Bengal occupies a unique place in the history of Indian science. It was here that modern scientific thinking took deep root during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nurtured by the Bengal Renaissance.
Scientists associated with Bengal, who helped accomplish this, were Mahendralal Sircar, Ronald Ross, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Upendranath Brahmachari, C.V. Raman, Meghnad Saha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Satyendra Nath Bose.
Between 1817 and 1931, Bengal witnessed the establishment of Hindoo College, Calcutta Medical College, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, the National Council of Education, the Bengal Technical Institute (which later became Jadavpur University), the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, the University College of Science and Technology, and the Indian Statistical Institute. Together they created an intellectual environment that made Bengal the country’s citadel of science. When the subject of science in Bengal comes up, we take justified pride in our legacy.
History, however glorious, cannot substitute for present achievements. Although Bengal continues to produce scientists of international distinction and research of a high standard is carried out in several institutions across the state, few would now regard Bengal as one of India’s principal scientific hubs. When conversations turn to centres of scientific excellence, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and the National Capital Region dominate the discussion. Calcutta rarely figures in such discussions.
To recover its preeminent position in science, Bengal needs stronger institutions, sustained investment, outstanding leadership and closer links among science, industry and public policy. The challenge is not merely to preserve a distinguished legacy but to build the conditions for a new renaissance.
Invest in institutions
After Independence, industrial and scientific investments increasingly flowed to other parts of India. Only a few major national laboratories were created in emerging scientific areas. As Bengal’s industrial base weakened, university-industry collaboration declined.
The consequences extended beyond infrastructure. Financial constraints limited expansion, recruitment slowed, and many talented researchers left for opportunities elsewhere. Institutions consequently lost mentors, leaders and innovators, creating a cycle that steadily eroded scientific excellence.
Reversing this trend requires more than funding. Recruitment and promotion must be transparent and strictly merit-based, and institutions need accountable leadership committed to scientific excellence. Conditions that enable young scientists to pursue rewarding research careers within the state must be created.
The state’s department of science and technology and biotechnology can strengthen Bengal’s scientific ecosystem through competitive fellowships, start-up grants and early-career awards. Structured mentoring programmes linking senior scientists with younger faculty would further support promising researchers during their formative years.
Scientific research requires patience and sustained investment. Institutions need stable support to attract talent, build infrastructure and pursue long-term goals. While government funding remains the cornerstone, philanthropy, industry, and private foundations can contribute significantly. Regardless of source, funding should be competitive, transparent and based on scientific merit. And, once sanctioned, timely release of funds should be ensured, subject to satisfactory progress.
The most valuable investment is in people. Laboratories can be built quickly, but scientific communities take decades to develop. Retaining talented researchers is therefore essential to Bengal’s scientific future.
Respond to changes
Modern research also depends on infrastructure that barely existed a generation ago. These are no longer optional facilities but essential components of scientific research. Whether studying genomes, designing new materials or modelling climate change, researchers require high-performance computing, specialised software, advanced instrumentation and reliable systems for storing and analysing data. While many states have developed these, scientists in Bengal still struggle to access infrastructure.
Infrastructure alone, however, cannot guarantee excellence. Leaders who understand interdisciplinary science, encourage collaboration across fields and possess the administrative freedom to respond quickly to emerging opportunities are required. Institutional autonomy, accompanied by accountability, is indispensable if scientific creativity is to thrive.
Restructure universities
Universities exist not only to transmit knowledge but also to create it. Students begin to see science not as a collection of facts but as a process of discovery when taught by active researchers. Bengal should therefore identify a small number of universities and help them become internationally competitive research institutions by investing in infrastructure, academic freedom, transparent governance, and merit-based evaluation.
Universities should increasingly organise research around major scientific and societal challenges rather than rigid disciplinary boundaries. Achieving this will require administrative reform, including academic freedom, transparent governance and evaluation systems, and a shift in mindset among university teachers toward interdisciplinary research and innovation.
Transform education
Most changes needed to revitalise science in Bengal must begin in schools. Science education remains dominated by examinations and memorisation, leaving too little room for curiosity, experimentation and problem-solving. Science should instead be taught as a process of inquiry, with greater emphasis on laboratory work, research projects, science clubs and creative learning. Why should students have to spend more hours in coaching classes than in school classrooms?
Universities must also provide broader training before specialisation. Degree programmes that bridge traditional academic boundaries should be encouraged. These reforms are relevant across India, but Bengal, with its long intellectual tradition and established universities, is particularly well placed to lead them. Research ethics must be emphasised.
Rebuild partnership
Scientific research rarely flourishes in isolation from economic activity. The world’s leading innovation hubs have grown where universities, industry and entrepreneurship reinforce one another, and Bengal once exemplified this connection.
By founding Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray demonstrated how scientific knowledge could be translated into socially beneficial products. From affordable disinfectants — lamp brand phenyl — to anti-venom serum that impacted public health, the company showed that science achieves its greatest impact when discoveries move beyond the laboratory.
That tradition has weakened. Bengal no longer enjoys the strong university-industry partnership. To rebuild that tradition, universities should encourage technology transfer and entrepreneurship, while industry must become an active partner in long-term research.
There are already encouraging initiatives in Kolkata that seek to strengthen links between academia and industry. These deserve sustained support and policy stability. Successful innovation ecosystems are built over decades, not a few years. However, university-industry collaboration must not be made mandatory; academic institutions must be free to conduct basic science research.
Attract global Bengalis
Bengal’s scientific diaspora is an extraordinary resource. Bengali scientists work as leaders in institutions and industries worldwide. Visiting professorships, collaborative grants, virtual laboratories, and co-supervision of research students can create productive partnerships. Such initiatives can connect students and researchers in Bengal to global scientific networks. Modern science is global, and Bengal should make its worldwide scientific community an integral part of its future.
Govt must play role
Many of today’s policy challenges in public health, climate change, water security, urban planning, environmental conservation, etc., require decisions grounded in scientific evidence. Bengal should create formal mechanisms for consulting scientists — chosen solely on their scientific expertise, not the proximity of their thought-alignment with the government — during policy formulation. Such collaboration will provide the state with independent advice while enabling science to contribute to society. Good governance depends, in a large measure, on good science.
A new Renaissance
Bengal possesses the intellectual resources to contribute to emerging fields of science. To enable young scientists in Bengal to solve the problems of today with confidence and imagination — and thereby create a new renaissance — sustained investment, institutional reform and imaginative leadership are required. The culture of science must also be deepened by encouraging reason, evidence and open inquiry.
Science transcends laboratories or discoveries. It expands a society’s capacity to understand the world, solve problems and shape its own future. If Bengal succeeds, the rewards will extend well beyond scientific prestige.
A stronger scientific ecosystem would improve education, strengthen healthcare, stimulate innovation, support better public policy and contribute to sustained economic growth.