Ruchi Ram Sahni and the Pursuit of Science in a Colonial Society

Le résumé fourni par la source

Science, which claimed superiority in terms of knowledge, was ultimately co-opted by the colonial state and helped it to dismiss other epistemologies as primitive. Several colonial scientists felt uncomfortable yet they had to perform a dual role—to serve the colonial state and to pursue their intellectual calling, i.e. the cultivation of science. With the growth of the middle classes under the colonial rule, the reciprocal influence of the cultures of the powerful and the subordinate acquired a new angle. Ruchi Ram Sahni, well-known commentator on Punjabi society, colonial culture and national policies, informs us that the religious boundaries were not rigidly drawn in nineteenth century Punjab. Dissemination of scientific awareness in a colonial society implied theoretical understanding of the subject, ability for its practical application and demonstration and a talent for lucid transmission of factual knowledge to the people with an average intelligence in their own idiom.

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