Knowledge, Democracy And Science Policy: The Missing Dialogue In Globalised India

There is a curious paradox to India’s much celebrated “World’s fastest growing free-market democracy”. Even as this success rides on Indian science and technology prowess notions of democracy are largely missing in Indian science policy processes. This article explores these distortions in science policy and argues that in India’s attempts to integrate with the global economy, closer attention needs to be paid to the democratic aspirations of large numbers of economically poor but knowledge-rich people that science policy makers ignore. The demands for inclusive growth in the 11th Five-Year Plan is possible only if the science and technology component of the Plan sees itself as laying the ground for a dialogue with diverse approaches. The article examines the recent steering committee report on science and technology for the 11th Plan in the light of current debates in innovation theory globally and asks if the steering committee report is out of sync with recent thinking on innovation on the one hand and democratic processes on the other. The article also examines alternate pathways to science policy urging that Indian policy experience needs to learn from a wider set of critical thinking on policy dialogues and public engagement with science in other parts of the world. Reworking the dialogue between knowledge, democracy and science policy in an interconnected world needs to be seen as paramount. Promotion of internal democracy, knowledge dialogues and learning alliances are processes, the article argues, that are as important as greater investments on R&D if India sees itself as realising its knowledge super (soft) power.