Communicating Science in India through People’s Science Movements (PSMs)

Abstract

It hardly needs emphasis that People’s Science Movements (PSMs) in India have been very unique and such movements are not seen elsewhere although science popularization/science communication movements were seen in USA, Europe and Australia. Since, PSM as social phenomena have caught our academic fascination, we first tried to characterise the phenomenon and second, tried to locate such phenomena in their historically context, tracing their socio-historical roots. Lastly, through extensive studies of six cases of various types of PSMs (e.g., Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Delhi Science Forum, Jana Vignana Vedika, Paschim Banga Vigyan Manch, Odisha Bigyan Prachar Samiti, and Marathi Vidyan Parishad) we have tried to analyse them from the view point of a social movement perspective, such as the Resource Mobilization Theory.