Seismology in India: Colonial Geologists and the Raj, 1880-1910

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century, seismologists were trying to create a ‘universal’ seismology that could be applied worldwide. Applying the observational European techniques in various places across the world challenged scientists to reassess their methodologies, epistemologies, and evidential criteria as they realized that their methods, developed in early nineteenth century Europe, were inadequate for reading earthquake damage outside of Europe. Their decisions were directed by cultural as much as by physical considerations. Richard Dixon Oldham, a geologist working in Colonial India, used his position as a colonial scientist to argue for an instrumental turn in seismology, which privileged seismograph inscriptions over fieldwork and public observations. Embedded in this shift was the invisibility of the colonized peoples’ experiences and knowledge. There was no established, standardized instrumental seismology to transition to, which indicates that seismologists believed that unreliable instruments were less problematic than unreliable people. The instrumental turn in seismology was a very deliberate, contested change, and colonial considerations played a critical role in this shift.