The Pluriverse of Failure in Indian Science

Failure in India, especially in the world of science, is a polysemic idea, which varies according to the cultural context. The essay discusses three competing ideas of failure. The first is the sociological idea that emphasizes numeracy and institution building. It is almost managerial in nature. The second is a folkloric idea of failure that evokes the heroic idea of science. The third is an epistemic idea of failure where one form of cognition hegemonizes and decultures the other. I argue that science needs an ecological and epistemic idea of failure to sustain its sense of plurality and democracy.