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PATRICK BLACKETT IN INDIA: MILITARY CONSULTANT AND SCIENTIFIC INTERVENOR, 1947-72. PART TWOAuthor(s): Robert S. AndersonReviewed work(s):Source: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 53, No. 3 (September 1999),pp. 345-360Published by: The Royal Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41236974 .
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8/17/2019 Patrick Blackett in India Military Consultant and Scientific Intervenor, 1947
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NotesRee. R.
Soc. Lond.
53
(3),
345-359
1999)
© 1999
The
Royal
Society
PATRICK
BLACKETT IN
INDIA: MILITARY
CONSULTANT
AND
SCIENTIFIC
INTERVENOR,
1947-72.PART
TWO
by
Robert S. Anderson
Simon raser
University,
urnaby,
ritish
olumbia,
Canada V5A S6
Summary
Patrick
lackett's
ole s a
military
onsultanto ndiawas described
n
PartOne
of
this
rticle.
utBlackett as and s bestknown
n ndia s an ntervenor
n
scientific
affairsndas an adviser o the esearch
ystem.
ere,
PartTwo showshow
he
came
tounderstandhe
olitical
conomy
f
science,
pecifically
he
olitical
imits f he
influencef he
cientific
ommunity
nd he
way
hat
ery
carce conomic esources
were
or
were
not)
mobilizedwithint.
Fewforeignersaveplayed rolein independentndia such as therole Patrick
Blackett
layed
between
947 and 1972. As
a
military
onsultant1e initiated
debate bout he effective
ole of scientific esearch
n
military evelopment
nd
promoted
he conditions nd careers
f scientists ttached o defence
esearch,
particularlyp
to about1964.Thiswas a
period
f
dramatic
hange
n
ndia,
with n
emphasis
on
comparatively
ow-cost
military evelopmentparticularly
hen
compared
with ater
eriods).
The same
period
lso marked he
steady
ecline
n
India's
foreignxchange
eserves,
nd Blackett nderstood
owthisdeclinewould
influence
trategic rogrammes,
eterminehe evel of
imports
nd establish
he
volume f ubsidiesought y he ndianGovernment.nargumentor self-reliance'
becamemore ndmore
necessary,lthough aradoxically
as
ncreasingly
ifficult
to
put
nto
ractice,
s each
year
went
y.
He
argued
or
and
against)
ew
weapons,
learned ow these
developments
r
purchases
were
financed,
nd
helped
n
some
instanceso make
ppointments
nd close deals. He reinforcedn attitudef
self-
reliance'
n
circulation
n
the
1940s,
rticulated
y
ndian
cientists
ong
before
ny
real
prospect
f
independence
or
ndia,
and which raded n the momentumf
Gandhi'sdeaof self-reliant
ndustry,
ade-at-home
oods,
nd
ndependent-minded
politics.
While Gandhiwould
not have
imagined
his
dea
applied
to
military
development,
ehru ndhis
political
llies/advisersearned hat
t
would
e a
policy
ofnecessity,ecause there ould be few lternatives.tthe same timeBlackett's
independent
iews on nuclear
weapons
and
the
arms
race' was a stimulant
o
345
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346
Robert . Anderson
discussions
ith
Nehru,
omiBhabha ndother cientists. e was a
regular
uest
f
theChiefs f
Staff,
iscussing
oth isarmamentnd armaments.
n this
ense here
was an official
cceptance
f his
presence
nd advice.
During
his
period
ndia
learned owto optimizehepotentialfgreat-powerivalryo obtain avourable
terms
or
ommercialnd
military
ontractsnd
agreements.
Blackett and the
Council for Scientific nd Industrial
Research
What as
gonewrong,
think,
n
ome
overnment
esearchtationss that he
rinciple
f
scientificreedomas
ometimeseen
misapplied
o
mission-orientedand
D,
where
t
s
largelynapplicable.
(Patrick
lackett
971)
It
s not s a
mililtary
onsultant,
ut s an
ntervenor
n
scientificffairsnd
dviser
to
theresearch
ystem
hat
Blackettwas and is best known
n
India. He came to
understandhe
political
conomy
f
science,
pecifically
he
political
imits f
the
influencef
the cientific
ommunity
nd the
way
n
which
ery
carce
conomic
resources ere
or
were
not)
mobilizedwithint.
Although
lackett nd
Bhatnagar
(andNehru)
iscussed he
evelopment
f he
ast
overnment
esearch
rganization,
the
Council f Scientificnd
ndustrial esearch
CSIR),
his
nvolvement
ppears
intermittent
efore 955-56. After he
visit
n
thewinter f
1955-56,
Blackett s
curiously
bsent romndiafor
even
years
according
o
hisown
ecords).
he
1956
Gnatfightereal seems o end thefirst haseofthis nvolvement,hich egan n
1947. Until his sudden
death
in
January
955,
Bhatnagar
was
in
regular
communicationith
lackett,
nd
hey
ometimesoured SIR
laboratories
ogether.
This
s the
period uring
hich
habha,
hatnagar
ndNehru
ormedhe
powerful
triangle
f heAtomic
nergy
ommission,
utwe have ittle
vidence fBlackett's
activities,
f
ny,
n their ehalf.
lackett's
eeper
nvolvementith he
CSIR seems
tooccur fter
963-64,
uring
hich
eriod
iswork
s
military
onsultantecreases.
He
appears
o
have iked
hatnagar
nd
pproved
f he
eneral
irectionf he
CSIR's
evolutions the tate's
pplied
esearch
ystem,
ven
f
he sawresearchhatwas not
being pplied,
r
could
notbe.
In
the
eightyears
hat e knew
him
1947-55),
he
helped
Bhatnagar. hatnagar
aluedBlackett'snfluence ithNehru nd
supplied
Blackett ith he ist f
patents
e
needed
or
study
fdefence
roduction.
hatnagar
worked ard o find
ood
appointments
or is
aboratories
ndwas
ooking
utside
Indiafor andidates. here s no clue
n
the
papers
whether lackett
dvised or r
against
he
ppointment
f
non-Indians,
uthe
certainly
ssisted
hatnagar,
othari
and Bhabha to
identify
andidates
broad,
ften
cting
s a channelfor ndian
applicants.
herefore
n
1951Blackett
nterviewedCanadian
metallurgistorking
in
London,
whowanted o
get ob
in
ndia nd
ettle here
ermanently'.hatnagar
said the new National
Metallurgical aboratory
as
'in
the
charge
f a brilliant
young renchman',ndhewelcomedhe rrival f his anadian,W.K.A.Congreve,
from
ondon,
with lackett's avourable
pinion
asedon a
metallurgistolleague's
expert
ecommendation.2.V.
Hill
played
a
similarrole at this
time, ooking
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Patrick
Blackett n
ndia.
Part two
ЪА1
Figure
.
Discussing
ock
magnetictudy,
962,
ata
nstitute,
ombay:
(left
o
right)
ikram
arabhai,
atrick
lackett,
.R.
Ramanathan,
.W. ahasrabudhe.
Reproduced
ith
ermission
f the ata nstitutefFundamental
esearch,
umbai.
The uthor
ppreciates
hekind
ssistance
f
E.R. Deutsch.
internationallyor oodcandidates orBhatnagar,utof courseHill already ad a
much
onger
nd
deeper
nvolvement
n
he
evelopment
f he
CSIR,
starting
n
1943.3
At
the ame ime lackett as
nspired y
research
roject
n solar
power
t the
National
hysical aboratoryNPL)
in
Delhi,
and went o considerable
engths
o
obtain
rench
eports
or
hatnagar
n
195
1
It s
curious
hatnagar
ouldnot btain
these
irectly,
ecause n
agreement
as
signed
hat
ear
etween rance
nd
ndia
on scientific
ooperation,ncluding
are
arths nd nuclear
ower.4
he NPL solar-
powered
ooker
roject
id notdeliver n its
promise,
utBlackett's
apers
do not
reveal vidence f
Bhatnagar's
mbarrassmentrNehru's
ispleasure
or
he
way
n
which heCSIR as a whole
xaggerated
ts
otential.
lackett's
nvolvement
n
the
NPL
wasto
becomemuch
eeper
n
few
ears.
series f
problems
rosewithinheCSIR
with
espect
o
eadership
f
heNational
hysical aboratory
NPL)
after hedeath
ofK.S.
Krishnan
n
1961,
nd Blackett as
appointed y
theMinister f Scientific
Research nd Cultural ffairs
Humayum
abir)
to conductwhat he
newspapers
called a 'full
enquiry
t NPL'.
Moreover,
ne of thesenews stories aid that
The
Director's
ost
was offeredo
Professorlackettast
year,
ut
he
declinedt.'5 here
is no trace fthis ffer
n
theBlackett
apers
t the
Royal
Society.
This
publicity
rompted
is
old friend rom
ondon,
now
iving
n
Orissa,
he
biologist
.B.S.
Haldane,
o nvite lackett o visit or
discussion bout heCSIR.
With evenyears' experience f living ndworkingntheCSIR, Haldane drew
Blackett'sttentionowhat
emust earn efore e
formedn
opinion
bout he
CSIR,
and
provided
lackett ith he
following
dvice:
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348
Robert . Anderson
I
don't
nvy ouyourob.
Considerableffortsillbe made tthe
op
o
preventou
from
finding
ut he
ruth,
ndwhen
ou
do
get hrough
ounofficialources
ou
willhear ome
outrageous
iesfrom
eople
who annot
magine
n
uncorrupt
eason or
oing
nything.
adviseyou ogethold f he ontractfferedo uniorcientific orkerssuch smyself)
agreeing
o
go anywhere
ta
month'sotice.6
Blackett orked ast tthe
NPL,
and
ubmitted
report
n
a month. e
recommended
reorganization
fthewhole
Laboratory: oving
omeormost f
thosewho
worked
largely
n
basic research o a newCentre
orAdvanced
hysics
t
the
University
f
Delhi;
moving
hose
n
rain
ndcloud
physics
ut othe
Meteorologicalepartment;
moving otential
manufacturing
nits
n
radio,
lass
and ceramics utto
oin
their
industries;
nd
defining
hework
f
remaining
ivisions
ore
learly
hile
nhancing
communication
mong
hem. lackett
ound culturef
dministrative
igidity
n
the
NPL,wheremost eoplefoughtodefine ndprotectheboundaries f theirwork.
He
thought
his ould e
overcome
y
reorganization.
n
effect,
e
said,
heNPL
lacked
purpose.
hiswas nothis
first rushwith
heNPL. He had
earlier riticizedhe
fact
that heCSIR
pressured
ir K.S. Krishnan o
leave basic
research
n
a
university,
offering
ouble
his
professor's
alary,
o ask
him
o
try
o build
research radition
applied
o ndustrial
roblems.
lackett ad seen his
ame
phenomenon
t
Britain's
National
hysical
aboratory
t
Teddington.
othBlackettndA.
V
Hill
criticized
he
practice
n
ndia.D.S. Kotharilso
criticized
hatnagar
or
aking
cientists
way
rom
the
universities,
ut his own
Defence Science
Organization
id
the same
thing.
Bhatanagar
ndKothari
rgued
hat
herewas no other
ource f
competent
eople.
The CSIR struck committee o reviewBlackett's eport,our he abs and
recommend
ow he xecutive
ouncil f heNPL should
espond
o t.
n
April
963,
this
ommittee
eported
o
theExecutive ouncil hat:
TheCommittee
indstself
n
generalgreement
ith
he
pirit
f he lackett
eport.
n
what
follows,
he ommitteeouldike orecordts iews
oncerning
he
mplementation
f hese
ideas.
Its
own ssessment as that:
there hould
e
enough lexibility
o thatwhen n
individual
roject
s taken
p
which
requireshat cientistsrom ifferentisciplinese broughtogether,hen tshould e
possible
odo this
without
ifficulty.
his
spect
as
been
orely
eglected
itherto.
Therewas
an
exception
o their
pproval,
owever,
n
that:
the ommitteeas
not t ll
n
favourf ne
possibility
ndicated
y
Professor
lackett,
hat
of
completely
malgamating
he
proposed
entre orAdvanced
hysics
ith he
Delhi
University.
The
reportuggested
nstead n nstituteike heSaha Institute
n
Calcutta hatwas
autonomous
rom,
ut
very
lose
to,
he
University,
ith
Universityarticipation
n
itsGoverningody.The membersf his ommitteencludedM.G.K. Menon f he
Tata nstitute f
Fundamental esearch
TIFR) (who
authored he
report),
.C.
Majumdar
f
Delhi
University,
.K.
Saha and B.D.
Nag
Chaudhuri f
Calcutta's
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Patrick
lackettn
ndia.Part wo
349
Figure
. Patrick lackett
eering
own 250 metre
recipice
hile
ollecting
ock
amples
nearKhandalan
the
Deccan
Trapsin
n
1962.
Reproduced
ith
ermission
f heTata nstitute
ofFundamental
esearch,
umbai. he uthor
ppreciates
hekind ssistancefE.R.
Deutsch.
Saha nstitutefNuclear
hysics
the atterhree ere tudentsf
Meghnad
aha
plusJ.C.Kapur,W.M.Vaidya nd L.C. Verman.7hisreport roposed hanges hat
did not
lways atisfy
lackett,
nd on his
copy,
esidethe ssue
of theCentre
or
Advanced
hysics,
e noted
All
this oes
not
gree
with
my
ecommendations'.uch
may
e
earned rom
study
f
his
ra
nd
hese ndividuals
n
theNPL. Blackett
as
well ware
f he
omplicated
istoricelations etween niversitiesnd
government
laboratories;
he ouddebatewas about owuniversitiesere
eing eprived
f
good
researchersndthereforeouldnot
demonstrate
ow
good
research as also a form
of
training.
n the ther and herewas criticismhat niversitiesere
nhospitable
to
good
researchersnd hat
overnment
aboratories
ctually
ere he ource fmost
goodresearchn ndia. or historicalxplanationf his ension,ee the ecentssay
by
Raina ndJain.8
The
saga
of theNPL reached
Blackett
gain
ate
n
December
1964,
when he
Director
eneral fthe
CSIR,
Husain
Zaheer,
wrote o him:
I
am
fraidmattersavenot
mprovedery
much
uring
he
ast
year.
he
Director,
hom
we
appointed
ast
October,
ad
ventually
o
be removed
rom
ervice.
hemain efect as
that e
couldnot
get
n wellwith
is
youngerolleagues.
owwe areon the ookout or
appointing
Director.
Thiswas the
Director
rought
n
to
mplement
he
hanges.9
Blackett ad ustbeen nChina and discussedwith aheerhisopinion hat he
Chinesewere
ar dvanced
n
electronicnstruments.
This
was not he
irstime his
warning
ad
been ounded
y
British
hysicist:ewspapershroughout
ndia arried
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350 Robert . Anderson
the Statementf
Blacketťsfriend .D.
Bernal
n
December1954 that China has
mademore
apid rogress
n
science
han
ndia'.
Speaking
n
Madras,
ernal aid his
in
the context f his
support
or
the
'Five
Nehru-Chou
Principles'
and his
condemnationf the armsrace.Nehru,whohad, ikeBernal,ustreturnedrom
China,
was keen omeet
ernal
n
Delhi ohear is
views.)
The 1962
military
onflict
withChina
caused a
rapid
nd
agonizedreappraisal
f India's
development
nd
military
equirements.
omi
Bhabha was
appointed
hairman f an
Electronics
Committee
n
1963,
harged
o
plan
he
mobilization
f
ndian esourcesor ncreased
research,
evelopment
nd
production
n
electronics. aheer
accepted
Blacketťs
warning
bout
heChinese nd
electronics,
nd
quickly
utlinedhe
teps
wo
CSIR
laboratories ere
aking
one
in
electronic
ngineering
n
Palani and theother
n
scientific
nstrumentst
Chandigarh
but
did not dmit
in
his 1964
etter)
hat he
underdevelopmentf thesefunctions as retardingndia.Thereal ssue was not
simply
lectronic
nstrumentsor
esearchers,
r lectronic
ngineering
or
roduction
and
militaryystems,
ut lso consumer
lectronics,
s well s the
upply
nd
delivery
of
lectricity
tself.
lacketťs riend omiBhabha
had
ust
negotiated
ontracts ith
Canada nd he
USA for uclear
eactorshat ere ntendedo
solve his
roblem
nce
and for
ll,
butBlackett new t
wouldbe
many ears
ntil
hey
elivered
ower
o
the
grid.
Blackett
as,
t
this
tage, ewly ppointed
dviser o the
Ministerf Science
n
the
new Labour
Government.is
relationship
ith heCSIR
certainly
ontinued,
although
oon
Blackett ecame
Presidentfthe
RoyalSociety
ndwas even
busier.
Buthe didn't ose nterest.or xample, e received copy f he onfidentialeport
written
y
CG.
Wynne
f
mperial
ollege
or heDirector eneral f he
CSIR about
optical
designing.10
t
the
same
time,
Wynne
lso wroteBlackett
longpersonal
account fhis
visits oNational
eronautics
td,
he
Glass
ndCeramics
nstitutend
commercial
irms,
amenting
he mount f
money
wasted
n
assistance o
ndia nd
the
frustrationf talent
n
research entresike
theGlass and Ceramics nstitute
n
Calcutta.
e said
everyone
n
ndia
recognized
he
trategicecessity
f
developing
a
high-precisionptical
lass ndustry
nd
veryonehought
ndiawas
proceeding
oo
slowly
owardshat
oal,
but
veryone
lamed omeone
lse.This onformedith
he
viewsof a wide
range
f ndian
nd
foreign pinion
n
many
mattersf
strategic
necessity,
nd his
egativepinion
eached he cientific
dvisory
ommitteeothe
Cabinet
n
about
1966-67,
thus
nitiating
review f success and failure
n
the
scientific
nd ndustrial
ommunity.
In
a
way
the
Wynne eport
bout
pticsgave
Blackett is
subject
or heNehru
Memorial
ecture
year
ater. ttended
y
thePrime
Minister,
ndira
Gandhi,
nd
reviewed
n
all
newspapers,
is
ecture alledfor ew
hinking
bout the nnovation
chain'from
esearcho
production,
lbeit
n
a somewhatinear
way
f
hinking
bout
innovation.e wanted
ndustry
n
ndia nvolved
n
the
rocess
f
nnovationromts
inception.
e criticized he
sanctity'
f basic research. he Nehru
Lecture
was
gleefullyeceivednsomegovernmentnd ndustryuarters,ecause t hook hings
up
a bit.
urtheresearch
hould e
done
n
the
ublic
ebate
bout
lacketťs
ecture.
Some
researchers,
hose ives
epended
n
the
sanctity'
fbasic
research,
elt
e had
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Patrick lackett n ndia. Part two
3 5
1
attacked
hem,
nd some
researchers elt
betrayed
ecause Blacketťs
ecture eemed
to undermine
hem,
ven
n
the aboratories
founded
by
Homi Bhabha and so often
visited
by
Blackett
himself.
This was a
widespread
reaction
among
researchers
knew
in
India,
both
in
Bombay
and
Calcutta.
He
probably
never heard
this
view and
would not
understand
that
researchers
'in
the ranks'
thought
the
support
orbasic
research
was
fragile.
He
was now
communicating
t a
level
very
far
removed fromresearchersin theranks',
and
to
him t
appeared,
ven
after
habha s
death
in
1966,
that
support
for
basic
research was
sufficiently trong.
A
few
days
after
he lecture
he wrote
to
Atma
Ram,
Director
General
of the
CSIR: '...it
has been
quite
clear
in recent
months hat
our
ways
of
thinking
re
very
imilar
..
I
do
realise
the
difficulty
ou
will have
in
guiding
ndian
policy
n
a new
direction'.11
Blacketthadnot so publicly ttackedwhat
he
viewed as
the irrelevance
of
much
research
n
ndia,
ncluding
asic
research,
up
to this date.
This
was an
extraordinary
Figure
. Patrick
lackett
bserving
ava
flows
orbirds)
ear
Khandala,
n 1962.
Reproduced
ith
ermission
f he
ata
InstitutefFundamentalesearch,
Mumbai.
he uthor
ppreciates
hekind
assistance
fE.R. Deutsch.
period
n
ndia
because
here as
uncertainty
round
he1967election
nd
he
upee
had
ust
been
devalued.
The brief
hrill f the
1965
war with
Pakistan
ad
been
forgotten,eplaced
y
oncern
bout
severe
rought
nd
famine
n
Bihar
nd astern
Uttar
radesh,
onfrontation
ith he
American
resident
nd the
death
f
Prime
Minister
hastri
n
1966.
Foreign
xchange
eserves
ad fallen
o their owest
evel
since ndependence.hesecretly lanned ndmanaged
evaluation
f the
rupee
n
June 966
from s 4.76
to Rs 7.50
to theUS
dollar
Rs
13.33 to
Rs
21
to
theUK
pound)
aused
massive
urtailment
f
mportation
f ndustrial
nd
cientific
upplies
and
quipment
among
ther ssential
tems).
t
also
brought
ven
trongerressures
for elf-reliance
nd
mport
ubstitution.
lacketťs
ehru
ecture
ight
months
ater,
with ts
call formore
realistic
hinking
bout
nnovation,
layed
n
the
historical
sensitivity
mong
lites
hatwas
caused
by
these ther
vents.
Blacketťs
nfluencextended
ight
nto he aboratories
t this
ime;
or
xample,
toAtma
Ram,
he criticized
the therwise
xcellent
man
Varma,
alkingightly
bout
starting
o
design
n electron
icroscope
t
NPL.
It
seems
hat ll
you
nd
have
been
sayingasnot een akenn t ll'.12 is nfluencelsoreached elhiUniversity,here
Blackett ad
been nvolved
n
planning
transfer
f a small
obsolete?)
ccelerator
from heCavendish
aboratoriest
Cambridge
o
Delhi;
at
first lackett
hought
t
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352 RobertS. Anderson
would be a
good
machinefor
raining urposes,
buthe examined he
project arefully
when he visited ndia
only
to
realize:
that hemachine as asked or ot yphysicistst all but y ngineershowantedome
way
f
playing
round
ith
igh oltages.
do not
hink
hey
hould e allowed
o
do
this,
as the
echniques
ave lmost o
relevance
n
ny
ther ranch
f
ngineering.
hefact hat
they
houldwant o do this
hows, think,
he
nderlying
rive owards
restigeubjects,
whichs
quite danger
n
ndia s well s here.13
Was this emark
boutdisdain or
ngineers?
bout
preference
or
raining
ersus
'playing
round'?About
onquering
he
mpulse
or
restige? lthough
t
s difficult
to
ay,
thinkt
s about lackett
rying
o
help
AtmaRam
fight
ntrepreneurial
chaos'
and
bring
rder
nd control
n
his'
laboratories,
s much s it is about
voiding
unnecessarymportation.
am was
entering period
of confrontation
including
threatsfresignation)ith number fhis directorsf aboratories.
Right
hrough
his
usyperiod
Blackett
ept p
with
orrespondence
nd
visits,
until is final
isit
n
1971at
age
73. The
astvisitwas a nine-weekour
hrough
he
heat f ndia
n
March-May
971 While
here,
n
March,
e
observed
he
e-election
ofhis old
friendndira
Gandhi s PrimeMinister.rior o Blackett's
ourney,
tma
Ram's
ntentiono
resign
s
DirectorGeneral f the CSIR had been
signalled
o
Blackett,
nd he
pportunity
rose o
appoint
omeone
ounger.
ith reduction
f
his
military
ontacts,
lackettoured
ll
hisfamiliarcientificites uch s TIFR
and
the
NPL,
plus
new nes
ike he
pace
Research
entrendBharat
eavy
lectronics,
and a
dozen CSIR
institutes.e met hemost
powerful erson
n
Indian
cience,
Vikramarabhai; lsoM.G.K.Menon,Y.Nayudammawhosoon succeededAtma
Ram at the
CSIR)
and Pitambar antof the
Planning
ommission.
e toured he
Trombay
tomicResearch
entre
renamed
fter
habha)
with
he stronomer.
Chandrasekharrom
he
University
f
Chicago,
omeone e hadknown
ince
he
arly
1930s.
Although
he
CSIR
paid
he
xpenses
fBlackett
nd
his
wife ostanza n this
last
ourney,
e was also
invited o advise the ndianStatisticalnstitute
by
P.C.
Mahalanobis)
and the
University
rantsCommission
by
D.S.
Kothari).
His
conversationsith ndira
andhiwould ave hown lackett
hat
hough
heretained
her ather's
espect
or
cience nd
cientists,
hehad lso earned lotfromhe ebate
that
radually
inked science' more
trongly
o
'technology'.
ndiraGandhiwas
determinedo see more
ractical
esults
rom
he tate'smassivenvestment
n
cience-
based
ndustries.
his
was
the
equest
he
evidently
ade o Blackett o
help
her,
s
is shown elow.Whereas er atherad
ligned
ciencewitheducation' nd
culture',
Indira
Gandhi
ligned
science'with
technology'.
he
was also
prepared
o
redesign
institutionso achieve
this,and,
ike her
father,
ook a direct nterest
n
key
appointments.
or
example, uring
971,
he
agreed
hat he dministrationf the
Atomic
nergy
nd
Space programmes
hould e divided
nd that arabhai hould
stick o
space.
Various
aboratory
irectors rote o
him n
1971,
while
n
ndia nd
afterwards,
to askhim opersuadeAtmaRam topromoteheirbjectives,mproveiaisonwith
CSIR
headquarters
n
Delhi,
nd
provide
more reedomor heircientists
o nnovate.
Basically hey
ere
obbying,
bout
which lackett rote
o
Atma
Ram ater.Without
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Patrick lackettn ndia.Part wo 353
being pposed
o their
leas,
he said the entral
roblem acing
SIR
laboratoriess
that
hey
ave:
shown tendencyoward ather asic research ithoutlways avingnyvery efinite
practicaloal.
ome f hework eems
ome obe
more uitable or
niversityepartments
than
or
overnment
esearch
tations,
hich ere
ndoubtedly
et
p
with he
eneral
oal
of
producing
ractical
esults
f use to
industry
nd
agriculture.
his
tendency
owards
purity
s
by
nomeans
nly
o
be
found
n
ndia
he
henmentioned
he
endency
n
he
UK].
I
thinkherere womain
easons or
his rifto
purity.
ne s that
t s often
much asier
todo
good
asic esearch
han
ood
pplied
esearchf nterest
o
ndustry.
he econd
eason
is the
widespread
isapplication
in my
view)
of the
principle
f the
mportance
f the
'freedom
f cience'
..
In
the ield
fbasic
uriosity-driven
esearch,
t s
fully
stablished
that
ble
esearch
orkershould
e
given
he
reatestossible
reedom
o
plan
nd
xecute
their wn
esearch.
What as
gone
wrong,
think,
n
some
government
esearch
tations
is that
he
rinciple
f cientific
reedom
as ometimeseen
pplied
omission-oriented
andD,wheret slargelynapplicable,nsteadfonly ocuriosityandD wheretdoes
apply.14
In
particular,
e said
that ome
aboratories:
do not
lways
eem o
understand
he
mportance
f
directing
ork
owards
market
requirement
nd lose ollaboration
ith
ndustry,
nd o
are
urprised
hen
heir ork
s
wasted.
hen here
re ome
ndividuals
n
ertain
tations
hodon't eem
obe
trying
ery
hard odo
anything
seful
ut
hinkt s more
mportant
o advance asic
research.
His recommendations
gain
pointed
o
strengthening
he
powers
f
the
Governing
BodyoftheCSIR over he trategicirectionf ts aboratoriesleaving he actics
'firmly
n
the handsof
the
directors').
e said
India should
tudy
ow
Harwell
Atomic
Research
entre nd
ndustry
ooperated,
nd how
government
unds
were
available
to
industry
cientists
not ust
to
government
cientists)
o fund
his
cooperation.
He
praised
the Central
Leather
Research
Institute
directed
by
Nayudamma)
or
ppointing
our conomists
o its
staff,
hus
providing
t
with
n
understanding
f tsmarkets
nd
clients
uperior
o other
SIR laboratories.
e did
not
exempt
ndustry
rom
riticism,
aying
the
backwardness
f much
of Indian
industry
tself was
partly
o blame.
But
Blackett
ointed
o a CSIR
study
f 10
years' xperience ith£10million xpendituren 23 industrialilotplants,which
concluded hat
he
plants
brought
n
ittle inancial
eturn'.
This last touroccurred
n
the
middleof
a Review
Commission
f
the CSIR
conducted
y
retired ustice
arkar,
o which
lackett
imself
madea
presentation,
andBlackettsked
he
High
Commissioner
n
London
n
September
971
for n
early
copy
f he arkar
ommission's
eport.
his s
furthervidence
hat t
age
73
he was
passionately
nterested
n ndia nd
njoyed
is
nfluence
n ts
cientific
ommunity.
He felt he cientific
ommunity
ad reached
certain
maturity
nd should
e
able
totackle
he
ractical
roblems
hat
onfronted
ndia,
amely overty
nd
population.
Blackett
iscussed
hiswith
rimeMinister
andhi,
hom e had
now
known or
4
years sinceshe was 30 yearsold). Before eaving ndiain 1971,he thuswrote
personally
o
AtmaRamto
propose
new
dvisory roup
or
he
Prime
Minister,
o
advise
her:
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354
Robert . Anderson
about he reas
n
which fforts
hould e most oncentrated
in
way,
'task
aying
own
body'.
n
order
hat
&
D would ave relationoeconomic
rowth,
his
ody
hould ave
an economistn
t,
nd o
ensure
mplementation
f
he
ssignments
houldnclude
high
official. Thisworkhould ot ehamperednthe leaoffreedomor cientists.tmust
be
appreciated
hat cientistsrenot ree odo whatever
hey
ish,
ertainly
ot
n
he ield
of
pplied
cience...
In
orderhathis
valuationf
resent
ctivities
nd
ssignment
ffuture
tasks s done
nhampered
nd
xpeditiously,
o
obbying
hould e
allowed
nd he
ssues
should ot e
bogged
own
n
hose
uperficial
iscussionsnd o nd
fro
rguments
hich
can
lways
e
produced.
he
takesre
high,
imes
short,
nd heres
no
room or
rrelevant
arguments.
owwhen onditionsavebeen
reated
n
the
ountry,
hankso the
hinking
generatedecently,
his s the
pportunity
o
give
oncrete
hape
o the
R
&
D
related o
economic
rowth.
ven n allocation
f
resources,
tthemost 0-20%
may
e earmarked
for asic
esearch,
he
est
hould e devotedo
pplied
ork
earing
neconomic
rowth.15
Thiswas the ld voiceofBlackettrom he ate 1930s 'thestakes rehigh,he ime
is
short')
drawing
n his
wartime
xperience dvising
he Cabinet in
which,
nevertheless,
herewere often to
and fro
rguments',
ewof
whichwere
really
'irrelevant'venwhen e
disagreed
ith hem. lackett's
ole
n
the
trategicombing
controversy
f he econd
WorldWar s a
perfectxample.
Blackett as not
lone
n
his criticism
f the cientific
ommunity. riting
rom
New
York,
Mahalanobis arned lacketthat
e didnot ikewhatwas
going
n n
ndia:
'Indian cience s
in
a state f
confusion. The mmediate
uture oes not ook too
bright.
because
we still emain
structuredierarchical
ystem.'16y
now
Blackett
wouldhavebeen t
ease with
ierarchies,
aving
een o
long
t
their
op.
His naval
experience avehima permanentcaptainof theship' outlook n each of his
institutional
ositions.
lackett,
owever,
emainedn
optimist
bout
ndia,
eady
o
try
ew
hings.
s an
example,
hile
residentf he
Royal
ociety,
e
promoted
new
School f
Genetics n the
ampus
f he
ndian tatisticalnstitute
n
Calcutta
uring
1969-70,
efore
Mahalanobis ied.Thiswas the
ery
nstitute
here lackett'sriend
J.B.S.Haldanehad first
one
o workwhen e eft ritain o ive
n
ndia
n
1956.
Blackett
and
Vikram arabhai
Quite
ar romhe
olitics
f he
CSIR,
Blackett adformed
friendship
ith ikram
Sarabhai,
he
Cambridge-trained
hysicist
howas
appointed
habha's uccessor s
Secretary
o he
Department
fAtomic
nergy
n 1966.
arabhai tudiedt
Cambridge
as a
teenager
nd then eturnedfter he
war to
complete
is doctorate
n
1947.
Because hewarhad
hanged
he
omposition
f he
hysics epartment
t
Cambridge
so
greatly,
herewas no one
present
o examine arabhais thesis
n
cosmic
ray
physics.
o Blackett as asked o
be the xaminernd Sarabhai
aged 28)
was sent
to
Manchester or he
examination.
videntlyhey ot
on
well,
because Sarabhai
becameknown
n
theBlackett
ousehold s
'my
father'student'.
hey
met
n
ndia
in1948, nd 10yearsater lackett ent oAhmedabado dine tthe arabhai ouse
and ee the
hysical
esearch
aboratory
hat arabhai as
building.erhaps
lackett
recognized
hatVikram
arabhai,
whowas then
9,
wouldbe an
important
orce
n
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Patrick lackettn ndia.Part wo
355
science
n
ndia.He
may
haveheard hat arabhai ad beendiscussed or
possible
role
n
the
CSIR after
hatnagar's
udden
eath
n
1955.After
inner,
arabhai
wrote
to Blackett o discuss
heirmutual nterest
n
the
explanation
f the atitude ffect
anomaliesnthe
ivergence
f he ctual errestrialagneticields romn deal ingle
dipóle
ield. arabhai
as
beginning
odirect is
gaze
to
ndia's
ole
n
pace.
A
further
dinner
n
Londonwas
proposed
o
talk boutState
upport
or cientific
esearch,
becauseSarabhai
was
building
n
industry-funded
extile
esearch
aboratory
t the
time ndhisown
hysics
aboratory.17
lackett
rew
o ike arabhai nd aw
him
when
he
was
in
India or
in
London. He wrote
moving bituary
orSarabhai
t the
internationalosmic
ay
onference
n
Jaipur.
nfortunately,
here
reno otheretters
between he wo
men
n
the
Royal
Society
rchives.
PatrickBlackett
and Homi
Bhabha
Along
with
heirovefor
hysics,
lackett
nd
Bhabha hared
loveformountains.
When
hese
leasures
ere
ombined,
he
oy
was
great.
hey
oth isited
he osmic
ray
aboratoryp
n
the
Alps.
Blackett
rote o Bhabha
n
195
1
wehave
early
0
photographs
f
V tracksrom
he icdu
Midi nd
t
ooks
s f herere
at east hree
eparate
eutral
asses,
wo
eing reater
han
rotonic
ass
Herr ott
certainly
asmade
heworld
eryomplicated.18
Longforgottenas thedisagreementver hemassofthepenetratingomponentf
cosmic
ays
t sea level.
Little id Blackett
now
hat his s where
habha's
lane
would rash
15
years
ater.
n
February
955,
Dag
Hammerskjold
nnounced
hat
Bhabhawould
be the
president
f the
first N conference
n the
peaceful
ses
of
atomic
nergy
n
Geneva
hat
ear.
W.Bennett-Lewis
fAtomic
nergy
anada
Ltd
was on
the
planning
ommittee
or he
conference,
nd
the discussion
f
Indo-
Canadian
ooperation
lossomed etween
hem
here. onsiderable
ressure
ad
been
brought
rom ehru
hrough
rishna
Menon
then
n
New
York)
o ensure
hat
someone
Bhabha?)
from
'neutral'
ountry
ouldbe chairman.
n
the nd
British
supportorBhabhawas decisive.Nehru abledBhabha nGenevagiving
im
full
freedomo
negotiate
he erms
f collaboration
ithCanada
on theCanada-India
Reactor.
hough
more
eavily
nvolved ith
he ndian
military
tthis
ime,
lackett
helped
habha et
up
a
geomagnetic
aboratory
n
a barrack ut tthe
TIFR in
1955,
before
he ew
building
as
completed.
lackett as
deeply
nvolved
n
researchbout
geomagnetic
eversal.
hey rought
.R. Deutsch
f
mperial
ollege
othe
TIFR for
a
year
o
calibratend rain
eople
with
he
ery
ensitive
agnetometer
hat lackett
had
developed.
t
was
a favouritexhibit
f the
Krushchev-Bulganin
isit o
the
TIFR in
Novemberhat
ear,
ndcontinued
unctioning
or
many
more
years.
By
theend of
1955 theUSA and
USSR had
exploded
othfission
nd fusion
(thermonuclear)ombs, ndtheUK hadexplodedhree ission ombs.Bhabha nd
Blackett
ad formed he
opinion
hat hese
were
unlikely
ver o be
used
in
war.
Evidentlyhey
lso
agreed
with
heviewthat he
original
iroshima
nd
Nagasaki
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356
Robert . Anderson
bombs ad
been
nnecessary.erhaps
habha ad
grown
o
ccept
lackett's946view
that hese ombs
were hefirst ct
n
a
cold
diplomatic
ar
with
Russia,
o imit
he
USSR's
expansion
n
Asia.
It
should e rememberedhat venfor
eople
with heir
connectionse.g.both f hem new obert ppenheimerell), heManhattanroject
evidence efore
August
1945 was still
ecret,
nd thus heir
nterpretation
fthat
situation ouldhave been based on an
understanding
hat ome of thefactswere
concealed rom
hem.)
herefore,
hen n authoritativemerican ource evealed
something
t
was
consideredaluable. habhawrote oBlackett
uoting
ith
pproval
the iews fAdmiralWilliam
eahy,
heChief fStaff ho erved nder oth
resident
Roosevelt ndPresident
ruman,
hat he tomic ombwas not
actically ecessary.
Although
his s now learer han
t
was
then,
e
should
ot
miss
he
oint
meaning
that habhawas
well-informednddid
not
elieve ome f he
mythologyurrounding
theuse of thebomb ntheending fthewar.19 oreover,t the ime, habhawas
participating
n
a
year-long
eview f
declassifiedvidence
n
theuse and
effectsf
nuclear
xplosions,
ublishedy
he
Governmentf ndiawith Foreword
y
Nehru.20
BecauseBhabha onfided
n
him,
lackett
ept
breast f urrent
trategichinking
in
Delhi and n
atomic
nergy/nucleareapons
ircles
lsewhere.
think
his
arger
view was made
possible,despite
heir
ifferences,
y
a common
ackground
n
physics
nd sense f
belonging
oan
nternational
ommunity
f cientists.lackett's
passionate
nterestn
the role of
science nd
technology
n
developing
ountries
matched habhas.
Blackett's ole
n
strategy
atched ehru's ndBhabha's ecause
he
probably
new
hingshey
id
not,
ven
n
the ate 1950s nd
early
960swhen e
is said ohavebeen ut f heBritisholicy oop.AccordingoNye,Blackett ealized
in
the
arly
950s hat e
underestimatedhe ethal ffectsfradioactive
allout nd
the
apid evelopment
f
missiles ble to deliver mall
hydrogen
ombs.
However,
Blackettontinuedo
argue uring
he
1950s nd 1960s hat onventionalnd
nuclear
disarmamenthould
e
negotiated
n
parallel.'21
do notknowwhat
Blackett ould
have
hought
f
heknew hat isfriend omi
Bhabhawas
the
erson
ho,
adhe
ived,
would
have
been in
charge
f the decisionto
testnuclear
weapons
n
1974,
n
consultationith
he rimeMinister.t
s
nteresting
onote hat
lackettried
o
bring
Bhabha nto he
ugwash
onference
n
1961.
Bhabha
eplied
hat
t
would ake
him
too
long
to
study
he ssues for hat
articular eeting
nd nstead
ecommended
Vikram arabhai.
y
this
ime,
habha
was, think,
ore
aught
n n official et han
he realized ndfelt
onstrainedo
speak
ven
mong
cientistsboutnuclear
olicy.
Indiawas
taking
strong
tand
or isarmament
n
theTest-Ban
reaty egotiations
in
1961,
and whenBhabha
spoke,
even
nformally,
t
reflected ational
olicy.
Nevertheless,
habha
rranged
nd attended lecture
y
Blackett
n
Delhi n
early
1962 on
Military
olicy
nd
disarmament',
nd
he
andBlackett idboth ttend he
Pugwash
meetings
n
1963.
One
year
ater,
fter ehru's
eath,
he
first
hinese
tomic
ombwas
exploded
in
October
1964. Bhabha
complained
hat herewas no
protection
or ountries
capable fmakingtomic ombs utwhich adrefrainedromoing o. He saidthat
a climate
avourableo such ountries ust e created
mmediately.
habha
robably
got
the new Prime
Minister's
greement
o a
project
hat
prepared
ndia for n
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Patrick lackettn ndia.Part wo 357
underground
uclear
xplosion,
n
ate
1964.
A
fewmonths
ater habha nnounced
that ndia ould
make nuclear omb
n
18
months,
aying
'We are still
18 months
away
rom
xploding
ither bomb
r device
or
eaceful urposes,
ndwe are
doing
nothingoreduce hat eriod." ighteen onths as the igurerBhabha ited year
ago
andhe said
the ituation
ad not
hanged
ince hen.'22
What lackett
might
othaveunderstood
r
accepted
t the
imewas that
uclear
weapons
were
ecoming
een
n
ndia s a
great ymbol
fnational
restige,
symbol
around hich
olitical
arties
nd
non-political
roups
would
graduallyoin
together
people
ofotherwise
iffering
iews.
Of course
herewere ther
motivations,
ut
his
one
was crucial.
t s not lear
what
osition
lackett ook
with
espect
o Bhabha
s
preparations
or
uclear ests
n
1964-65,
but
t
s
highly
nlikely
hat
hey
ailed
o
discuss
hem. he
question
f
national
restige
ad
confronted
lackett
efore,
n
Britain's uclearweapons rogramme,ndhe hadargued gainst restigehere oo.
It
was
finally
t Bhabha
s unfortunate
eath
n
an aircrash
n
the Swiss
Alps
in
1966
at which
herewas
little
pportunity
or
Blackett
o mourn
that riends
f
Bhabha
were rawn
loser
ogether.
lackett
poke
n the adio
most
eelingly
bout
Bhabha;
his
may
havebeen
re-broadcast
n
ndia,
nd
was
certainly idely
uoted
in
ndian
apers,
ecause
Bhabha
was
considered
national
ero. etters
ere ent
to
Blackett,
hanking
im
for
his
speech,
nd
recognizing
hat lackett
imself
ad
lost
special
riend;
etters
ame
frommen
ndwomen
who iked
habha
reatly,
ike
thenew
Prime
Ministerndira
andhi.
lackett
as dentified
n
these etters
s a true
friend
f
ndia,
n an emotional
evel.
Blackett
new e
hadbeen
ough
n ndia
nd
hadopenlyhown isfrustrationithts onditions.tthe ame ime, e hadcreated
a circle f ffection
hrough
is
friendships
here,
ndhadfound
alentednd
ffective
people
who
were
doing
hekind
f
things
e believed
n. His
wife,
ady
Costanza
Blackett,
aid
that
n
the
ater
ears
fhis
ifehe cared
more
assionately
bout
his
work
n
ndia
han e did
aboutmost
ther
hings.23
Blackett' s
legacy
It s for istoriansnd scientistsf ndia otryo udgewhatBlackettchieved
n
India and
what
onsequences
is work
had. We
know ittle f
how Blackett
was
appraised
utside
he harmed
ircle
n
which
e
normally
oved,
ndwe
know
hat
historical
esearchs
necessary
ounderstand
ow his ew
ype
fdefence
onsultant
was
viewed
y
others.
f
Britain
madeuse
of Blackett
s a source
f
ntelligence
n
this
eriod,
e do
not
yet
now
ow.
The evidence
ere hows
hatwhatever
lackett
achieved,
e did so
only hrough
ooperation
ith
number f
powerful
eople
nd
through
he
prestige
e
brought
rom ritish
cience and
politics.
His
worldly
reputation
s a
consultant,
term e
himself
sed,
ays
great
eal bout
he
ontinuity
and nterconnection
fthe ndian
nd British
cientific,
ilitary
nd
political
lites
at thetime. t also saysmuch bout ndian wareness f British olitics ndthe
continuing
ndian
articipation
n
British
nstitutions
uch s
the
Royal
Society
nd
universities
uch s
Cambridge.
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358
Robert .
Anderson
This
tory
uggests
hat here
s sometimes
n
nteresting,
reativend
useful ole
for utsiders
s intermediaries.
f,
n
another0
years,
e ook
backon Blackett's
ole
in
this ormative
eriod,
think
e
would ind hat
is
objectives
o
be
enduring.
hat
is, o mproveheworkingonditionsfpeopledoing esearch,odistinguisharefully
between
he
bjectives
f
nstitutions,
ocut
way
he
ureaucraticrambles
hat
row
up
around
he
practice
f
research,
o
think
arefully
bout
he
things
hat an be
developed ocally
nstead f
being mported
nd to balance
the State's nsatiable
desire or echnical
restige
ith
nhancing
rdinaryeoples'
abilities
o
provide
better
ife or
hemselves.
Not
ong
fter habha's
eath,
hen
lackett eceived
isOrder fMerit
n
1967,
he received letter
rom enior ivil
servant,
J. Kidwai. His
words
apture
he
perspective
n
which
atrick lackett as
viewed
y
a certain
eneration
s
part
f
the ineage fpeople onsidereds friendsf ndia. t alsocaptureshe piritnwhich
he seems ohave
gone
bout iswork.To no other
eople
utside
his
ountry',ays
Kidwai,
have
yougiven
he ame ense f
belonging.
ndno oneafter arold aski
has
had
the ame
mpact
n ndianminds s
you.'24
Visits
by PatrickBlackett to
India
According
o hisnote
n
theBlackett
apers, oyalSociety,
atrick lackett
isited
India
n
1947,
1948,1950,1953,1954,1955,
1963,1964,1965,1966,
1967 nd
1971.
Institutionsisited
usuallymany
imes)
Universities
Delhi,
Bombay,
alcutta,Madras,
tc.);
Tata nstitutefFundamental
Research,
ombay;
aha Institutef Nuclear
Physics,
alcutta;
ndian nstitutef
Science,
Bangalore;
Indian
Statistical
nstitute,
alcutta;
Physical
Research
Laboratory,
hmedabad;
ll Laboratories
ftheCouncil
f Scientificnd ndustrial
Research,
.g.
Glass
and
Ceramics,
etallurgy,
oads,
National
hysical
aboratory,
National Chemical
Laboratory,
National Aeronautical
Laboratory,
National
Metallurgicalaboratory;
ll Defence aboratories
nd ll Defence roductionites.
Acknowledgements
I thank he
Royal Society
or
permission
o
quote
from heBlackett
apers
n
its
Archives,
nd Sandra
Cumming
nd
Mary
Sampson
or
heir ind ssistance.
his
essay
is
drawn
from
my arger
work
entitled
Nucleus and
nation:
scientists,
international
etworb nd
power
n ndia
forthcoming,
999),
nd for easons
f
space
cannot
upply
he
necessary
ut
arger
ontext
or his
ortrait
fBlackett. he
majorpublished tudy
f
Blackett
s
by
Sir Bernard
ovell,
P.M.S. Blackett-
biographical emorial.amgratefulo Professorovellfor onversationsith im
onthis
ubject.
ermission
as
granted
y
he
Tata nstitute
fFundamental
esearch,
Mumbai,
or
eproduction
f
photographs.
am
grateful
o E.R.
Deutsch or is
kind
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Patrick lackettn ndia.Part wo 359
cooperation.
wo conferencesn Blackett
n
1998,
one
by
the
Royal
Society
t
Imperial
ollege,
London,
nd theother
y
the
RoyalNavy
t
Magdalene
College,
Cambridge,
ave
benefited
e
enormously,
nd
gratefullycknowledge
he
nsights
and nformationhat receivedhere,ncludingrom icholasBlackettndGiovanna
Bloor.For further
nformationee
thecollection f
essays
bout
Blackett,
atrick
Blackett:
ord,
rofessor,
ieutenant,
hich
willbe edited
y
Peter ore nd
published
in
2000
by
the
Royal
Naval Museum.
This research
was
completed
while was
Visiting
ellow t
Corpus
hristi
ollege,
ambridge.
his
ssay
s
necessarily
ork-
in-progress:
here
may
be other
nseendocuments
nd etters hat
if
known)
may
change
or
contradict he
picture
drawn
here.
I
alone am
responsible
for
the
interpretation
havemade.
Notes
1
R.S.
Anderson,
Patrticklackett
n
India:
military
onsultant
nd scientific
ntervenor.
Part
ne',
Notes ee.
R. Soc. Lond.
3,
253-273
1999).
2 S.S.
Bhatnagar
oP.M.S.
lackett,
2
April
5
1
P.M.S.Blackett
oS.S.
Bhatangar
7
April
1951;
Royal ociety
rchive.
3
The
relationship
etween
ill
nd
Bhatnagar
s
one
of he hemes
f
my
orthcoming
ook
Nucleus
ndnation:
cientists,
nternational
etworksnd
power
n ndia.
4
On
the
history
f
he olar
ower
esearcht
the
NPL,
see S.
Visvanathan,
rganising
or
science
Delhi,
Oxford
niversity
ress,
985).
5 The tatesmanCalcutta),4January63
6 J.B.S.Haldane
o P.M.S.
Blackett,
5
January
963,
Royal
Society
Archives.
n
the
relationships
etween
lackett,
ernal nd
Haldane,
ee G.
Wersky,
hevisible
ollege:
collective
iographyf
ritish
cientists
nd ocialists
f
he 930s
London,
reeAssociation
Books,
988).
ee also
B. Swan nd
F.
Aprahamian
eds)
D. Bernal:
life
n
cience nd
politics.
Verso,
ondon,
999).
7 M.G.K.
Menon t
l,
Report
o he xecutive
ouncil,
ational
hysical
aboratory,
April
1963,
Royal ociety
rchives..
8 D. Raina nd
A.
Jain,
Big
science
nd he
niversity
n
ndia',
n
J.
Krige
ndD. Pestře
eds)
Science
nthe wentieth
enturyLondon,
arwood
cademic
ublishers,
997).
9 H. Zaheer oP.M.S.
Blackett,
December
964,
Royal ociety
rchives.
1
CG.
Wynne,
eport
n
Optical
esigning,
or he
SIR,
June
66,
Royal ociety
rchives.
11 P.M.S.BlackettoArma am, December967,Royal ociety rchives.
12
P.M.S.
Blacketto
Atma
am,
December
967,
Royal
ociety
rchives.
13 P.M.S.BlackettoAJ.
Kidwai,
9 November
967,
Royal
ociety
rchives.
14 P.M.S.
Blackett,
eport
othe everhulme
rust,
2
May
1971,
Royal
ociety
rchives.
15
P.M.S.
Blackett,
Personal
otes
Atma
Ram',
no
date,
robably
pril-May
971,
Royal
Society
rchives.
16 P.C.Mahalanobis
oP.M.S.
Blackett,
9 June
971,
Royal ociety
rchives.
17
V
Sarabhai
oP.M.S.
Blackett,
4
February
958,
Royal ociety
rchives.
18 P.M.S.Blackett
oH.J.
habha,
3
February
951,
Royal ociety
rchives.
19 H.J.Bhabha o P.M.S.
Blackett,
1
April
1955,
Royal
Society
Archives. or
the ntire
discussion
f the ix months
efore nd
years
fter
ugust
945 see G.
Alperovitz,
he
decisionousethe tomic omb nd he rchitecturef nAmerican ythLondon, arper
Collins,
995).
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360
Robert . Anderson
20
Government
f
ndia,
Nuclear
xplosions
nd their
ffects
Delhi,
The Publications
ivision,
1956).
21
MJ.
Nye,
A
physicist
n
the corridors f
power:
P.M.S. Blackett's
pposition
o atomic
weaponsfollowinghewar',presentedo ConferencenPatrick lackett,mperial ollege
London. Anril 99R.
22 Anthonv ukas. India rulesout secret tom esť. New York imes 9 November 1965Y
23 Personal
ommunication,
ir Bernard
ovell,
24
April
1998.
24
A.J.
Kidwai
to
P.M.S.
Blackett,
1
November
967,
Royal Society
Archives.