33rd International Chemistry Olympiad 2001

Chemistry in Ancient India

I have great pleasure in presenting this volume Titled "Glimpses of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India" on the occasion of 33rd International Chemistry Olympiad 2001 being held at Mumbai, India from July 6th to July 15th 2001. Members of about 55 countries are going to participate in this event and its going to be a great opportunity not only for enhancing scientific excellence in chemistry but also for cultivating friendship among students and teachers coming from different countries across the world.

It is believed that Science began soon after the birth of civilization. It is difficult to say precisely when it started but what we can see from the pages of History of Science is that every culture and civilization, living or extinct, have been contributing to this process since time immemorial. This book and the exhibition is a limited attempt in presenting and learning what Indian civilization's contribution has been to the science of Chemistry. By no stretch of imagination this work is final or complete. This is just an attempt to compile an information from different available sources with a sincere desire that it should kindle or inspire some desire in the younger scientists to learn more about achievements of the civilizations of the past. However this is not simple as it looks and it would be worth while looking in to the reasons why it is not so. The first reason is the understanding of what we mean by "Science" and its linking with modernity, development and growth. Historically modernization is taken as the process of change towards social, economic and political systems that have developed in Western Europe and North America from the 16th to 19th century [1]. This is also the period of scientific and industrial revolution in the west. The anthropomorphic model of development dubs the period of past as period of infancy lacking experience, intellectual and mature abilities of the adult. Logical and rational thinking forms some of these abilities. A.R. Hall, while describing the special characteristics of modern science, states [2]:

In many of these respects modern science differs markedly from that of a not very remote past. It demands rigorous standards in observing and experimenting. By insisting that it deals only with material entities in nature, it excludes spirits and occult power from its province. It distinguishes firmly between theories confirmed by multiple evidence, tentative hypothesis and unsupported speculations. It presents, not a possible or even a plausible picture of nature, but one in which all available facts are given their logical, orderly places. These are the most important characteristics of modern science, which it acquired during the period of transition conveniently known as the scientific revolution, and has since retained.

Hall's reference here to the past is obviously to the European past and from that cultural context,- Europe may have lacked the characters of the modern science described by him. Implying the same logic about the scientific understanding of nature of the past of non-European civilizations equates them with the darker period of European civilization on the time scale prior to the scientific revolution in the West. This gives birth to the notion that nothing comparable to the modern science could have been achieved in the past by non-Western civilizations as they inherently lack these abilities and thus are incapable of any development or technology comparable to that of today's. To understand the achievements of earlier (and not primitive) civilizations in science and technology, one must get purged with all biases visibly or invisibly built in this eurocentric model of science evolution [3].

Understanding achievements of the past civilizations and giving them their due credit is not only restricted to the writing the history of science but also is "required" documentation for patent laws. According to the Article 27 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), patents provide property rights to an invention of a novel idea. Article 28 of TRIPS gives patent owners exclusive marketing rights. India could successfully convinced the international authorities about wound healing qualities of turmeric or in case of Neem and Basmati, and patents were revoked by producing documentary evidence for uses of these products since ancient times. A patent awarded to a UK firm on the uses of hessin- jute cloth/ sheet is revoked recently on the same grounds.

I am sure, the readers of this book or the viewers of this exhibition would appreciate the effort of the Institute in presenting this work to the international scientific community.

There are many people who have contributed in various ways and without their kind assistance this book/ exhibition would not have been possible. At the outset I must thank Prof. Arvind Kumar, Chairperson, National Organising Committee, 33rd IChO and Centre Director HBCSE (TIFR) for granting us permission to hold this exhibition on this occasion, Dr. R.P. Kulkarni, my co-author of this book, and for suggestions Dr. S. C. Agarkar of HBCSE, Dr. Atul Bedekar, Dr. G.K. Pai, Dr. V.V. Gangal, Shri J.N. Kayal of BARC, Shri Vilas Sangurdekar and Shri Milind Kulkarni and last but not the least, M/s. LABINDIA and Vajreshwari Devi Trust for their kind financial assistance.

Dr. Vijay Bedekar,
President,
Institute for Oriental Study, Thane

Notes:

[1]. Eisenstadt, S.N., Modernization, Protest and Change, Modernization of Traditional Societies series, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall (1966)
[2]. A. R. Hall, The Scientific Revolution, 1500-1800, The Formation of the Modern Scientific Attitude, The Beacon Press, Boston (1954). p.xi
[3] For more on this subject, my paper 'Science, Technology and Human Development' read at the CASTME-UNESCO-HBCSE International Conference on Science, Technology & Mathematics Education for Human Development, Held at Goa, India, Feb. 20-23, 2001. Paper is available at http://www.orientalthane.com