Online Education Blog

India was unique in the sense that it saw sporadic development in field of colonization and decline of pre-colonial systems in Eighteenth century.  Rise of modern science itself coincided with the rise of capitalism . In the early eighteenth century the Indians attitude to keep themselves aloof from the British’s completed them to attempt conquest along with commerce and their success was virtually established and assured. Gradually the British rule was established. But there remain a long drawn difference between east and the west. The Indian world-view remained by and large tradition bound. The problems of eighteenth century India were compounded by an enormous intellectual failure. It was the same period when some resurgent nations, now ruling the waves, came in and through their trading companies chalked out large areas. Their sails, their guns, their training were substantially different. They had new knowledge behind them. In the midst of political intrigues, numerous local wars, plunder, social turmoil some official of the east India company could think of establishing a forum for knowledge ( the Asiatic society, 1784) and a college of their fort ( fort William college, 1801).trained surveyor accompanied the army. Naturally success was attained significantly. The British’s could succeed against their foes and competitors because they possessed a through and scientific knowledge about the country, they are marching through. In 1760 Renell surveyed Bengal and later Kelly surveyed the caratic region. The charts prepared by British engineers and surveyor were very handy in case of both military operations and revenue settlements. Survey and expansion moved side by side. One acted as a catalyst of the other. Every boat that touched the Indian shores had a medical man on board. Trained in the scientific seminaries of Scotland and northern Europe, he would be known as surgeon-naturalist, and true to his training, in his spare time, he would look for and report on the topography, minerals, flora, fauna and people of his area. They were scientific soldiers who were guided by scientific knowledge who extended the help of new knowledge to the process of colonial expansion and consolidation. Thus was born the phenomenon of ‘colonial science’. It represented a new form of science which was an advancement of pre-colonial science. It was for more systematic, methodical penetrative and pervasive. The characteristic of this science knowledge is its dynamism. It involved everything: politics geography, commerce, military etc. it is now a widely accepted and widely acknowledged truth, that techno scientific developments and colonial expansions had closer ties. No less important is to glean how the recipient culture sought to appropriate or redefine the metropolitan ideology of science. Colonialism as it was not a monolith had left several facts and question open to interpretation in a number of ways. Yet one thing is certain, colonial science lacked sovereignty. It contours were of course drawn on the colonial terrain, but it enjoyed a rather limited economy or autonomy which was further reduced as the colonial grip tightened. Several colonial scientists fell uncomfortable, yet they had to perform a dual rule to serve the colonial state and to serve science. This state claimed superiority in terms of structure, power; race etc. science claimed superiority in terms of knowledge and inter Alia helped the colonial state dismiss ‘other’ epistemological. Both needed each other and became mutually dependent.