At the dawn of the new millennium, the Council of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) considered it desirable to showcase the scientific and technological activities in India, from the time of attaining Independence, and share our experiences with others, particularly with the countries of the South. The present volume Pursuit and Promotion of Science: The Indian Experience is the outcome of this Endeavour. We were also encouraged to attempt this exercise as the Third World Academy of Sciences had accepted INSA's invitation to hold its General Assembly in New Delhi in October 200l.
Science has been anything but uniform in time and space. Periods of rapid advance have alternated with long periods of stagnation and even of decay. India, along with other older civilizations of Babylonia, Egypt and China, has been a focus of ancient science. Science in India, closely intertwined with culture and philosophy, tempered with wisdom flourished for centuries. However, strong influences of foreign invasions subdued it as the colonial rulers were largely interested in activities which enhanced their own economic prosperity. A well-known historian of science has traced Our Heritage.
Resurgence of Science in India came as an offshoot of the nationalist movement, towards the end of 19th century and early decades of the 20th century. Exposure to modern science as we call it today in India is a product of renaissance in Europe. Translation by foreign scholars of ancient Indian writings in Sanskrit which were lying dormant, and the founding of the Asiatic Society played a significant role in this movement. A few exceptionally talented and committed scientists and teachers of that period laid the solid foundation of Indian science by their zeal, dedication and sacrifice. We have built an edifice over it. The Section on The Torch Bearers of Indian Renaissance is not merely a tribute to those leaders but is a reminder that science is like a mighty river which keeps flowing through the guru-shishya parampara.