence period, followed by a period of gradual
transformation towards independence in 1947, giving way
to the planning of scientific institutions, and culminating
in the creation of a national sovereign state with full
control of its plan and progress. Progress and
68

In pre-independent India, scientific and technological

developments grew out of nationalistic spirit. Institutes
and industries were built mostly by the individual effort
of national entrepreneurs. The period between 1930 and
1947 was a tumultuous period of conflict and confusion
in formulating a means to regulate the scientific
community through the formation of academic bodies. The
idea of formation of a single science academy in India, as
mooted by the Indian Science Congress in 1930, was
marred by the well-known Saha-Raman conflict, which
reached its peak during 1935-38. In the process, two
academies (adversaries according to Max Born) were
born: the first was the United Province Academy of
SCIENCE AND CULTURE, JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2011

Sciences (later renamed as National Academy of Sciences)

established by M.N. Saha at Allahabad in 1930, and the
other was the Indian Academy of Sciences by C.V. Raman
at Bangalore in 1934. The journal Current Science
(established in 1930) was then reoriented by Raman to be
used as the mouthpiece for his academy. Almost
simultaneously another journal, Science and Culture was
established by Saha, along the lines of Nature in Britain
and Science in America, with the patronage of Acharya
P.C. Ray and other stalwarts, with the idea of
disseminating knowledge of science and to advocate
planned application of science towards solving national
problems and issues. It is gratifying to note that the
author of the book kept vigil on the contemporary
activities of these journals when he commented in the
final chapter that Science and Culture and Current
Science both experienced difficulties in the 1970s but
were revived spectacularly.
The National Planning Committee (NPC) was formed
in 1939 for choosing the right course in scientific planning,
and was torn between the ideological differences of the
Indian National Congress party, scientists and
industrialists. While the Congress High Command and
some other scientists were in favour of a cottage industry
approach, as advocated by Mahatma Gandhi, Saha and
others favoured large scale and complete industrialization.
National planning was a major step for India at a time
when it was marching towards independence, and
politicians, scientists, industrialists and other thinkers like
Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhas Bose and Rabindranath
Tagore each had a share in it. Subsequently, the Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) came into
being, followed by a series of national laboratories under
the leadership of Bhatnagar who prevailed through the
conflicts and reproaches between scientists over the
import of raw materials and self-reliance. The Atomic
Energy Committee was formed as a sub-committee under
the CSIR, which in later years became the most powerful
government department under the leadership of Bhabha.
After independence, Jawaharlal Nehru was focused
on building science and technology institutions to create
a scientific spirit that would ultimately help in over-all
development of the country. His daughter Indira Gandhi
believed that self-reliance in technology would help India
take an independent position in the world. It was during
her prime-ministership that an attempt to link science and
technology with economic planning was made for the first
time, and subsequently never repeated. In reality, her tight
control over the import of equipment and foreign
VOL. 77, NOS. 12

technology impeded the development of science and

technology. Liberalization in India was born in the
nineteen-eighties, although its actual implementation
occurred in the nineties. In the field of scientific research,
it was Rajiv Gandhi (elected as Indias Prime Minister
after the assassination of Indira Gandhi) who lifted import
restrictions and introduced a more liberal policy for
introducing scientific equipment and technology from
abroad. He realized that in order to compete with the
advancements in science and technology worldwide, it
was imperative that modern equipment be made available
to scientists instead of investing time to build them
indigenously. There is no denying that this liberalization
helped the country in building up a scientific infrastructure
and attitude comparable to many advanced countries, and
thus helped the advancement of scientific and
technological research enormously in several areas. It is
surprising to note that there is no mention of Rajiv
Gandhis contribution in introducing a liberal policy for
science and technology research.
The book is a product of hundreds of conversations
that the author has had with scientists, politicians and
bureaucrats: letters and other forms of evidence point to
an accurate record of work culture, general attitude of
Indian scientists, and the role of politicians in
manoeuvring scientific decisions. Occasionally the mindset
of Indian scientists is represented through the lens of
foreigners, as in Max Borns letter to Lord Rutherford
where he states: Nothing can be easier in India than
to rouse discord and to stir it. Once you allow and
encourage people to speak, they will never end because
they want an outlet. There is always a latent jealousy
and dissatisfaction which could be directed against
almost anybody and everything. One can appreciate the
insight embedded in the observation, relevant to this day.
The author presents a vivid and truthful description of
the differences in work culture and sociology of Kolkatans
(working at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in
Kolkata) contrasted with that of Mumbaiites (working at
the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai).
The present reviewer joined as a research scholar in
Physics in the late-1960s and therefore has borne witness
to various major events and incidents that the book refers
to. He has been a victim of foreign exchange regulation,
restriction of imports and sanctions, and has personally
known many of the personalities referred in the book,
and is therefore in a position to vouch for the authenticity
of the picture portrayed in the book. Robert Anderson
has done an excellent job of writing this political and
69

cultural history of Indian science and technology in a

balanced and unbiased manner. However, the connection
between the publication of papers in Physical Review
and payment of page charge as presented in the book is
misleading. Based on this reviewers experience, Physical
Review never refuses to publish a paper selected on the
basis of merit for non-payment of page charges, although
it may delay its publication.
Anderson has presented a magisterial tome on the
movement of science in India and the metamorphosis of

70

scientific culture which has made India what she is today.

In the process, he has also presented the political history
of India along with her relationship with other nations,
and therefore this book may be enjoyed by readers of all
backgrounds. In particular, the book will make for
delightful reading for scientists and physicists, who are
sure to savour every last sentence. Robert Anderson is
to be congratulated for presenting this excellent piece of
work.
S
S.C. Roy

SCIENCE AND CULTURE, JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 2011