Hyderabad is considered a leading science city in India due to the concentration of scientific institutions, universities and academic bodies, private R&D companies, and technology-based industries. A variety of factors contributed to the development of modern Hyderabad, and the journey lasted over a century.
“Hyderabad Kaiku?” was the subject of a talk by the New Delhi-based columnist and author Dr Dinesh C Sharma at the India Science Festival (ISF) being conducted at Hyderabad Public School.
According to Sharma, the founding of Hyderabad in 1591 symbolised the power of knowledge and science. “To think of building a magnificent structure like Charminar needed expertise in several fields – design, engineering, material science, chemistry, architecture, mathematics, metallurgy, town planning, mineralogy, water systems and of course, aesthetics, philosophy, religion and so on,” he said.
Dr. Sharma elaborated on the modern era, stating that a Nobel Prize-winning discovery was made on Hyderabad soil. Begumpet is home to the Indian Military Hospital, where Ronald Ross discovered the science behind malaria transmission. The Niziamiah Observatory, which participated in the international project to map the sky in the early twentieth century, was also located in the same area.
“Few people know that it was in this observatory that a young boy got introduced to stars as a child and went on to become the father of modern astronomy and astrophysics in India in later years. That was Vainu Bappu,” Sharma explained.
There were only two scientific research institutions in Hyderabad when it was integrated into the Union of India in 1948: the Central Laboratories for Scientific and Industrial Research (CLSIR), which later became the Regional Research Laboratory (now Indian Institute of Chemical Technology), and the Hyderabad Science Society, apart from Osmania University.
According to Dr. Sharma, these two institutions were pioneers in developing a research ecosystem in Hyderabad. In 1972, a popular drug molecule, diazepam, was ‘reverse engineered’ at RRL, laying the groundwork for the pharmaceutical industry and the public sector unit, IDPL.
Dr. Sharma said the establishment of the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) was a watershed moment that seeded software and IT revolutions. “It created a pool of manpower in computer hardware, software, design, and applications. ECIL got software developed at various institutes which then got interested in software development. The Administrative Staff College of India had a large group for software development. People trained in ECIL joined private companies. Wipro’s first set of employees came from the R&D division of ECIL.”
Another driving force was the Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC). At various points in time, highly trained labour, strong institutions, and favourable policies have all contributed to Hyderabad’s status as a science city. The city’s scientific and technological heritage should be celebrated.
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