The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 3, Part 5: Science, Technology and Medicine in Colonial India

Interest in the science, technology and medicine of India under British rule has grown in recent years and has played an ever-increasing part in the reinterpretation of modern South Asian history. Spanning the period from the establishment of East India Company rule through to Independence, David Arnold's wide-ranging and analytical survey demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of Indian responses to western intervention. One of the first works to analyse the colonial era as a whole from the perspective of science, the book investigates the relationship between Indian and western science, the nature of science, technology and medicine under the Company, the creation of state-scientific services,'imperial science'and the rise of an Indian scientific community, the impact of scientific and medical research and the dilemmas of nationalist science. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 4 Title 5 Copyright 6 CONTENTS 7 ILLUSTRATION 8 TABLES 9 GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE 10 PREFACE 12 ABBREVIATIONS 14 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: SCIENCE, COLONIALISM AND MODERNITY 15 INDIA’A SCIENTIFIC TRADITIONS 16 COLONIAL SCIENCE 23 SCIENCE AS MODERNITY 29 CHAPTER 2 SCIENCE UNDER THE COMPANY 33 THE COMPANY OF SCIENCE 33 THE ORGANISATION OF COLONIAL SCIENCE 40 SCIENCE AND ORIENTALISM 48 THE TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEY 53 GEOLOGY 58 BOTANY 60 SCIENCE IN THE TROPICS 64 CHAPTER 3 WESTERN MEDICINE IN AN INDIAN ENVIRONMENT 71 THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE 71 INDIAN PRACTITIONERS OF WESTERN MEDICINE 75 ECOUNTERS WITH INDIAN MEDICINE 79 SMALLPOX: FROM VARIOLATION TO VACCINATION 85 MALARIA AND MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY 89 CHOLERA: ENVIROMENT, ARMY AND PUBLIC HEALTH 95 WOMEN, MISSIONS AND MEDICINE 101 CHAPTER 4 TECHNOLOGIES OF THE STEAM AGE 106 TEXTILES, TECHNOLOGY AND TRADITION 107 MINES AND METALLURGY 112 SHIPBUILDING AND STEAMSHIPS 115 ROADS, RAILWAYS AND THE POWER OF STEAM 119 TELEGRAPHS 127 IRRIGATION 129 TECHNOLOGY, IDEOLOGY AND RESISTANCE 135 STEAM, SWADEDHI AND SWARAJ 138 CHAPTER 5 IMPERIAL SCIENCE AND THE INDIAN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY 143 SCIENCE AND THE SERVICES 143 IMPERIAL SCIENCE 149 MEDICAL SCIENCE 155 FORESTRY AND AGRICULTURE 161 AN INDIAN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY 167 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS AND PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 176 CHAPTER 6 SCIENCE, STATE AND NATION 183 THE RETURN OF HINDU SCIENCE 183 THE REVIVAL OF INDIGENOUS MEDICINE 190 SCIENCE UNDER SIEGE 200 INSTITUTIONAL SCIENCE 204 TROPICAL MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 212 SCIENCE FOR THE NATION 219 CONCLUSION 225 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 228 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY 231 1. General 231 2. Science under the Company 232 3. Colonial Medicine 233 4. Technology 235 5. Science and Empire 237 6. Hindu Science 238 7. Science, State and Nation 239 INDEX 241 "Spanning the period from the establishment of East India Company rule through to Independence, David Arnold's wide-ranging and analytical survey demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of Indian responses to Western intervention. One of the first works to analyse the colonial era as a whole from the perspective of science, the book investigates the relationship between Indian and Western science, the nature of science, technology and medicine under the Company, the creation of state scientific services, 'imperial science' and the rise of an Indian scientific community, the impact of scientific and medical research and the dilemmas of nationalist science."--Jacket

An historical reinterpretation of the role of science, technology and medicine in the making of colonial India.

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Spanning the whole colonial period from the establishment of the East India Company in 1760 to independence in 1947, Arnold (South Asian history, School of Oriental and African Studies, London) examines the role of science, technology, and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of Indian responses to western intervention. He considers the relationship between Indian and western science, the creation of state scientific services, the rise of an Indian scientific community, and other aspects. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Some vols. paperback editions. Includes bibliographies and indexes. v. 2. Indian states and the transition to colonialism: pt. 1. Indian society and the making of the British Empire / C.A. Bayly -- v. 2. pt. 3. The Sikhs of the Punjab / J.S. Grewel -- v. 3. The Indian empire and the beginnings of modern society: pt. 3. The economy of modern India, 1860-1970 / B.R. Tomlinson -- v. 3. pt. 4. Ideologies of the Raj / Thomas R. Metcalf -- v. 4. The evolution of contemporary India: pt. 1. The politics of India since independence / Paul R. Brass -- v. 4. pt. 3. Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age / Susan Bayly Interest in the science, technology and medicine of India under British rule has increased in recent years and has played an important part in the reinterpretation of modern South Asian history. David Arnold's wide-ranging analysis combines a discussion of all three fields across the entire colonial period--from the 1860s through to Independence--offering both a survey of recent scholarship and an original overview. Arnold assesses the role of science in the making of colonial India and in the fashioning of Indian responses to British rule. List of illustrations List of tables General editor's preface Preface List of abbreviations 1. Introduction: science, colonialism and modernity 2. Science under the East India Company 3. Western medicine in an Indian environment 4. Technologies of the steam age 5. Imperial science and the Indian scientific community 6. Science, state and nation Conclusion Biographical notes Bibliographical essay Index. Onf of the first works to analyse the colonial era as a whole from the perspective of science, this book investigates the relationship between Indian and Western science, the nature of science, technology and medicine under the East India Company, the creation of state scientific services, "imperial science" and the rise of an Indian scientific community In an historical reinterpretation, the author considers the role of science, technology and medicine to provide a survey of recent scholarship and an original overview. He asserts the role of science in the making of colonial India and in the fashioning of Indian responses to British rule. From the start of East India Company rule to Independence, this analytical study demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India