India and Displaced German Scientific Workers

Abstract

ALTHOUGH the creation of special posts and the raising of supplementary funcls for research work have alleviated in some degree the difficulties attendant on the absorption of displaced German Jewish teachers and students, these measures have not been adequate to provide for all, or to meet all contingencies. In India, where the appeal on behalf of the displaced workers has met with a sympathetic reception in certain quarters, the posts which might be made available are extremely limited in number, and in the matter of academic and research appointments, India has its own special difficulties which militate against even limited assistance. In each year India produces a relatively large number of men trained in science, including many with qualifications obtained in Europe. In present conditions these find difficulty in obtaining appointments in India. In an interview with Acharya Roy, which appears in the Amrita Bazar Patrika of November 14, relating to the appeal on behalf of Jewish men of science, reference is made to the virtual monopoly enjoyed by Europeans in posts for scientific research in India, against which Indian research students have made way only very slowly in the last fifteen years. Acharya Roy points out that these difficulties would be greatly enhanced if any attempt were made to absorb German men of science, while they might resent being placed in a position of subordination to Indian workers. His attitude towards the employment of Europeans in research in India provides much food for thought, and suggests that the educational situation of the future will call for tactful handling unless Indian education is to suffer. In the course of his interview, however, Acharya Roy does point out a weakness in the position of the European teacher, who, as an exile, looks forward to his return home, and as a foreigner cannot enter intimately into the life of his students.