Public Participation and Citizen Science in India: Roads Not Taken

Abstract

Science policy in India has historically been the domain of experts with little consultation and peoples’ participation. While the new Indian Science, Technology and Innovation Policy offers promise with themes for equity and inclusion, there is a need to fundamentally rethink the contract between science and society and the role of public participation in science in India. People’s Science Movements in India have pointed to many such possibilities in the past but often views outside the formal scientific establishment receive little attention. Insights from a citizen’s manifesto and ongoing debates on citizen science in India show how the relations of science and democracy can be reworked that has implications for India’s science policy. These experiments represent possible roads not taken and highlight the need for greater plurality in alternate futures globally. The critical knowledge dimension of inclusion needs to also be more open to dissenting scientists who have pro-actively engaged with society to shape an alternate science.