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New Book "Decolonizing Science and Modernity in South Asia: Questioning Concepts, Constructing Histories"

Decolonizing Science and Modernity in South Asia: Questioning Concepts, Constructing HistoriesEdited by Sahara Ahmed, Suvobrata Sarkar, Springer Singapore, ISBN: 9789819718313. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-97-1829-0

• Connects the history of science and modernity with South Asia's socio-economic and cultural background
• Offers important insights into South Asia's experience of modernity
• Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the colonial roots of modern science, technology, and medicine.

About this book: This book offers a unique perspective on the colonial roots of modern science, technology, and medicine (STM) in South Asia. The book questions the deconstruction of imperial visions and definitions of science and modernity in South Asia. It presents an in-depth analysis of the contested relationship between science, modernity, and colonialism. It explores how new research can contribute to the diversification of perspectives in the history and sociology of modern South Asian studies. The chapters in the book delve into various aspects of STM in South Asia. It covers diverse topics, including the social, cultural, and pedagogic context of early modern Bengal, the popularization of science in colonial Punjab, the Hindi science periodical Vigyan, and the emergence of the Indian science community. The book also examines the intersection of indigenous medical practices, ayurveda, Unani, and medical revivalism and highlights peripheral creativity in science. The contributors engage with the existing historiography to raise new questions concerning the global circulations of scientific knowledge from the perspective of South Asia and the regional appropriation of the same. It connects the history of science and modernity with South Asia's socio-economic and cultural background. It offers valuable insights into the decolonization of STM. It greatly interests scholars and students of modern South Asian history, sociology, social anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society Studies (STS).

Table of contents (15 chapters)

• Emerging Disciplines and Science in Vernacular
• Monies, Measures, and Arithmetic(s): a Brief Glimpse into the Śubhaṅkarī Tradition | Santanu Chacraverti
• Vernacularity, Ruchi Ram Sahni, and the Pursuit of Science in the Colonial Punjab | Kamlesh Mohan
• Characterizing the Debate on Constructing Scientific Terms in Hindi: A Study of Influences and Motivations | Sandipan Baksi
• Plural Healing and Multiplicity
• Modernizing Ayurveda: Interactive Indigeneity and Medical Revivalism in Colonial India | Saurav Kumar Rai
• Bazaari-Subaltern Unani Medical Public Sphere: Blanket Binaries, Disjunctions, Implications and the Making of Alternative Texts and Archives Convivially | Neshat Quaiser
• Medicinal Practices of a Downtrodden Castes: Reflections on the Folk Medicinal Practices of the Rajbanshis of Sub-Himalayan Bengal | Rup Kumar Barman
• Institutionalization and Professionalization of New Knowledge
• Evolution of Electrical Engineering in Colonial Calcutta: Bhadralok Articulations on Education and Industrialization Interface | Suvobrata Sarkar
• Dental Public Health and the Institutionalisation of a Science: R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, Calcutta, C.1920s–1950s | Sahara Ahmed
• Electronics and Computing: Experiments in Government Entrepreneurship | Dinesh C. Sharma
• Metropolitan Methods, Colonial Practices
• The Emergence of Indian Science Community: 1870s to 1940s | Venni V. Krishna
• The Craving for British Honours Among the Scientists of Colonial India: A Case Study of the Centre-Periphery Relationship in History of Science | Arnab Rai Choudhuri
• An Argument for Scientific Creativity in Peripheral Contexts: The Case of Satyendra Nath Bose | Deepanwita Dasgupta
• Science and Multiple Modernities
• The Dreams of Reason: Rabindranath Tagore and the Invention of Science in India | Shiv Visvanathan
• Understanding Gandhi's Approach to Technology: After the Critique of Modernity and Industrialism | Dhruv Raina

About the editors: Sahara Ahmed is Professor at the Department of History, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, India. She obtained her Ph.D. from University of Calcutta. Her research interests include histories of ecology, environment, and sustainable development, health and medicine in colonial and post-colonial contexts. She is the author of Woods, Mines and Minds: Politics of Survival in Jalpaiguri and the Jungle Mahals, 1860–1970 (Primus, 2019). Her most recent publications—'Epidemics and the Indigenous Tribes: Sub-Himalayan Bengal and the Jungle Mahals', in Poonam Bala and Russel Viljoen (eds.), Epidemic Encounters, Communities in the Colonial World (Lexington Books, 2023), and 'Designing scientific mining: evolution and implementation, c. 1860s–1960s', in Suvobrata Sarkar (ed.), History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine in India (Routledge, 2022). She is the secretary of the Society for the History of Science Kolkata. Suvobrata Sarkar teaches history at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He obtained his Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research explores the history of technology in the context of 19th and 20th century South Asia. Sarkar is the author of Let there be Light: Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Electricity in Colonial Bengal, 1880–1945 (Cambridge University Press, 2020), in addition to several articles and book chapters. He has also edited the History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine in India (Routledge, 2022). He received the Maurice Daumas Prize 2019 from the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC).

Vol. 4, No. 9: The Future

A glimpse into tomorrow's world🔮

September 2024 —  Vol. 4, No. 9 View in your browser → THE FUTURE ISSUE Welcome to IFLA's September 2024 Newsletter, focused on The Future. We are less than a week away now from the start of the IFLA Information Futures Summit, taking place in Brisbane, Australia. It's a new type of event for IFLA and is designed to be an opportunity to explore the factors that will shape the future of information and knowledge. Our goal there is to activate our field in order to influence this future for the better. Happy reading! 🐨 In the field In parallel with preparations for the Information Futures Summit (more on this below!), IFLA President Vicki McDonald has given presentations at the IFLA Marketing Award event organised by the Management and Marketing Section, as well as the 24 Hours of IT event organised by the IT Section. She also spoke at this year's online IFLA camp and shared interventions at the MENA Regional Division Committee's event in Alexandria on the digital transition (to which IFLA SG Sharon Memis also contributed), and the Chinese Library Society's Annual Conference. Sharon also joined Vicki at the IFLA Townhalls held last week (recording here). Meanwhile, IFLA President-elect Leslie Weir has continued to lead the Congress Review, leading in the preparation of two consultation sessions – look out for more about this work soon! Finally, you can find the latest dashboard setting out progress against Vicki's priorities, as set out in her first speech, on the President's page. And look out for some big launches at the Information Futures Summit, including our Trend Report and Strategy. Six sessions to be livestreamed from IIFS! Six key sessions at IIFS will be livestreamed on IFLA's YouTube channel, including four sessions on 30 September from 08:45 – 12:30 (AEST) and two sessions on 2 October from 15:15 - 16:45 (AEST). See our YouTube playlist for access or sign up to be notified when the stream begins. Recordings will be made available afterwards. Don't miss the presentation and open panel session on the IFLA Trend Report 2024 and much more! View the playlist → IFLA Trend Report 2024: Survey results Following the 2024 Trend Report Literature Review, IFLA ran a survey in August to gather perspectives on the impacts of the Trends identified, as well as the connections between them. The results are now available, and will support the definition of scenarios in the full Trend Report, to be launched at the Information Futures summit. See the results → Join us at IIFS! A message from Dr Marie-Louise Ayres Watch this special invitation from Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, Director-General at the National Library of Australia to the IFLA Information Futures Summit (#IIFS). See video message → Twin Peaks: 10 questions raised by the UN Summit of the Future to answer at the IFLA Information Futures Summit Just a week separates the UN Summit of the Future from the IFLA Information Futures Summit. What are the implications of the discussions and results of the latter for the conversations that we will be having in Brisbane soon? This article explores further, proposing 10 questions for delegates to answer. Explore further → Get fit for Brisbane The IFLA Information Futures Summit is designed to be a great opportunity for library leaders at all career stages around the world to explore trends in the information and knowledge environment. To help prepare, we have been releasing our Get Fit for Brisbane series, which explores the topics raised by the Trend Report. Get fit for #IIFS → Call for preliminary expressions of interest: Future WLICs, 2026-2029 IFLA is currently carrying out a review of our World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) model, with a view to establishing recommendations by the end of the year about how we should go forward with our flagship event. Key decisions will need to be made about the organisation and format of Congresses, as well as their frequency, based on the information that will have been received from our surveys and consultation sessions. To this end, we are seeking your input! Learn more→ IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Section: Focus on the future The IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Section's focus for 2024-2025 is on urban transformation, sustainability, and civic engagement. The future of metropolitan libraries is entwined with the future of the large cities they serve. Cities are places where diversity and the density of people and ideas fosters innovation and well-being. At the same time, stark contrasts between wealth and poverty, along with pluralism, may generate friction. How can libraries contribute toward the achievement of equity and inclusion, sustainable urban growth, learning, and innovation? Learn more → Four libraries nominated for the IFLA/Baker & Taylor Public Library of the Year Award 2024 IFLA and new prize sponsor Baker & Taylor are delighted to announce the nominated libraries for this year's prestigious prize for the best new public library in the world. Meet the nominees → Culture, knowledge, community: Looking forward together With a grant from Spain's Ministry of Culture, as well as the support of other generous sponsors, several IFLA Sections have come together and are pleased to organise the International Library Conference titled "Culture, Knowledge, and Community" in Barcelona, Spain from 6-9 October 2024. Read more → Building the future of multilateralism: Libraries and the Summit of the Future The UN's Summit of the Future comes to a close today, with the Pact for the Future—the key output text—already agreed. Through IFLA's engagement in the preparatory process, and at events in New York, we were able to support calls for stronger recognition of, and support for, the role of information, knowledge, culture and libraries in achieving policy goals. Discover more → From Pact to Act: How the UN Pact for the Future can support you in your advocacy The UN's Pact for the Future, as well as the Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations annexed to it, includes plenty of relevance to libraries. This article highlights key points and suggests ten ways you can work with these documents in your advocacy. Read the article → Libraries, literacy and the future we want For International Literacy Day (8 September), UNESCO called on the international community to recognise how literacy can accelerate mutual understanding and peace. Knowing that this month also brings the UN's Summit for the Future, we spent the day reflecting on the role of literacy (and libraries) in creating a world we want: leaving no one behind, investing in poverty reduction, upholding human rights, countering threats of misinformation, and more. Continue reading → A Basis to build on: UN Global Principles for Information Integrity The UN's new Global Principles for Information Integrity represent an important step in highlighting the importance of access to quality information, both as a goal in itself and an enabler of wider progress. Libraries represent an essential infrastructure for information integrity. With around 3 million institutions around the world and dedicated staff specialising in access to information, libraries can help make these principles stronger and more effective. Learn more → Public action, public access? A review of Intergovernmental Organisation Licensing IFLA's 2018 Statement on Open Access in Intergovernmental Organisations calls for bodies like the UN to move towards open licensing models for their publications. A recent review shows some progress, but much more still to be made in order to support the dissemination of UN outputs to the world. Read the review → Equity and inclusion at the centre of Open Science & Scholarship Advisory Committee's initial work The creation of the new Advisory Committee on Open Science and Scholarship (OSS) was endorsed by the Governing Board in late 2023 and membership finalised in early 2024. OSS continues and builds on the work of many IFLA initiatives, including a statement on Open Access and Open Access Working Party. Its members span IFLA's regions and many library types, showing how open science affects all parts of the profession. Continue reading → Building for the future: Upcoming research publications In the coming months, we will be sharing a range of publications and tools focused on answering key questions for the sustainability of the global library field. Find out more about this work, made possible by the financial support of Stichting IFLA Global Libraries, established by IFLA to manage the legacy grant awarded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to IFLA in 2016 when the BMFG Global Libraries program ended. Learn more → ENSULIB December 2024 Newsletter: Call for articles The IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB) would like to invite everyone to share their stories, articles, and announcements for publication in our forthcoming newsletter. Take part → Volunteer visions: Progress update on draft code of conduct development At IFLA's Code of Conduct for Volunteers Working Group meeting in April 2024, we decided to review the codes of conduct members had collated and created a comparative matrix of the various codes of conduct. The matrix itself was exhaustive, meaning that there was quite a bit in that matrix that we agreed would not or should not be in our code of conduct. We are now working with officers and other volunteers to receive feedback. Review progress → IFLA Publications series: Call for Series Editor IFLA and its publishing partner, De Gruyter, are seeking a new Series Editor for the IFLA Publication Series. The book series addresses ways in which libraries, information centres, and librarians and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems. Closing date: 11 October 2024 See full details → Job opportunity at IFLA Headquarters: Metadata and Content Management Specialist Officer Passionate about metadata and content/knowledge management? If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding career in this area and are brilliant at what you do, read on! Apply today → 27-29 September In-person event Brisbane, Australia Research and Effective Practices Seminar: Sustainable Reading at Every Age and Stage IFLA Libraries for Children & Young Adults (C&YA), School Libraries (SCHOOL), Literacy & Reading (LITREAD) and Environment, Sustainability and Libraries (ENSULIB) Sections 3 October Virtual event "Read for Peace: Celebrating the Freedom to Read in Libraries" Banned Books Week webinar IFLA Management of Library Associations Section (MLAS) and IFLA Advisory Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) 4 October In-person event Brisbane, Australia Mentoring mysteries: Unlocking your potential as a future mentor or mentee IFLA Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (CPDWL) Section and New Professionals SIG (NPSIG), Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), and ALIA Students and New Graduates group (ALIA SNGG) 6-9 October In-person event Barcelona, Spain Culture | Knowledge | Community International Library Conference IFLA Public Libraries (PUBLIB), Metropolitan Libraries (METLIB), Libraries Buildings & Equipment (LBES), Rare Books & Special Collections (RBSC), Art Libraries (ARTLIB) and Environment, Sustainability & Libraries (ENSULIB) Sections 8 October In-person event Barcelona, Spain Censorship and Heritage Collections IFLA Rare Books & Special Collections Section and Art Libraries Sections 10 October Virtual event Egypt's Cultural Heritage: Status and Future Prospects The IFLA Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section, Middle East and North Regional Division, and Local History and Genealogy Section 17-18 October In-person event Madrid, Spain IFLA PARL 2024 Annual Conference IFLA Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section DON'T MISS OUT❗ Become an IFLA Member and enjoy some fantastic perks!   Get 2025 covered + bonus membership until the end of 2024, grab a 25% discount on a ticket for our 2025 World Library and Information Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan, have your voice heard in the upcoming IFLA's elections, and be part of increasing the impact of libraries on communities and society.    This offer has begun, so don't miss out and take advantage of our special year-end offer!  Join us → NEW MEMBERS IFLA warmly welcomes the following new members: Hunter J. François Library, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College – Saint Lucia National Assembly of Seychelles – Seychelles Rabdan Academy Library – United Arab Emirates The Althingi Library, Parliament of Iceland – Iceland Centre National de Documentation – Morocco Library of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia – Mongolia Dar AlKutub AlQataryya – Qatar We look forward to your engagement and involvement! SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT Want to get featured here? Don't forget to @IFLA and use the #IFLA hashtag! Update your preferences / Unsubscribe