9. Decolonising the Public Imagination: Beyond National Science Day

National Science Day, observed on February 28 to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect, serves as a ritual that defines what the state recognizes as \'legitimate\' science. However, a decolonial perspective suggests that India’s scientific imagination remains tethered to external prestige and elite markers like the Nobel Prize, often ignoring the vast landscape of practical knowledge and marginalized scientific labor. Core Summary of the Decolonial Scientific Narrative • The Politics of Recognition: National Science Day often prioritizes \'world-class discoveries\' over impactful social achievements, such as improvements in maternal health, thereby legitimizing an elite, award-centric view of science. • De-Nobelising Science: True decolonisation requires shifting focus away from external validation (like the Nobel Prize) and expanding the definition of scientific actors to include farmers, artisans, and technicians. • Jugaad as Innovation: While often dismissed or co-opted by management culture as \'frugal innovation,\' jugaad represents a grassroots inventiveness that challenges formal, elite templates of scientific progress. • Reclaiming the Commons: The term poromboke (historically meaning communal land) highlights how state classifications of \'wasteland\' marginalize the ecological knowledge and legitimacy of communities residing there. • Democratizing the Laboratory: Scientific authority is not confined to \'mega-labs\'; it is performed daily in \'minor labs\' like diagnostic centers, where the public actually interacts with science. • Labor Hierarchy: The current scientific narrative overlooks the \'hidden\' labor of field staff, nurses, lab attendants, and data collectors, whose contributions are essential for knowledge production but rarely commemorated. Key Definitions • Raman Effect: A phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by C.V. Raman where light scatters with a change in wavelength when passing through a transparent medium. • Jugaad: A colloquial term for a non-conventional, frugal innovation or a \'hack\'; in a scientific context, it represents indigenous problem-solving. • Poromboke: A Tamil revenue term for land not yielding revenue, often used for public or communal purposes; socially, it reflects how the state determines \'productive\' versus \'disposable\' landscapes. • Decolonisation of Science: The process of deconstructing the hierarchy that privileges Western/Elite scientific methods over indigenous, local, and practical knowledge systems. Constitutional & Legal Provisions

Key Dimensions of Scientific Labor • The Elite vs. The Minor: Scientific history focuses on the \'Genius\' in isolation, whereas modern science is a social institution involving communal rituals and hierarchical structures. • The Language of Innovation: Science communication often requires \'packaging\' for elite consumption in English, which renders the vocabularies of local fishers or craftspeople invisible. • Transformative Recognition: Shifting the focus of National Science Day from \'Global Awards\' to \'Local Utility\' would align science more closely with the needs of the Indian citizenry. Conclusion To truly celebrate science in the Indian context, the state must move beyond \'Nobel-shaped\' stories of individual genius. National Science Day should evolve into a platform for discussing the social and political life of science—recognizing that the labor of a nurse or a field collector is as vital to the \'scientific temper\' of the nation as the research conducted in prestigious institutes. UPSC Relevance • GS Paper I: Social Empowerment (Caste and Gender hierarchies in institutions); Indian Culture (Traditional knowledge vs. modern science). • GS Paper II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors; Issues relating to health and education. • GS Paper III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications in everyday life; Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology, and Bio-technology. • Ethics (GS IV): Ethical issues in science and technology; Human values and the \'scientific temper.\'