Hyderabad: If one wishes to understand the emergence of Hyderabad as a globalised science and technology hub, one has to go back to the long journey of its knowledge institutions since the middle of the 19th century.
This was stated by well-known author and journalist Dr Dinesh C Sharma in his valedictory address at the three-day conference of the Society for the History of Science Kolkata, hosted by the Department of History and H K Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University.
The history of science helps in looking at science and technology not just as something that happens in a laboratory or a workshop floor, but as a human activity that is shaped by the culture, politics, and society of its time. An important aspect of the history of science is to illustrate the global and interconnected character of knowledge.
He said, “Besides the Musi riverfront, engineering and urban renewal projects conceptualised by M Visvesvaraya, Hyderabad has seen significant developments in science and technology in the past 150 years or so.” These include the growth of modern medicine in Hyderabad, astronomy and the work of Nizamiah Observatory, and the setting up of Osmania University as India’s first fully-vernacular institution where everything from philosophy to engineering was taught in an Indian language, ie, Urdu. All these projects helped develop a culture of science in Hyderabad early on. They placed Hyderabad on the global map, built the confidence of the rulers in modern medicine and research.
Dr Sharma pointed to important gaps in the understanding of the history of science in India in the post-independence era. “Only in recent years, we are beginning to see books on this period, be it planned development, green revolution, technology development, etc. As I see it, we need more work on institutional histories – not just IITs but research laboratories, university science departments, biographies of scientists beyond those of celebrated scientists like J C Bose, Bhabha, Mahalanobis, etc. as well as histories of science cities,” he added.
The history of science is seen as a subset of the discipline of history. It need not be so. It should be a multi- and inter-disciplinary endeavour. Our scientific institutions, such as the CSIR and ICMR, as well as ICAR, should recognize and fund the history of science as a discipline.
He said, “One of the ways to enhance a greater appreciation of the history of science is to make it accessible. Just as public understanding of science is important, public understanding of the history of science is also important. This is the responsibility of practitioners of the history of science.”
The concluding session was also addressed by Prof Farhat Hasan ( Delhi University), Prof Shakeel Ahmed ( Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir), and Prof. P H Mohammad (MANUU).
This post was last modified on September 19, 2025 3:50 pm