World Observatory Tour — India

*. Hyderabad was the largest princely state in South Asia during British colonial rule in India; its ruler was famed for his wealth and ranked among the richest individuals in the world at the time. In 1918, the Nizam Observatory welcomed its first Indian director, T. P. Bhaskaran—the first native scholar to head a modern observatory in India. Under his leadership, the Nizam Observatory was transferred to Osmania University and participated in the Carte du Ciel (Map of the Sky) project: a massive international observational initiative involving twenty observatories worldwide, which produced over 22,000 photographic plates aiming to create a photographic star atlas cataloging millions of stars. As Hyderabad’s urban area expanded and observing conditions deteriorated, the observatory’s main instruments were relocated after 1960 to a hill near Rangapur, close to Hyderabad. This site once housed Asia’s largest 48-inch (1.22-meter) reflecting telescope and ranked among the most advanced observatories in South Asia—and indeed all of Asia—at the time. However, by the 21st century, its research activities gradually ceased, and today the facility lies semi-abandoned. Post-Independence India — Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Shortly after independence, India—like many ambitious newly sovereign nations—invested heavily in science. In 1951, the Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to build an observatory, establishing an expert committee centered on Lucknow University to select the site. The final location chosen was a mountain at 1,951 meters elevation in present-day Nainital, Uttarakhand (Uttarakhand was established in 2000; at the time, this region belonged to Uttar Pradesh). In 2004, the Uttar Pradesh State Observatory became an autonomous research institution under India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), renamed the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), in honor of India’s most renowned ancient astronomer, Aryabhata. Its acronym ARIES stands for Aries—the zodiac sign symbolizing a bright future (the Indian calendar traditionally begins with the month around the vernal equinox; currently, the Sun resides in Aries at the vernal equinox). Also in 2004, ARIES identified an even more ideal observing site near Devasthal Hill (meaning "Abode of the Gods"), at 2,540 meters altitude, close to Nainital. There, it installed India’s largest optical telescope to date—the 3.6-meter New Technology Optical Telescope—filling a critical gap in the region’s 4-meter-class optical telescope capacity. Built jointly by Belgium’s AMOS company and India, the telescope features an adaptive optics system and was completed in 2016, making it Asia’s largest general-purpose optical telescope at the time. Currently, the Devasthal Observatory also hosts the 4-meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) project, involving institutions from India, Belgium, Canada, and Poland. Liquid-mirror telescopes use a slowly rotating disk of mercury as their primary mirror surface—costing only about one percent of a conventional optical telescope of comparable aperture. Their main drawbacks are that they can only point straight up (at the zenith), cannot tilt, and mercury is highly volatile and toxic. Substituting safer gallium significantly increases cost.

Netizen: Is India merely a tool used by the United States to counter China and Russia?

Introduction: This article is lengthy. The author traces history from the Maurya Dynasty through Buddhism’s influence on China, foreign invasions, and reflections on the 1962 conflict, concluding with the assertion that India and China together will surely usher in the ‘Asian Century’ in the new era. Baba Vickram Aditya Bedi, Business Adviser, Writer Modern India–China relations began after India’s independence in 1947. In 1949, following the conclusion of its civil war, the People’s Republic of China was formally proclaimed. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, sought to revive broad exchanges between the two countries. The first extensive period of Sino–Indian interaction occurred during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (Maurya Dynasty); thereafter, after Emperor Ashoka unified the entire Indian subcontinent around 260 BCE, India’s diplomacy and cultural exchanges grew markedly more active. During this period, India established ties with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and several Central Asian countries. The Indian government supported the spread of Buddhist reform movements originating in India, thereby transmitting Indian scientific knowledge, culture, and philosophy across Asia—especially into China. China’s receptivity to this cultural exchange was extraordinary. Subsequently, China dispatched students to study at the world’s first university, established in India. This pattern continued for nearly 1,500 years, ending only after Islamic invasions of India post-1000 CE. Ultimately, India’s universities were systematically destroyed, culminating in the razing of Nalanda University—the world’s oldest academic institution—in 1157. Both China and India fell under Western domination amid successive blows: India was fully colonized between 1857 and 1947. Upon the end of this period, India was partitioned along religious lines, leading to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Of course, Pakistan’s formation involved far more complex factors. This partition was largely driven by Winston Churchill’s personal agenda—to retain India’s most strategically vital regions while securing control over Iranian and Iraqi oil fields, and to leverage Pakistan as a corridor into Central Asia for monitoring the Soviet Union. At the time, it was widely assumed that the socialist-leaning Nehru government would refuse involvement in such schemes—and indeed, it did. Prime Minister Nehru explicitly declared that India would never again permit foreign military bases on its soil. He also championed self-reliance—a stance aligned with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy. Consequently, Nehru closed India’s economy and barred foreign competitors from most sectors—a policy retained until the spring of 1992. In the early 1950s, India–China relations were closer than at any time in the preceding millennium. Nehru publicly articulated the vision of an ‘Asian Century’—an aspiration wherein the peoples of India and China would overcome poverty, achieve industrialization, and build dignified lives for populations long scarred by unprecedented colonial exploitation, racial discrimination, and inadequate healthcare. Guided by this vision, India launched large-scale industrialization efforts, constructing major dams and irrigation systems, and establishing hospitals and schools. Similar initiatives unfolded in China—but China devoted greater emphasis to building military strength.

After 150 Years, India’s Oldest Science Institution Seeks New Image

4 days ago

The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is investing in campus expansion and rebranding to revitalize its research environment for chemists following 150 years of operation.

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2026-10-28

After 150 Years, India’s Oldest Science Institution Seeks New Image

After 150 Years, India’s Oldest Science Institution Seeks New Image

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