Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Computing In The Time Of Decolonization

by Dwaipayan Banerjee
Save 30% Save 30%
Current price ₹2,310.00
Original price ₹3,300.00
Original price ₹3,300.00
Original price ₹3,300.00
(-30%)
₹2,310.00
Current price ₹2,310.00

Ships in 1-2 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9780691268217
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Princeton University Press
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 296
  • Original Price: INR 3300.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 590 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): History

How Cold War geopolitics and domestic capitalism changed the trajectory of India's computing industry

India today is widely recognized for producing world-class tech talent and Silicon Valley leaders, yet captures only a fraction of the global tech industry's profits, primarily providing skilled but inexpensive labor for Western corporations. Computing in the Age of Decolonization uncovers the overlooked history behind this paradox, tracing India's ambitious but ultimately thwarted drive to build a self-reliant computing industry from the 1950s to the 1980s.

After independence in 1947, Indian scientists and policymakers at institutions such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research saw computing as central to national sovereignty, economic growth, and scientific advancement. Through projects such as the groundbreaking TIFRAC computer and the decisive expulsion of IBM, they aimed for technological independence. But almost immediately, these initiatives faced powerful political and economic headwinds. Indian computer scientists grappled with Cold War politics, international trade imbalances, US corporate monopolies, and strategic decisions by India's technocratic elite, who favored profitable technical services over costly investments in research and manufacturing.

In narrating this lost future, Computing in the Age of Decolonization shows that genuine technological independence requires more than technical expertise--it demands addressing enduring political and social structures rooted in colonial legacies. As global struggles over technology intensify, this book reveals how historical pathways continue to shape contemporary battles for technological and economic sovereignty.

Dwaipayan Banerjee is associate professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of Enduring Cancer: Life, Death, and Diagnosis in Delhi and the coauthor of Hematologies: The Political Life of Blood in India.

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us