I have long held the view that one of India’s erroneous strategies in the realm of education and research has been the emphasis on setting up numerous research institutes at the cost of universities. I know of several mathematical research institutes that have been set up with the specific mandate of fostering blue sky research. In principle this is indeed a commendable policy but what bothers me is the fact that there has been no major course correction based on genuine assessment of the needs of the nation. I am disappointed to state that these institutions have not really helped the cause of mathematics. A country like India has had many pressing and important needs for the applications of mathematics. Unfortunately, most of these venerable research institutes have failed to take cognizance of this. The way I see it, they have essentially used precious resources for developing and researching mathematics of the mostly pure kind which has not led to any important tangible gains for the wellbeing of the nation.
Our policy makers poured in scarce resources into these institutes that were essentially pursuing what can be termed as art for the sake of art. What our planners failed to realise is that the nursery of good research is always a university that has a plethora of young minds who need to be trained and inspired. Some years ago, I undertook a study of mathematical research in the US. I discovered two things; a vast majority of all research seemed to stem from the universities that have been at the forefront of the uses and applications of mathematics. I have been personally associated with a US university in terms of research and collaboration for many years and I have always wondered at how the mathematicians at that university have produced both kinds of research; blue sky and high-end applicable mathematics. The other thing of value that I picked up is the manner in which all American universities compete to attract students who can be trained and mentored for high-end research. Of course, there have been some highly commendable research from our institutes but the US universities have produced much better research.
The other very important lesson that we need to learn is that India has failed miserably in the area of using mathematics for the progress of the nation. For instance, the Concorde supersonic passenger aircraft was designed by applied mathematicians at the Imperial College in collaboration with mathematical scientists from France. One of the mathematical areas that played a key role in its design was fluid dynamics. Almost all Indian universities and engineering institutes teach this discipline, but I have hardly come across any student who knows how to apply this in practical ways for aircraft design.
India needs to bring our colleges and universities up to speed by appointing good faculty and at the same time upgrading the skills, knowledge and preparedness of the current faculty. In the decade of the 1960s-70s the mathematics department of Punjab University at Chandigarh was vibrant as a high-end teaching and research institution, albeit only in the realm of pure mathematics. However, this situation deteriorated 1980s onwards. This unfortunate trend is also visible in many of the research institutes. There is an important lesson to be learnt from universities in the UK, France, Germany, the US and Japan. To appoint good faculty, we need to foster the right academic environment and infrastructure. We will slip into a bit of a Catch-22 situation if we are not able to produce good faculty in sufficient numbers.