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Abstract: Abstract Prior to the emergence of modern medicine as a universal method for all diseases across cultures, and geography—specific methods of treatment existed in various regions. It is not to argue here that these cultural particularities in the treatment of diseases totally disappeared. Under the pressure of modern medicine, pre-modern methods reformed, reformulated and re-emerged as a hybrid system to survive and sustain. The history of snake poison healing in Kerala is sufficient for this argument. The modern and indigenous (consisting of textual and folk) poison healing methods have simultaneously been in existence in the state. The viṣavaidyam (poison treatment), an anti-snake venom treatment practiced by different sections of people with known herbs is plural in nature. However, Ayurveda takes second place in authority and hierarchy of treatments because of the textualization of the treatment methods. Other methods lack such authority. However, due to the presence of poisonous reptiles all over Kerala, the practice of different treatment methods by different castes and communities’ points to the inclusiveness of the poison healing system. In this paper, an attempt has been made to present an overview of the native poison healers and their healing systems in Kerala, with special attention to their traditions and present condition. PubDate: 2023-02-20
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Abstract: Abstract Prafulla Chandra Ray’s contribution to the birth and development of an ‘Indian school of chemistry’ is well documented. But much of this recognition is situated in the realm of the social history of science. My aim in this essay is to view Ray through the lens of intellectual history and, above all, to shed fresh light on his actual contribution to the chemistry of the nitrites of mercury. Toward this end the focus here will be on five of Ray’s earliest papers on this family of compounds. We will see that the received narrative that Ray discovered mercurous nitrite is problematic. Examining the texts of his early papers it will be seen that Ray’s main contributions to the nitrites of mercury were (i) his apparently serendipitous discovery of a method of synthesizing mercurous nitrite; and (ii) the identification of and solutions to a series of interrelated Kuhnian normal science problems pertaining to this family of compounds. Furthermore (iii) the tools of intellectual history will help discern an underlying ‘plot structure’ informing the tenure of his work; and finally (iv) we will see that the centre-periphery model that attends the social historiography of science in colonial and post-colonial India plays no role in illuminating Ray’s early creative work on the nitrites of mercury. PubDate: 2023-02-16
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Abstract: Abstract Since ancient period human beings have been dependent on forest and forest products, which gradually led to the evolvement of indigenous forest management system. The indigenous rulers and people revered the forest and forest products in form of sacred groves, trees and plants. Jhum or shifting cultivation is one such traditional method of cultivation which was favourable for the climate of Assam. Guha and Gadgil argued that in hilly and forestry land, where the plough could not penetrate, led to the adaptation of shifting cultivation in large expanses. For the first time the commercialization of forest products was started by the colonial administrators and for maximum production, science was introduced in the forest management. The application of science could be identified with forest plantation, silviculture, taungya and regulation on forest fires, grazing, wild animals, climbers, insects, parasitic plants and so on. The training programme for British foresters was also introduced. Under the taungya system indigenous people were allowed to cultivate along with the plantation. It firstly, allowed the colonial government to earn revenue and secondly, avoid any rift with the indigenous people. The forest legislations were used as an instrument for the maximum use of forest products by the Colonial Government and to debar the indigenous people’s rights over the access of forest and forest produces. However, the experiments by the colonial ruler led to the transformation of jungle (natural forest) into a more regulated modern forest. The brief report examines the development of scientific forest management practices in colonial Assam. PubDate: 2023-02-13
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Abstract: Abstract This discussion brings about the niceties of some interesting practices related to food and water management that had their origin in the battlefields and military traditions of Rajasthan. From the strategic perspective, the logistics of food and drinks in the battlefields ought to be time saving, soldier friendly and followed by ease of supply. This scientific enquiry systematically unearths the rationale behind these practices and is pertinent to the logistics and strategies and relevant for the contemporary defense science too. Some of these practices could be of great help for an individual soldier as survival tricks too. The prominent food traditions and practices and high incidence of consumption of opium in the present state of Rajasthan trace their historical roots in the battlefields of the past. PubDate: 2023-02-06
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Abstract: Abstract There was a tradition of catching, taming and training elephants in medieval Assam for warfare, transportation, carrying loads etc. Many manuscripts known as the hatiputhi in Assamese language recorded a lot of information about capture, training and treatment of various diseases of elephants. Unfortunately, most of these manuscripts were destroyed or lost due to various reasons. We managed to collect digital versions of four unpublished manuscripts from four different places of Assam written in the old Assamese language using kaitheli script, a common script prevalent at that time. The manuscripts transliterated from kaitheli to modern Assamese script reveal a large number of traditionally used medicines to treat various diseases of elephants. These hatiputhi manuscripts mention the use of 61 ethnozoological animals alone with treatment methods for 21 diseases and deficiencies of elephants. PubDate: 2023-02-06
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Abstract: Abstract This article describes how the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (Willd. ex A. Juss.) (Müll. Arg., family–Euphorbiaceae) which grows wildly in the Amazon forests, came under global focus due to industrial revolution. From 1860 to 1913, since the tree was found only in the Amazon forest, the entire world depended on a few business magnates of that region for rubber. These rubber barons enslaved many local people to extract rubber from the wildly growing trees in the forest since the efforts to grow rubber as plantations failed mainly due to a devastating fungal disease. The rubber slaves recruited to collect rubber latex from the wildly growing trees in the forest went through untold misery. The economy of towns in the Amazonas such as Manaus and Belém, which were located strategically for exporting the extracted rubber by ships, boomed. This monopoly of Amazon’s rubber trade crashed due to the British which itself is an intriguing story. The ‘travel’ of the rubber tree from the Amazon forest to the then Southeast British colonies to be grown as plantations encompasses many fields including biology, sociology, industry, economics and environment. PubDate: 2023-02-06
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Abstract: Abstract Nijaguṇa Śivayog ī was a Liṅgāyata Indian philosopher who flourished sometime between 1250 and 1655 CE. He composed the Viveka-Cintāmaṇi in Kannaḍa. The fifty-nine object-numerals listed in this work by him under the heading gaṇita-sañjñe (mathematical notations) are studied in this paper. Every object-numeral is a bearer of deeply rooted thought in ancient Indian society, be it from the Vedic, paurāṇika, epic, Jaina or Āyurvedic culture. Some of those object-numerals such as vararatna (3), haravaktra (5), artha (6), rājyāṅga (7), sabhāṅga (7), anusvāra (0), nāsti (0), etc. are unusual as their use in ancient and medieval Indian mathematics and astronomy has not yet been reported. The paper also reports the use of object-numerals by the Indian business community in the past. PubDate: 2023-02-06
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Abstract: Abstract Remarkable feats of the past often leave behind historical pointers leaving us mesmerised. One such episode is that of the establishment of a magnetic and meteorological observatory on the peak of the Agasthiyar mountain 6200 feet above the sea level on the western Ghats in the year 1855 by John Allan Broun under the princely state of Travancore. It had facilities far ahead of its times representing the commitment to scientific universalism by its patrons. Broun established the observatory on the Agasthiyar mountain peak and undertook a meticulous study overcoming daunting geographical constrains. Broun was awarded the Keith Medal from the Royal Society of Edinburgh for the period 1859–1861. He received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1878. He passed away in 1879. Remnants of the magnetic observatory which earned Broun scientific acclaim remain undiscovered, clouded within the Agasthiyar mountains. PubDate: 2023-01-24
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Abstract: Abstract Geophysics is relatively a new discipline in comparison to physics or geology. Contrary to general perception as an ancillary to geology, the discipline has been developed with a distinct focus of using the principles and methods of physics for the earth processes. Geophysics was born in the nineteenth century as a necessary element of theoretical geography. Academicians and researchers in the field of geography played chief roles from its birth to its present level of maturity. Historical scholarship in this paper provides an account of the development of the discipline over hundred years from its inception in the early nineteenth century. The article covers, how the discipline was conceptualised and what necessary steps were taken, such as establishing learned societies, publishing technical journals and text books, endowing university chairs, opening up departments and course curriculum, and most importantly, appearing as a primary discipline to cater to exploration for mineral resources. PubDate: 2023-01-17
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Abstract: Abstract The midnight sun is a fascinating phenomenon observed near the Earth’s poles. Whether it is known through observation or through theory, it is bound to provoke one’s curiosity, since it involves the most familiar object in the sky, viz. the sun. This paper seeks to investigate the various ways in which this phenomenon was understood or considered in ancient literature, focusing on Indian astronomical literature. It is found that some texts primarily describe the phenomena at the poles themselves, while the remaining additionally describe the latitudes at which one would see days that are a few months long. A comparison is made across texts in order to facilitate an understanding of the methods and the accuracy of the texts discussed. PubDate: 2022-12-07 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00063-z
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Abstract: Abstract Dr. Gopaul Chunder Roy (1844–1887), MD, FRCS, IMS, was one of the most important and prominent medical scientists of the nineteenth century India, who was a renowned surgeon and made valuable contributions to the understanding of the epidemic ‘Burdwan Fever’ that devastated the lower districts of Bengal province during the latter half of the nineteenth century. A product of the iconic Calcutta Medical College, he obtained an MD from the Glasgow Medical College and became the first native Indian to be awarded an FRCS (by exam) from the Royal College of Surgeons, London. In 1872, he joined the Indian Medical Service and later worked in various districts of Bengal Presidency. Dr. Roy was prolific in scientific publications and between 1866 and 1887, he published more than 70 valuable scientific papers on surgery, cholera, leprosy, filaria, snake venoms etc., but most importantly on Burdwan Fever, a kind of deadly malarial fever. His book on Burdwan Fever (1874, 1876), written based on his extensive personal experience, is still available in print in Europe and the USA. During the epidemic days, Dr. Roy worked tirelessly in Burdwan division and gained important scientific insight about the epidemic. His reputation as a doctor and his contribution to medical sciences were highly appreciated not only in India, but also in Great Britain, the USA and Australia during his lifetime. Unfortunately, Dr. Roy died early at an age of only 43 and today, his name is hardly known outside the academic circle and his contributions are nearly forgotten. Dr. Roy’s name has, of course, frequently featured in contemporary literature on Burdwan Fever, but beyond this, his contributions have hardly been discussed, and no comprehensive biography of Dr. Roy has so far been written. This article is an attempt to explore the importance of the medical works of Dr. Roy in the historical context and to document and compile a comprehensive scientific biography of this important scientific pioneer of the nineteenth century India, lest his contribution fades away from the history of science. PubDate: 2022-11-28 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00065-x
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Abstract: Abstract We present here a brief historical note on the Indian Social Science Academy (ISSA), Allahabad, the only academy for social sciences in India. This academy has been established in 1974 at Allahabad, India. The aim of this note is to bring out information about the history of the ISSA and its academic activities to the scientists, educationists, researchers, engineers and policy makers during this 75th year of our independence. PubDate: 2022-11-21 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00064-y
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Abstract: Abstract British interest in exploration and documentation of Flora Indica did not originate from the scientific interest in plants, but it was the result of exigencies of running the empire. When the civil and military explorers of the East India Company came from an oceanic climate to tropical region like India, they suffered with dysentery and similar other diseases. Subsequently, the quest for local remedies turned out to be the primary motto of the explorers of the Company. The Company asked their botanists and naturalists to explore Indian local remedies and specific plants for dysentery. In this context, William Roxburgh (1751–1815), the founding father of Indian Botany and the Director of Calcutta Botanical Garden, documented plants with astringent, laxative and purgative qualities as these were considered as the basic ingredients for curing dysentery. However, in the historiography on the relationship between disease and imperial exploration, dysentery has not been studied in detail. Subsequently, the contribution of Roxburgh to the field of medical botany is also ignored. Viewed in this context, the present paper deals with the William Roxburgh’s effort in documentation and search of indigenous plants used in the treatment of dysentery. PubDate: 2022-11-21 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00062-0
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Abstract: Abstract This study deals with the collection, preparation and practice of medicine by the tribals (Santals, Munda, Oraons, Sabar and Birhors) of Jungle Mahals in eastern India. This study finds low levels of overlap in medicinal floras even in the case of tribal communities, who are linguistically, culturally, and ecologically very closely related. Thus, the knowledge about many medicinal floras of the healers is greatly local. This medical practice is very popular among the tribal communities who could not afford facilities of western medicine because of their poverty and the high cost of allopathic medicine. PubDate: 2022-11-14 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00068-8
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Abstract: Abstract Banaras also known as Varanasi and Kashi is one of the greatest centres of education and learning since ancient times. The city has been called as ‘The city of temples’, ‘The religious capital of India’, ‘The cultural capital of India’, ‘The city of light’, and ‘The city of learning’. Philosophers, men of science and educationalists have lived and worked here, making Banaras a leading seat of learning. Long before the advent of the modern age, Banaras enthusiastically embraced the learning of mathematics, astronomy and medicine. In this lineage of a tradition of knowledge of the city, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya established Banaras Hindu University in 1916. Among many departments of knowledge at BHU, modern physics was greatly encouraged and promoted by its founder. Malaviya himself exerted to bring many scientists to BHU to enthuse the cultivation of science. Here we will see the story of the physicists appointed in the early years of BHU, who contributed to the world of physics in their own humble right. They did their own small part in physics that helped develop the discipline in India. The paper attempts to unearth a very important and formative slice of India’s history in modern science, exemplified by Banaras Hindu University as a single campus university with both teaching and research in physics. PubDate: 2022-11-08 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00061-1
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Abstract: Abstract Rock painting spans thousands of years of creative efforts and is as diverse as India's cultural practices, literature, and tradition. In India, there are over 1000 rock shelter sites with paintings. Amateurs discovered the majority of these sites. Archibald Carlleyle (1897), a British archaeologist, made the first systematic documentation in the mid-nineteenth century. Since the discovery in 1958 of a large collection of rock paintings found by Wakanakar at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, extensive research projects have been devised speculating on local and regional chronologies and styles. This paper provides a brief overview of Indian rock paintings, assisting readers in comprehending the history and distribution of rock paintings in different regions of India and its painting techniques and materials, pigments and binders, cause of deterioration, and management and conservation. PubDate: 2022-10-25 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00060-2
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Abstract: Abstract This review discusses the use of natural colours in artwork, textile, culture etc. throughout the historical time and their prospective future. The colourful artworks play an important role, as pigment makes paintings vibrant and portrays symbolic meaning of human cultures throughout the world. In primordial times, only natural pigments isolated from different sources (like plants, animals) and minerals were used. From late nineteenth century, the extensive use of synthetic colorants started, which were proved to be hazardous for the environment. In recent times, natural colorants from pigmented bacteria becomes a promising source of eco-friendly colours in terms of sustainable development. PubDate: 2022-10-11 DOI: 10.1007/s43539-022-00059-9
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