ABSTRACT
This chapter brings out the many layered meanings of the contribution of democratizing science activism of India’s people’s science movements (PSMs). The author argues that the vast people’s network has been an instrument of public engagement with modern science and technology for the Indian people. Diverse needs are being met right from critiquing science policies and state-sponsored environmentally unfriendly projects to broadening access to literacy, education, health and sustainable livelihoods. Argument offered is that the PSMs have enabled the society to improve socio-cultural and political awareness and critically engage with modern science and technology in India. It is suggested that this important dimension is completely overlooked in the blanket criticism of the neo-Gandhian scholars of PSMs. Further it suggests that traditional knowledge is not the only resource that can provide the society with a socio-cultural, political and technological resource for engaging with the challenges of sustainable development. A creative and virtuous understanding of modern science can help us to provide a critical, non-instrumental and emancipatory worldview. Furthermore, the PSMs’ leaders are well aware that public engagement with the formation of “scientific counter publics” is taking roots in India in competition with the ideologies of neo-liberalism, cultural nationalism and neo-traditionalism. It is suggested that the PSMs must continue to develop a critical consciousness, prevent the reactionary ideological trends from consolidating the tendencies of “anti-science variety” and not be deterred by misplaced criticism of nativist scholars. Today the challenge facing the PSMs revolves around the dilemmas of how to build a peoples’ coalition to contribute to the contemporary organizational challenge of mobilization for the democratization of governance of S&T under the conditions of growing support for reactionary trends and neo-liberal capitalist order of socio-economic use of modern science and technology in India.
