Kolkata (18 March 2026) : An international conference on Women and Science was organized at Dakshin Dinajpur University, West Bengal. Professor Pranab Ghosh, the Honorable Vice-Chancellor of DDU, West Bengal, celebrated International Women’s Day along with Science Day through this highly successful international conference, which saw participation from most of the women Vice-Chancellors of the state. Professor Nandini Sahu, the Honorable Vice-Chancellor of Hindi University, West Bengal, was the keynote speaker.
In her lecture titled “Restoring Knowledge: The Overlooked Lineages of Women in Indian Science,” Professor Nandini Sahu promoted a critical re-reading of Indian scientific traditions. She constructed a narrative of women’s epistemic presence in fields such as astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and reproductive science—areas that have been historically rendered male-dominated through colonial, colonial-modern, and even nationalist historiographies.
Professor Sahu explained that classical scientific texts like Surya Siddhanta, Pancha Siddhantika, and Siddhanta Shiromani are generally viewed as ‘pure’ science—abstract, neutral, and author-centric monuments. She argued that these texts actually emerge from social and educational ecologies where women functioned as transmitters of observational knowledge, calendar expertise, ritual-time calculation, and domestic cosmologies.
Professor Sahu called for redefining the role of women in science, stating that women should not be recognized merely as exceptions in science, but as fundamental to its methods, ethics, and future. Her lecture was extremely significant and enlightening, in which she explained how women’s intellectual labor has been hidden in classical scientific texts and how new methodological frameworks are required to reclaim these suppressed lineages. Professor Chandradipa Ghosh, Professor Tajima Gurung Nag, Professor Daniela Pappalardo, Professor Jyotirmayi Dash, Professor Zinia Mitra, Professor Dahlia Bhattacharya, Professor Ashis Bhattacharjee, and Professor Arnab Sen were also present in the conference.