Decolonisation without searching for the 'other'

Long before decolonisation of the Indian mind became a popular topic, a group of young IIT graduates dedicated themselves to understanding Indian knowledge systems.

- Rajni Bakshi

Starting in the late 1970s, this group, named Patriotic and People-Oriented Science and Technology (PPST), brought together a wide range of practitioners of traditional knowledge systems.

Almost half a century after PPST was formed, the fate of Indic knowledge systems is still undecided. But this endeavour matters because here is a meaningful and non-reactive variety of decolonisation.

While the patriotic in PPST's name might easily make it look synonymous with jingoistic nationalism — in fact, its legacy is important precisely because it was never based on or driven by resentment against any "other" — foreigners or otherwise. PPST's core is driven by curiosity and a hunger to learn from practitioners of Indic knowledge cultures and see if building upon this could help solve problems of contemporary India.