The Social in/and the Scientific Book Review of Pankaj Sekhsaria’s ‘Instrumental Lives: An Intimate Biography of an Indian Laboratory’

Pankaj Sekhsaria’s Instrumental Lives: An Intimate Biography of an Indian Laboratory (hereon Instrumental Lives) published by Routledge in 2019 is an ethnography of the life of a laboratory in the Physics Department of Savitribai Phule University, Pune headed by Indian Scientist CV Dharmadhikari.

History of education in India in the pedagogical concept of J.P. Naik

The article describes in detail the process of formation, development and reform of education in India. The great scientific and practical contribution of the Indian scientist J.P. Naik is that in his works he revealed the priority directions for the development of education in India taking into account the interests of the poorest segments of the population. He believed that all general education institutions should devote more time to participation in social welfare and national development programmes. At the heart of the education system, the scientist singled out a humanistic basis.

Дхарани из состава Монгольского Ганджура (на примере «Дхарани, именуемой „Сердце-сущность Святого, [обладающего] безграничной жизнью и знанием“»)

The article deals with dhāraṇī texts included in the 108-volume Mongolian language Kangyur. A xylographic edition of the Mongolian Kangyur was delivered from expeditions to China by the Indian scientist Raghuvira, and subsequently used for reprint in the Śata-Piṭaka Series by Lokesh Chandra. A copy of this 108-volume serial publication was purchased through Buryat monasteries by the Kalmyk Gelong Tugmyud Gavji (O. M. Dordzhiev, 1887‒1980), and now constitutes a valuable part of the collection of old written sources at the Scientific Archive of Kalmyk Scientific Center (RAS). Analysis of tables of contents that precede each volume of the L. Chandra edition, and that of texts included show that dhāraṇī (Sanskrit dhāraṇī, Tib. Gzungs ‘spell’, Mong. tarni, toγtaγal ‘tarni, darani, magic formulas’) texts can be traced in a number of volumes and, respectively, in different sections, mainly in ones titled Dandr-a (‘Tantra’) and Eldeb (‘Collection of Sutras’). So, some volumes include single texts and others cluster them in single blocks (selections). The Dhāraṇī Titled ‘Heart-Essence [of the Holy One Possessing] Limitless Life and Knowledge’ is one such dhāraṇī text from Volume 23 transliterated and translated (with comments) in this work. Goals. The article examines available materials and provides an overview of dhāraṇī works within the Mongolian Kangyur, presents a translation of one notable dhāraṇī. Materials and Methods. The study gains comparative textual and structural insights into the Lokesh Chandra edition of the Kangyur and compares it to other editions, seeking to identify specific compositional features of various publications and reasons underlying the latter. Results and Conclusions. History of Mongolian Kangyur compilations – the compendium at large and its individual texts – is very complicated and requires further research.

Nature, Nation, Science and Gender

The article explores the equation among nature, nation and gender in the nationalist context. Developing the argument that both nature and nation were feminised and deified as mother and mother goddess in the nationalist context, the article deploys feminist perspectives to critically examine this on a fourth-axis science. By looking at the relationship of the scientist, J. C. Bose, to these categories, the article hopes to unravel the complex relationship of the Indian scientist to nation, nature, gender and science. It is argued that due to being a ‘Sakta’, Bose had a symbiotic relationship to nature, and consequently to science, thereby presenting an ‘alternative’ to Western modes of relating to science and nature. The article submits that this alternative was cast in patriarchal constructions of both science and nature and views the associations of mother with nation and nature within larger feminist critiques of science. The article submits that while these sleeping metaphors set an alternative paradigm to the Western modes of relating to nature through science, they reproduced patriarchal constructions of the same. The article is an effort at grafting feminist perspectives on (a) science and (b) nationalism with postcolonial perspectives on science and modernity.

Indian Scientist Research Productivity in Cloud Robotics: A Scientometric Analysis

This study analyses the Indian contributions of research papers related to Cloud Robotics was undertaken from Web of Science Databases has been used to retrieve the data for 15 years (1999-2013) by the searching the keyword “Cloud Robotics”. Most of the researchers preferred to publish their research results in 586 journal articles. The authorship trend shows that, out of total 629 research literatures published, 97% of them or published under the joint author of publications in Cloud Robotics research output. This study aims to examine the emergence of research areas, research groups and countries and the pattern of publication, authorship, institutions, growth rate of publication and journals coverage of the scientists in the field of Cloud Robotics.